A Slavic name suffix is a common way of forming
patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic.
Patronymics are used, b ...
s,
family names
In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
, and pet names in the
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavs, Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic language, Proto- ...
. Many, if not most, Slavic last names are formed by adding
possessive
A possessive or ktetic form (Glossing abbreviation, abbreviated or ; from ; ) is a word or grammatical construction indicating a relationship of possession (linguistics), possession in a broad sense. This can include strict ownership, or a numbe ...
and other
suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns and adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can ca ...
es to
given names
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a ...
and other words. Most Slavic surnames have suffixes which are found in varying degrees over the different nations. Some surnames are not formed in this way, including names of non-Slavic origin. They are also seen in North America, Argentina, and Australia.
An example using an occupation is ''
kovač
Kovač ( sh-Cyrl, Ковач) is a surname derived from the Proto-Slavic language, Proto-Slavic word :wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/zolto, kovač, which translates to blacksmith. It is common across Europe, specifically countries in South ...
'', ''
koval'' or ''
kowal
Kowal may refer to:
* Kowal (surname), a surname
*Kowal (town)
Kowal is a town in Włocławek County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 3,478 inhabitants (2004).
History
Kowal was the birthplace of Casimir III the Great, the last P ...
'', which means blacksmith. It is the root of the names
Kovačević Kovačević (Serbo-Croatian, sh-Cyrl, Ковачевић), Kovačevič ( Slovene and Slovak; feminine (Slovak): Kovačevičová) or Kovačovič (Slovak; feminine: Kovačovičová), is a Slavic surname meaning " lackmith's son". The surname is de ...
,
Kovačić
Kovačić (Serbo-Croatian, sh-Cyrl, Ковачић), alternatively spelled Kovačič in Slovene and Slovak (feminine (Slovak): Kovačičová), Kovacsics in Hungarian, or transliterated as Kovacic/Kovacich/Kovachich in English, is one of the mo ...
,
Kowalski
Kowalski (; feminine: Kowalska, plural: Kowalscy) is the second most common surname in Poland (140,471 people in 2009). ''Kowalski'' surname is derived from the word ''kowal'', meaning " lackmith".
" Jan Kowalski" is used as a placeholder name ...
,
Kowalchuk,
Kowalczyk
Kowalczyk is the fifth most common surname in Poland (98,739 people in 2009). Ministry of Interior (Poland). Statystyka najpopularniejszych nazwisk występujących w Polsce in 2009'' (The most popular surnames in Poland in 2009). The name comes ...
,
Kovachev Kovachev (; also transliterated ''Kovačev'') is a Bulgarian surname originating from the word ''Kovach'', meaning blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other meta ...
,
Kovalenko,
Kovalyov
Kovalyov (), often written as Kovalev, or its feminine variant Kovalyova, Kovaleva (), is a common Russian surname, an equivalent of the English surname Smithson (derived from the Ukrainian word koval' (), which means "blacksmith
A blacksmi ...
, and
Kovalev
Kovalyov (), often written as Kovalev, or its feminine variant Kovalyova, Kovaleva (), is a common Russian surname, an equivalent of the English surname Smithson (derived from the Ukrainian word koval' (), which means "blacksmith"). Due to the am ...
. All mean "descendant of a blacksmith".
The given name
Petr
Petr is a Czech form of the masculine given name Peter and a surname. For information on Petr as a first name, see Peter (given name).
Given name
* Petr Aven (born 1955), Russian billionaire banker, economist and politician
* Petr Čech (born 198 ...
,
Petro
Petro is a masculine given name, a surname and an Ancient Roman cognomen. It may refer to:
Given name
* Petro Balabuyev (1931–2007), Ukrainian airplane designer, engineer and professor, lead designer of many Antonov airplanes
* Petro Doroshenko ...
,
Pyotr or
Petar Petar (, sr-Cyrl, Петар) is a South Slavic masculine given name, their variant of the Biblical name Petros cognate to Peter.
Derivative forms include Pero, Pejo, Pera, Perica, Petrica, Periša. Feminine equivalent is Petra.
People ...
(equivalent to Peter) can become
Petrov, Petriv, Petriw,
Petrenko Petrenko () is a patronymic surname of Slavic origin derived from the first name ''Petro'' (the Ukrainian equivalent of Peter) and effectively means ''of Peter''/''Peter's''. Notable people with the surname include:
Arts and music
* Alexei Petrenko ...
,
Petrovsky
Petrovsky (feminine: Petrovskaya) is a Russian-language surname. Notable people with the surname include:
People
* Adolf Petrovsky (1887–1937), Soviet diplomat
* (born 1981), Russian singer
* Boris Petrovsky (1908–2004), Soviet surgeon and p ...
,
Petrović Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Петровић, ;) is a South Slavic language patronymic surname literally meaning ''Peter's son'', equivalent to the English last name of Peterson (name), Peterson. In Eastern Slavic naming customs its counterpart is "Petrovi ...
