An Armenian name comprises a

given name 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 a surname.

First names

According to Armenia's National Statistical Service, the most commonly used names for newborn boys in

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

, , were Davit, Narek, Gor, Hayk, Alex, Erik, Arman, Samvel, Tigran, and

Aram Aram may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Aram'' (film), 2002 French action drama * Aram, a fictional character in Japanese manga series '' MeruPuri'' * Aram Quartet, an Italian music group * ''Aram'' (Kural book), the first of the three ...

. For girls, the most popular names were

Nare A nostril (or naris , plural ''nares'' ) is either of the two orifices of the nose. They enable the entry and exit of air and other gasses through the nasal cavities. In birds and mammals, they contain branched bones or cartilages called tur ...

, Milena, Mane,

Ani Ani ( hy, Անի; grc-gre, Ἄνιον, ''Ánion''; la, Abnicum; tr, Ani) is a ruined medieval Armenian city now situated in Turkey's province of Kars, next to the closed border with Armenia. Between 961 and 1045, it was the capital of the ...

, Anna, Anahit, Mariam, Elen, and

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

. Traditionally, Armenians have used Biblical names of Greek, Latin and Hebrew origin, such as

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...

, Hakob (

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

), Hovhannes (

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

), Petros (

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

), Poghos (

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

), Madlene ( Magdalene), Yeghisabet (

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

), Tamar, etc.

Surnames

Typical modern Armenian last names (

family names In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name, ...

) end with the originally

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

suffix -յան ( reformed orthography) or -եան ( classical orthography), transliterated as -yan, -ian, or less often '-jan'. Example: Petros''yan'', meaning "issued from Petros", akin to the English name Peterson. Some Armenian last names bear the suffix -նց ( ʦʰ, transliterated as -nc, -nts or -ntz (as in Bakunts or Adontz), or in addition to -yan/-ian (as in Parajaniants), although that is not common. Some Armenian surnames have a suffix -լի ( i preceding the -յան/-եան suffix. For example, Sivaslian and Vanlian refer to the cities of

Sivas Sivas (Latin and Greek: ''Sebastia'', ''Sebastea'', Σεβάστεια, Σεβαστή, ) is a city in central Turkey and the seat of Sivas Province. The city, which lies at an elevation of in the broad valley of the Kızılırmak river, is ...

and Van, respectively. Other Armenian surnames have a suffix -ճի ( �ior �i, transliterated as -ji/dji or -chi/tchi, preceding the -յան/-եան suffix. Names such as Kebabjian and Kahvejian refer to kebab and coffee merchants, respectively. While the -եան suffix already existed in the Classical Armenian period (e.g. Արտաշեսեան Artashesian, Մամիկոնեան Mamikonian), other suffixes, now rarer, also existed. The suffix -ունի (as in Բագրատունի Bagratuni, Արշակունի Arshakuni, ni had a similar meaning to -եան. The suffix -ցի ( sʰi denoted a geographical provenance, e.g.

Movses Khorenatsi Movses Khorenatsi (ca. 410–490s AD; hy, Մովսէս Խորենացի, , also written as ''Movses Xorenac‘i'' and Moses of Khoren, Moses of Chorene, and Moses Chorenensis in Latin sources) was a prominent Armenian historian from the late a ...

(from Khoren) and

Anania Shirakatsi Anania Shirakatsi ( hy, Անանիա Շիրակացի, ''Anania Širakac’i'', anglicized: Ananias of Shirak) was a 7th-century Armenian polymath and natural philosopher, author of extant works covering mathematics, astronomy, geography, chronol ...

(from Shirak). The prefix Տեր ( er, which comes from how one addresses a priest, is typically Armenian. It might be followed by a space or attached directly to the root. If someone possesses a surname containing "Der" or "Ter" it usually signifies that this person has a patrilineal ancestor who was a priest.

Roots of names

The roots of names ending with -ian/-yan are typically first names, such as Petrosian "issued from Petros", Simonian "issued from Simon", etc. When the name ends in -lian or -(d)jian, the root is expected to refer to a location or a profession, respectively. Thus, the etymology of Vanlian is literally "issued from the man from Van" and that of Kebabjian is "issued from the kebab merchant". However, an ancestor's occupation will not necessarily contain the suffix -(d)ji, thus Vardapetian/Vartabedian (Վարդապետյան/-եան) translates as "issued from the

vardapet A vardapet or vartabed ( hy, վարդապետ, in Western Armenian or aɾda'pεtin Eastern Armenian) is a highly educated archimandrite in the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Catholic Church traditions who holds a Doctorate in Theol ...

", Bjishkian (Բժիշկյան/-եան) as "issued from the doctor" and Keshishian (Քեշիշյան/-եան) as "issued from the priest". The -ian/-yan suffix may also, but more rarely, attach to an adjective denoting a quality. Thus, Bzdigian/Pztikian (Պզտիկյան/-եան) translates as "issued from the small (man)", Medzian/Metsian (Մեծյան/-եան) as "issued from the tall (man)", Ganantchian/Kanantchian (Կանանչյան/-եան) as "issued from the green, i.e. young (man)". Some former noble Armenian names, such as Artsruni/Ardzruni (Արծրունի) are still in use today. When they moved from Armenia or from the Middle East, some changed their last names to adapt better to their new societies. Sometimes the -ian or -yan ending was dropped and the root kept, such as

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...

