From time immemorial, surnames ending in "-ich" or "-skyy" are considered "Jewish" in Russia. Songs in church would be sung in both languages simultaneously. Sandbox Learning is part of Sandbox & Co., a digital learning company. Actually, there are really only three surnames (and their variations) that are generally specifically Jewish: Cohen, Levy, and Israel.Yet, even variations of these common Jewish-specific surnames may not be Jewish in origin. 100 Russian Last Names 1. [21], The mid-20th century brought immigrants from South America, mainly Argentina and Brazil, who fought to maintain their cultural autonomy in increasingly-nationalist countries dominated by leaders like Juan Pern.[22]. If a man gives his full name as Boris Vladimirovich Kuznetsov, then his father's name must have been Vladimir. For example, Nekras - (nyeKRAS) - was often a name given in the hope that the child would be beautiful. Germans continued to migrate into Russian territories after Catherine's death, sometimes at the invitation of other Czars. Originates from the name of a Russian traditional fruit drink similar to mors with the addition of starch or arrowroot. When they arrived in the United States and Canada, they found that they were treated the same as any other migrant group from Eastern Europe. They sought to escape rising land prices and the imposition of laws that had begun to encroach on their relative autonomy. Originally recruited and welcomed to the Russian Empire in the 18th century, when they were promised to be allowed to practice own language and religions and to be exempted from compulsory military service, the Russian Germans found increasing hardship. Adam ( Norka) Adler ( Kolb, Brunnental) Adolph ( Hussenbach) Albach ( Paulskoye, Beauregard) Albert ( Walter) Albert ( Kind) Albrecht ( Norka) Alles ( Walter) Alt ( Norka) Altergott ( Dnhof) Amen ( Frank, Walter) Appel ( Pobochnaya) Appelhans ( Rothammel) Aqua ( Keller, Neu-Kolonie) Arndt ( Kolb) Arnhold ( Ernestinendorf) In the early 1870s, the Canadian government had begun to create promotional programs in Europe to entice settlers to the largely-unsettled western areas in what would become Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and British Columbia. Abram. Czech last names are a melting pot of Czech, German, and Slovak. Their family and community lifestyle and their contribution to the sugar beet industry on the plains of Colorado is well-documented in "Work Renders Life Sweet: Germans from Russia in Fort Collins, 1900 - 2000. Among girls living in various countries of the world, it has become popular to receive as a gift a doll that looks not like Barbie Once upon a time, Julianne Moore was one of those actresses whom I "saw somewhere", "played great", but "I don't remember well". This set of Wiki pages discusses those sources. Other Germans, especially those in Volhynia, arrived because of the availability of cheap land. This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 03:02. The same list includes some Novikov, Yakovlev, Zakharov and Kazakov. With changes in politics, the Russian government took back some of the privileges that had been granted, economic conditions grew poor, and there were a series of famines. FamilyEducation does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Before the Volga Germans left for North America, they had been regarded as privileged colonists in Russia. By the end of the World War II, the German language, which had always been used with English for public and official matters, had seriously declined. She holds a Diploma in Translation (IoLet Level 7) from the Chartered Institute of Linguists. [14] Many Mennonites were eventually able to leave, and between the World Wars, over 20,000 of them left destined for Canada. Some signified an ancestral people or homeland, such as MacDhubhghaill (son of a dark-haired foreigner; referring to one type of Scandinavian), MacFhionnghaill (son of a fair-haired foreigner; also referring to a Scandinavian people), MacLachlainn or MacLachlainneach (son of a Scandinavian). While many Czech names may . The south-central part of North Dakota was known as the "German-Russian triangle." You may want to read the Wiki article Principles of Family History Research, or the booklet A Guide to Research (30971) which is also available at theFamilySearch Library and at FamilySearch Centers. Chicago now has the largest number of ethnic Volga Germans in North America. Russian surnames have many origins, including occupation, father's first name, personal nickname or family nickname, geographical location, and even personal surnames given to seminary students based on their good or bad qualities. Population of the Village of