,
Petrić Petrić ( sr-Cyrl, Петрић) is a South Slavic surname, a patronymic of Petar. Notable people with the name include:
* Daniel Petric (born 1991) American murderer
* Bojan Petrić (born 1984), Bosnian f ...
,
Petrič,
Petrich
Petrich ( ) is a town in Blagoevgrad Province in southwestern Bulgaria, located in Sandanski–Petrich Valley at the foot of the Belasica Mountains in the Strumeshnitsa Valley. According to the 2021 census, the town has 26,778 inhabitants.
...
, etc. All mean "descendant of Peter". This is similar to the use of "-son" or "-sen" in
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania, and Southern Africa. The most widely spoke ...
.
In
East Slavic languages
The East Slavic languages constitute one of three regional subgroups of the Slavic languages, distinct from the West Slavic languages, West and South Slavic languages. East Slavic languages are currently spoken natively throughout Eastern Europe, ...
(Belarusian, Russian, Rusyn, and Ukrainian) the same system of name suffixes can be used to express several meanings. One of the most common is the patronymic. Instead of a secondary "middle" given name, people identify themselves with their given and family name and patronymic, a name based on their father's given name. If a man gives his full name as Boris ''Vladimirovich'' Kuznetsov, then his father's name must have been
Vladimir
Vladimir (, , pre-1918 orthography: ) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, widespread throughout all Slavic nations in different forms and spellings. The earliest record of a person with the name is Vladimir of Bulgaria ().
Etymology
...
.
Vladimirovich literally means "Vladimir's
on.
Similarly, many suffixes can be attached to express affection or informality (in linguistics, called a
diminutive
A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...
). For example, calling a boy named Ivan "
Ivanko
Ivanko is a Slavic given name and a surname, a diminutive from the given name Ivan, a Slavic variant of the name "John". It may be a transliteration from Иванко or Иванько.
Notable people with the name include:
Given name
* Ivank ...
", "
Ivo", "
Ivica
Ivica is a Slavic masculine given name, a diminutive form of Ivan. The direct English equivalent of the name is Johnny, while the equivalent of its augmentative Ivan is John.
It is one of the frequent male given names in Croatia, and is also pre ...
" etc, or Yuri "Yurko", expresses that he is familiar to you. This is the same as referring to Robert as "Rob," "Bob" and "Bobby"; or William as "Bill", "Will" and "Willy". Unlike in English, nicknames can be derived from the middle of names, such as "
Sasha" from "Aleksander."
See also
*
Ashkenazi Jewish surnames
*
Belarusian name
A modern Belarusian name of a person consists of three parts: given name, patronymic, and family name (surname), according to the Eastern Slavic naming customs, similar to Russian names and Ukrainian names.
Belarusian given names
As with most cu ...
*
Bosnian name
*
Bulgarian name
The Bulgarian name system ( Bulgarian: Българска именна система) has considerable similarities with most other European name systems, and with those of other Slavic peoples such as the Russian name system, although it has ...
s
*
Croatian name
Croatian names follow complex and unique lettering, structuring, composition, and naming customs that have considerable similarities with most other European name systems and with those of other Slavic peoples in particular.
Upon the Croatian p ...
*
Czech name
Czech names are composed of a given name and a surname, family name (surname). Czechs typically get one given name – additional names may be chosen by themselves upon baptism but they generally use one. With marriage, the bride typically adopts ...
s
*
Polish name
Polish names have two main elements: the given name, and the surname. The usage of personal names in Poland is generally governed by civil law, church law, personal taste and family custom.
The law requires a given name to indicate the person' ...
s
*
Russian names
East Slavic naming customs are the traditional way of identifying a person's family name, given name, and patronymic name in East Slavic cultures in Russia and some countries formerly part of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union.
They ar ...
*
Serbian names
This article features the naming culture of personal names of ethnic Serbs and the Serbian language. Serbian names are rendered in the "Western name order" with the surname placed after the given name. "Eastern name order" may be used when mult ...
*
Slovak name
Slovak names consist of a given name and surname. Slovakia uses the Western name order with the given name being listed before surname. However, there is a historical tradition to reverse this order, especially in official contexts including admi ...
*
Ukrainian name
Ukrainian names are given names that originated in Ukraine. In addition to the given names, Ukrainians also have patronymic and family names (surnames; see: '' Ukrainian surnames'').
Ukrainian given names
Diminutive and hypocoristic forms are ...
*
Slavic names
Given names originating from the Slavic languages are most common in Slavic peoples, Slavic countries.
The main types of Slavic names:
* Two-base names, often ending in mir/měr (''Ostromir/měr'', ''Tihomir/měr'', ''Niemir, Němir/měr''), * ...
References
{{Reflist
Name suffixes
Slavic culture
Slavic-language names