(was Aznavourian), or

Andy Serkis Andrew Clement Serkis (born 20 April 1964) is an English actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his performance capture roles comprising motion capture acting, animation, and voice work for computer-generated characters such as Go ...

(originally Sarkissian). Other times the name was translated, as "Tashjian" (which is derived from Turkish word 'taş' meaning 'stone') becoming (approximately) "Stone". Armenian surnames that are of Hebrew origin include Abrahamian/Aprahamian "issued from Abraham", Movsesian "issued from Moses", and Kohanian, derived from

Kohen Kohen ( he, , ''kōhēn'', , "priest", pl. , ''kōhănīm'', , "priests") is the Hebrew word for " priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. Levitical priests or ''kohanim'' are traditionally ...

Common Armenian surnames

* Abrahamyan * Adamyan * Aleksanyan * Arakelyan * Arshakyan * Arzumanyan * Aslanyan * Avagyan *

Avetisyan Avetisyan ( arm, Ավետիսյան) is an Armenian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Arsen Avetisyan (born 1973), an Armenian football player * Erdzhanik Avetisyan (born 1969), an Armenian and Russian sport shooter * Hunan Ave ...

* Babayan * Boyadjian * Badalyan * Baghdasaryan * Barseghyan * Danielyan * Darbinyan * Davtyan *

Demirdjian Demirdjian (Armenian: ), Demirdjyan (Տէմիրճյան), is a common surname in Armenia originating from the Turkish word 'Demir', meaning iron. In Turkish demirci (demir with the suffix -ci) means one who works with iron, therefore it can trans ...

* Gabrielyan * Galstyan *

Gasparyan Gasparyan ( hy, Գասպարյան, Գասպարեան) is an Armenian surname. Gasparyan, Gasparian, Gasparjan in Eastern Armenian, or Kasparian, Kasparyan or Kasbarian (in Western Armenian) are all Latin alphabet variants of the same name, the s ...

Gevorgyan Gevorgyan or Gevorgian, sometimes also spelled Gevorkian ( hy, Գևորգյան) is an Armenian surname meaning "son of Gevorg", the equivalent of "son of George" (compare English Georgeson). The Western Armenian equivalent is Kevorkian. Gevorgya ...

* Gharibyan *

Ghazaryan Ghazaryan (), or the Western Armenian variant Ghazarian (), is an Armenian surname meaning "descendant of Ghazar", the Armenian equivalent of Lazarus. It may refer to: ;Ghazaryan * Armen Ghazaryan (born 1982), Armenian and Russian weightlifter * A ...

* Ghukasyan * Grigoryan * Hakobyan *

Hambardzumyan Ambartsumian, Ambartsumyan, Hambardzumyan, Hambardzumian, Hambartsumyan or Hambartsumian ( hy, Համբարձումյան) is an Armenian surname. In Armenian onomasticst, it is a religious surname derived from 'Hambardzum' meaning Ascension of Jesu ...

* Harutyunyan * Hayrapetyan *

Hovhannisyan Hovhannisyan or Hovannisyan ( hy, Հովհաննիսյան ) is an Armenian surname meaning "son of Hovhannes", the Armenian equivalent of John, thus making it equivalent to Johnson. It is the most common surname in Armenia. Variants of the nam ...

* Hovsepyan *

Karapetyan Karapetyan, Karapetian or Garabedian ( hy, Կարապետյան , in Western Armenian Կարապետեան) is an Armenian surname. It can refer to: Garabedian * Charles Garabedian (1923-2016), U.S. artist * Edna Garabedian (born ?), U.S. opera ...

* Khachatryan * Kirakosyan * Kocharyan *

Manukyan Manukyan, Manoukyan and Manukian ( hy, Մանուկյան) and Western Armenian alternative transliterations Manougian and Manoogian ( hyw, Մանուկեան is an Armenian surname. It is derived from the Armenian given name Manuk, Manug, Manoug ( ...

* Margaryan * Martirosyan * Melkonyan * Mikayelyan * Minasyan * Mirzoyan * Mkhitaryan *

Mkrtchyan Mkrtchyan or Mkrtchian may refer to: *Aghvan Mkrtchyan Aghvan Varazdati Mkrtchyan ( hy, Աղվան Վարազդատի Մկրտչյան, born 27 February 1981 in Yerevan, Soviet Union) is an Armenian former professional footballer who played as ...

* Mnatsakanyan * Muradyan * Nazaryan * Nersisyan * Ohanyan * Petrosyan *

Poghosyan Poghossian, Pogossyan, Poghosyan, Poghosian, Pogosyan, etc., is an Armenian surname. Also Ter-Pogossian, Der-Pogossian, and variants. Ter/Der indicates priesthood descent. The Western Armenian equivalent is Boghossyan. It is a patronymic from the f ...

* Safaryan * Sahakyan * Samvelyan * Sargsyan * Setrakian * Shahinyan * Simonyan * Soghomonyan * Stepanyan * Timuryan * Tonoyan * Torosyan * Tovmasyan * Vardanyan * Voskanyan *

Yeghiazaryan Yeghiazaryan ( hy, Եղիազարյան), also transliterated as Yegiazaryan and Egiazaryan, is an Armenian surname, from the personal name Yeghiazar (Armenian form of Lazarus (name), Lazarus or Eleazar). Notable people with the surname include: * ...

* Yesayan * Zakaryan

References

External links

549 Armenian Names For Boys

215 Armenian Names For Girls
{{Names_in_world cultures