Pfeifer * of whom 2,841 were German/**of whom 2,434 were German. So who of the Russians has Jewish surnames? Information on our advertising guidelines can be found. [3] Those areas tended to resemble the flat plains of the Russian steppes. There are also many familiar last names based on occupation. Sobol Russian, Ukrainian, Jewish. It is the 9th most popular name in the world, with over 2.5 million people called Smirnov. They are also seen in North America, Argentina, and Australia. The Russian aristocracy began using last names to differentiate between two people of the same name in the 17th century, while peasants didn't begin adopting surnames until the feudal system was abolished late in the 19th century. Toronto and London: University of Toronto Press. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Slavic_name_suffixes&oldid=1139238802, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This has been adopted by many non-Slavic peoples of Central Asia and the Caucasus who are or have been under Russian rule, such as the, Example: Petrovi means Petr's son. In addition to the large population of Volga Germans that settled on the American prairie, many also settled in the Canadian West. And we are not talking about the Abramovichs, Rabinovichs and Levins at all. Apply this search to the user-submitted names, the letters in the pattern are compared to the letters in the name, search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes, this field understands simple boolean logic, force a term to be included by preceding it with a, force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a, sounds can only be searched in names that have been assigned pronunciations, syllables can only be counted in names that have been assigned pronunciations, names without pronunciations are excluded from results, the "relationship" is how the name relates to its parent name. This page was last edited on 30 March 2023, at 12:58. After the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Stalin ordered the deportation of Russian Germans to labor camps in Siberia and Central Asia, as he was suspicious of potential collaboration with the invaders. In Russia, where patronyms are used, a person may have two, Russia, Serbia (especially in Vojvodina), Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Ukraine (rare), Ukraine (to a lesser extent in Belarus, Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia), Comes from the physically smaller of a noun; possibly coming from the younger son or daughter of a family. After he had visited Kansas, Warkentin found the Great Plains much like those that he had left behind. [deleted] 1 yr. ago My great-grandmother's name was Baldermann. The Volga Germans in Old Russia and in Western North America: Their Changing World View., Rempfer, Michael, and James Gessele, "Der Staats-Anzeiger:' Salute to its Centennial Founding.". You may also benefit from information already submitted by others. Information on our advertising guidelines can be found. For example, a German Lutheran church was established in Irkutsk, Siberia in the early 1700s. Without the generosity of AHSGRs donors, we would not be able to provide extensive resources that are both invaluable & imperative to keeping our heritage alive. [19], The 1920s also saw the movement of Volga Germans within Western Canada as well. About the author FamilyEducation Staff This writer is a part of the FamilyEducation editorial team. Russians often use the expression ', , ' (Ivanov, Petrov, Sidorov) when talking about the average Russian. Common Russian Surnames and Meanings. Make a Tax Deductible Donation Contact Us 631 D St Lincoln, NE 68502 (402) 474-3363 Monday - Friday 9am-4pm Saturday & Sunday Closed Nov 23 & 24 Closed Dec 25 - Jan 1 Closed Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Most people believe that these surnames are originally Russian, but historically they are mostly worn by Jews. It is thought to have appeared in peasant families that had many children and considered having a child whowas quiet and calm to be a blessing. Russian surnames are powerful and have very interesting history behind the name. Russian surnames appearedat different times in different classes of Russian society. Myth 2. German remains the second-most-spoken language in North and South Dakota, and Germans from Russia sometimes use loanwords, such as Kuchen for 'cake' although that word is primarily used for the sweet bread dessert made in a pie plate with topping like fruits or cottage cheese. So for male names, you may see the suffixes: -ich, -ovich, or -evich. Other Volga Germans made new lives in the industrializing American cities, especially in Chicago, which had an immense upsurge in immigration from Eastern Europe during that time. Todenhfer (German origin) meaning "death-yard". The Russian naming system is also influenced by gender. [14] In the 1890s, twelve Catholic families established Rastadt-Dorf, and another twenty-one settled Katherinetal. In the mid-1860s, some Jews received surnames with the endings "-ev" and "-ov". AHSGR Village Coordinator - Rosemary larson. In 1932 and 1933, the Soviet authorities forced starvation among the Volga Germans according to Western observers. Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning. A court in Germany has rejected a married couple's request to legally change their Russian-sounding surname due to negative repercussions they said they had experienced since the start of the war . Many, if not most, Slavic last names are formed by adding possessive and other suffixes to given names and other words. Can also be spelled as Nikolayev / Nikolayeva, female: Andreeva. As for the surname Abramov, it may well be considered Russian. [citation needed]. There are also many familiar last names based on occupation. The term Slavic covers many people who speak various Slavonic languages. 50. Lenin created the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics(U.S.S.R.) from Russia and 14 other republics, including Ukraine, Georgia, and Armenia. But surnames like Preobrazhensky or Rozhdestvensky, in which there is also a "Jewish" ending "-ski", were previously issued to graduates of seminaries and were purely religious in nature. Nikitina, Maia. Many such surnames are found among Russian Jews. BERLIN (AP) A court in Germany has rejected a married couple's request to legally change their Russian-sounding surname due to negative repercussions they said they had experienced since the . Later Russia's capital city was changed to Moscow. For more parenting tips and tricks, find us on Pinterest: Are you a writer, expert, or influencer? Like many cultures, many Slavic surnames are patronymic, but they can also be regional, occupational, or based on physical or personality traits. Lutheran and Catholic Volga Germans were also significant migrants to Canada but lacked the organization of their Mennonite brethren. Most Popular Russian Last Names on FamilyEducation: Volkov, Romanoff, Kuznetsov, Bortnik, Gusev, Kuznetsov, Bortnik, Gusev Search Russian Last Names Use the list to find your last name and learn about its meaning and origins. As publishing costs rose and the internet became available GRHS finally decided to only distribute the Stammbaum data online. After emigrating from Russia to the Americas, the Germans kept speaking their dialects. https://www.thoughtco.com/russian-surnames-4589727 (accessed May 2, 2023). Albrecht - a first and last name of German origin, with the radiant meanings of "noble, bright.". Lebedev (swan) 7. [14], From the 1910s to several years after the end of the Second World War, the ethnic background of the Volga Germans made them prey to discrimination in Canada. Many families living in the Jefferson Park central business district along Lawrence and Milwaukee Avenue have Volga German immigrant ancestors. [18], During the interwar period, conditions in Russia worsened, especially after the Revolution and the Great Famine of 1921. Canadian Slavonic Papers / Revue Canadienne Des Slavistes 4 (January 1, 1959): 160175. Find your Russian last name and learn about its meaning and origins. Privacy Policy. Baumann - also meaning "farmer," this surname is earthy and honest. "The Top 40 Russian Surnames and Meanings." You are encouraged to share your family information with the village coordinator for the village where your ancestor lived. Most German surnames derive either from archaic professions (such as Schmidt, Mller, Weber, or Schfer) or places. A passenger walks past a wall decorated with the names of Russian writers and poets at Rasskazovka metro station in Moscow. If you are of Slavic descent, you may be wondering what your Slavic name means or where it originated. Family Education is part of the Sandbox Learning family of educational reference sites for parents, teachers, and students. It is the root of the names Kovaevi, Kovai, Kowalski, Kowalchuk, Kowalczyk, Kovachev, Kovalenko, Kovalyov, and Kovalev. [20] Throughout the period after World War II, new immigrants joined their families in British Columbia and congregated in the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island. Let's try to debunk several common myths about Jewish surnames. Czech last names are a melting pot of Czech, German, and Slovak. Early on, they were more likely to settle in Saskatchewan, especially around Regina. Category:Russian surnames from German Edit category data Recent changes Newest pages ordered by last category link update Oldest pages ordered by last edit University of Toronto Press, 1999. German Last Names and Their Meanings Russian Germans in North America are descended from the many ethnic Germans from Russia who emigrated to North America . After living under Stalins horrifying regime, should they run in retreat from the wolves they despise or search for freedom with the devils they dont know? "St. Josephs Colony, Katherinetal Colony, Kronau-Rastadt, and Odessa (18861904)." Opportunities for genealogical research about Germans from Russia are sometimes limited because Some records have been destroyed, lost, or moved to hard-to-locate, private collections. Some records are restricted from public use. Some records are hard to use or read. Some record keepers may be unable or or willing to search the records for you. Moelleken, Wolfgang W. Diaphonic Correspondences in the Low German of Mennonites from the Fraser Valley, British Columbia. Zeitschrift fr Mundartforschung 34, no. A court in Germany has rejected a married couple's request to legally change their Russian-sounding surname due to them getting mocked mercilessly on a daily basis since the start of the war in . But Ukrainian names also use -yshyn, - enko, -chuk, and -vich. doi:10.2307/1014693. Negatively influenced by the violation of their rights and cultural persecution by the tsar, the Russian Germans who settled in the northern Midwest saw themselves a downtrodden ethnic group that was separate from Russian Americans and had an entirely different experience from the German Americans who had immigrated from German lands. [citation needed] The upper Great Plains of the United States and southern Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan in Canada have large areas that are populated primarily by descendants of Germans from Russia. Most settled in southern Manitoba in the richest part of the Red River Valley. The earliest settlements in Russia arose around A.D. 500, as Scandanavians and Slavs settled around the upper part of the Volga River, eventually building what would later be known as the Ukrainian city of Kyiv. Since the villages in Russia often were populated by settlers from a particular region and isolated from Germany, they maintained their regional dialects. (2019) Surnames in modern Russia. This page introduces you to the records you can use to discover your German-speaking ancestors who moved from German kingdoms and principalities, Alsace-Lorraine, Russian Poland, Switzerland, or Austria-Hungary to the Russian Empire and later from there to the New World. [10] Despite the loss of their language, the Volga Germans have remained distinct and left a lasting impression on the American West.[11]. There are very few names derived from occupations, but a lot of names are derived from animals. The government imposed a fee for obtaining a passport, which led to protests as many would-be immigrants flooded the streets of Moscow. 2022 Sandbox Networks Inc. All rights reserved. First Trimester To-Do List: Take Care of Yourself. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 107 (May 1, 1923): 4549. [4] In 1910, 5% of the population of North Dakota had been born in Russia; it is likely that most were ethnic Germans. This is similar to the use of "-son" or "-sen" in Germanic languages. There are almost 100,000 Ivanovs just in Moscow, despite the fact that the majority of Ivanovs live in Russian regions. The economy of the Prairies and much of the rest of Canada was dependent on the success of wheat farming. [17] Many Mennonites had been propelled to leave because of the introduction of extended conscription, which had been put into place in 1874 and was set to take effect in Russia in 1881. Although many research principles and record types are similar, each area is unique. The surname Smirnov is typical for the Northern Volga region (Povolzhye) and the central parts of Russia (Kostromskaya Oblast, Ivanovskaya Oblast, and Yaroslavskaya Oblast). By 1914, Germany had become Canada's enemy, and the Volga Germans were not immune although many families has not set foot in Germany for hundreds of years. Anderson, Alan B. Our list of the most popular Slavic names and names with Slavic origins helps you learn your culture from A-Z. ThoughtCo, Aug. 25, 2020, thoughtco.com/russian-surnames-4589727. Maia Nikitina is a writer and Russian language translator. It is common for Polish names to end in -ski, which denotes where they are from or what their occupation was. HEIER, EDMUND. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/russian-surnames-4589727. So, for example, a man named Vladimir Sergeyevich Orlov would have had a father named "Sergey.". First Trimester To-Do List: Take Care of Yourself. Russia is by far the largest country in the world, and fittingly the history of Russia is rich and expansive. Ivanov ()remains one of the most popular last names in Russia. Therefore, surnames like Tryapkin, Sechin, Galkin, Dolina, Shokhin and so on can be safely considered Jewish. Like other Slavic languages, Russian names also follow a patronymic pattern by adding -nov or -nova for the son of or daughter of to a given name. Penn State Press, 1978. This information is most often found in United States, Canada, or other New World sources. However, there are people worldwide who, due to relocation and emigration, also speak Slavic languages. The subsequent rise of Nazi Germany, with its concern about ethnic Germans in other lands and proselytizing to the German Volk, led to suspicions of any Germans in Russia. Those schools operated on Saturday mornings for around three hours and became especially vital as German stopped being taught in Canadian public schools after World War I. The Most Popular Russian Surnames and Their Origins, Changes in Russian Surnames Over the Centuries. This is the same as referring to Robert as "Rob," "Bob" and "Bobby"; or William as "Bill", "Will" and "Willy". However, these are usually Ukrainian, Polish or Belarusian surnames. Sullivan is the acclaimed author of eighteen novels, including the #1 New York Times bestselling Private series, which he writes with James Patterson. Goerz, H. German Russians in British Columbia, Canada, n.d. Koch, Fred C. The Volga Germans: In Russia and the Americas, from 1763 to the Present. His novel, The Last Green Valley, chronicles the Martels, Germans who have farmed in the Russian Empire (currently Ukraine) for more than a century. Migration to Canada and the United States by Russian Germans (German: Deutsche aus Russland or Russlanddeutsche; Russian: , romanized : rossiyskiye nemtsy) peaked in the late 19th century. Iseminger, Gordon L. "Are We Germans, or Russians, or Americans? Therefore, a patronymic for women will use a different set of suffixes, typically ending in a vowel. Also included were Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonites of Dutch ancestry, who are now mostly referred to as Russian Mennonites despite their origins and Low German language, as well as Hutterites, both of whom sought religious freedom. AHSGRs mission is to discover, collect, preserve, and share the history, cultural heritage, and genealogical legacy of German Settlers in the Russian Empire. However, the strategies and records described here often help find such ancestors as well. (i.e. Repeated crop failures meant a large influx of German-Russiana to larger cities and towns, which would contribute to the gradual decline of their culturally-homogeneous communities. Soviet authorities seized food supplies under the pretext of famine in the rest of the Soviet Union, and they ordered the breakup of many German villages.[1]. Outbuilding tours April through October only. Instead, people's second name is generally patronymic, meaning that it derives from the first name of the father. See Eastern Slavic naming customs for the explanation of the structure of Russian-language surnames. The Volga Germans who flocked to Canada in the late 19th and the early 20th centuries came from different religious backgrounds, including Lutheran, Catholic, and Mennonite. For example, calling a boy named Ivan "Ivanko", "Ivo", "Ivica" etc, or Yuri "Yurko", expresses that he is familiar to you. Each Stammbaum had two sections. During World War I, their identity was challenged by anti-German sentiment. The Volga German settled in tight-knit communities, which retained their German language and culture. All mean "descendant of a blacksmith". After the Bolshevik Revolution and the rise of the Soviet Union, particularly under the leadership of Joseph Stalin, conditions for the remaining Germans in Russia declined considerably. This surname comes from the first name Ivan, which was for centuries a very common name, especially among the peasant class. Probably the person best known for having a "German from Russia accent" in English, a result of his having learned English as a second language, was the bandleader and television star Lawrence Welk. First Settlers List - Head of Families. The largest groups settled mainly in the Great Plains: North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas and nearby areas. Russia had no restriction on family names derived from place names. Migration to Canada and the United States by Russian Germans (German: Deutsche aus Russland or Russlanddeutsche; Russian: , romanized:rossiyskiye nemtsy) peaked in the late 19th century. Writes the blogger samsebeskazal: The inhabitants of lower Manhattan really got excited today when they saw this. In addition, the upper Great Plains still had arable land available for free settlement under the Homestead Act. doi:10.2307/40500396. Abelman From an old German word meaning "noble one." 3. L. Elizabeth Forry is an Early Childhood Educator with 15 years of classroom experience. Last edited on 26 February 2023, at 03:02, History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union, "Germans from Russia Emigration and Immigration", https://www.fcgov.com/historicpreservation/pdf/german-russia-doc.pdf, "German-Russian Wrought-Iron Cross Sites in Central North Dakota", "Germans from Russia: On the Trail to Colorado", Chronology: The Germans in America (European Reading Room, Library of Congress), https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/germans, American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Germans from Russia Settlement Locations on Google Map, Germans from Volhynia genealogy, culture, history, Manifesto of the Empress Catherine II issued July 22, 1763, Vistula Germans history and map settlements by religion, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Russian_Germans_in_North_America&oldid=1141648116, Gross, Fred William. Wheat had been a staple crop for the Volga Germans in Russia and adapted well to the climate of Western Canada. In pre-revolutionary Russia, Jews were given surnames according to their profession (or the profession of their parents). It is also the last name of a famous female socialist. These appeared long before the first official surnames were recorded, and continued to be used alongside Christian names for many centuries. Occupational name for a fur trader, from the Slavic word soboli meaning "sable, marten". We are a nonprofit organization and rely heavily on our members & donors to continue preserving our German Russian history. 48. As for the surname Abramov, it may well be considered Russian. Despite these obstacles, there are other sources you can use to find ancestors who were Germans from Russia. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Let's figure it out. 3. Russia was ruled by a number of different Tsars until 1917 when citizens overthrew their government in an attempt to form an elected government body. Although the above describes the beginnings of major German migration into Russia, it should also be noted that many Germans lived there prior to the time of Catherine. Previously, the name Abram was quite popular in Russia, and this surname appeared thanks to him. Many farmers specialized in sugar beets, still a major crop in the upper Great Plains. Get in touch! For more parenting tips and tricks, find us on Pinterest: Are you a writer, expert, or influencer? When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Napoleon also, in a decree of July 20, 1808, insisted upon the Jews adopting fixed names. female: Vassilieva. However, shortly after this revolution, a communist group called the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, seized power. Like other Slavic languages, Russian names also follow a patronymic pattern by adding -nov or -nova for the son of or daughter of to a given name. This is taken from the Hebrew name 'hevel' meaning 'breath,' 'vanity' or 'vapor.'. Few of the latter are on the following list, but examples include Brinkmann, Berger, and Frank. When a German surname did not have an English equivalent, the name change was usually based on phonetics - spelled in English the way it sounded. The Canadian Prairies: A History (Student ed.). 100 Jewish Last Names 1. Notable descendants of Germans from Russia. But there are a lot more Germanic surnames that are toponyms or related to someone's job. See Eastern Slavic naming customs for the explanation of the structure of Russian-language surnames. "History of the Volga Germans in Ellis and Rush Counties, Kansas." The Meanings and Origins of Spanish Surnames, 20 Common Australian Surnames and Their Meanings, Learn This Patronymic Surname Meaning "Son of Robert", The Meaning and Origin of the Last Name 'Thomas', with over 2.5 million people called Smirnov, from the secular (mirskoe) name/nickname Novik, which comes from the word 'new', M.F.A., Creative Writing, Manchester Metropolitan University, Diploma in Translation (IoLet Level 7, Russian), Chartered Institute of Linguists. They were primarily Volga Germans from the lower Volga River valley; Black Sea Germans from the Crimean Peninsula/Black Sea region; or Volhynian Germans from the governorate of Volhynia in what is Ukraine. Patronymic surnames are formed by adding a suffix to the end of your father's name. Baykalov Russian.