Slavic Name Endings

[Vojvoda]

According to WILLIAM F. HOFFMAN'S POLISH SURNAMES: ORIGINS AND MEANINGS, different suffixes point to regional variations---

-czuk (or anglicized -chuk) tends to appear in names coming from eastern Poland and Ukraine,

-czok is more likely to lead back to Silesia, -czak and -czyk are standard Polish. They all mean "son of."

An example of an occupation being turned into a surname is the name Kowalczyk = kowal (smith) + czyk = son of a smith (blacksmith?)

These are some other suffixes:

-czuk = common in eastern Poland and Ukraine

-icz, ycz = Polish, Ukrainian and Russian/ In early writing often spelled -ic.

-owicz = Polish, Ukrainian and Russian.

Also spelled -ovich, -evich (English). In early Polish documents often spelled -owic. Consists of compounded suffixes -ow- + icz, indicates son of or from (father's name).

Some other "son of" suffixes that could be applicable to Lemkos are:

-c'kyj = Ukrainian (equivalent of -cki in Polish)

-cuk (c with accent mark) = Ukrainian patronymic usually spelled -chuk in English.

Equivalent of -czuk in Polish -cyk (c with accent mark) = Ukrainian patronymic usually spelled -chik or -czyk in Polish.

-enko = Ukrainian

-evic (c with accent mark) = Ukrainian or Russian patronymic usually spelled -evich in English, equivalent of -ewicz in Polish.

-ic (c with accent mark) = Byelorussian, Russian, or Ukrainian patronymic, usually spelled -ich in English, equivalent of Polish -icz.

-isyn (s with accent mark) = Ukrainian (also -yszyn) -iv, -iw = Ukrainian, equivalen of -ow in Polish and -ov in Russian

-ko = Ukrainian or Russian and often in Polish

-nyj = Ukrainian

-off = German spelling of characteristically Slavic suffixes

-ov -ovic (c with accent mark) = Belarusian, Russian or Ukrainian, equivalent to Polish

-owicz -sky, s'kyj = Czech, Russian or Ukrainian.

Polish spelling doesn't allow y to follow k, so these suffixes tend to be renderings in Roman letters of names written in Cyrillic.

The -skyj or s'kyj is especially likely to be Ukrainian. In Polish -ski.

-uk = Ukrainian

-ul, -ula, -ulya = Can be Polish but also Belarusian or even Romanian.

-yc (c with accent mark) = Belarusian, Russian, or Ukrainian, equivalent of Polish -ycz, usually spelled -ych in English.

-ysyn (s with accent mark) = Ukrainian, spelled -yszyn by Poles and -yshyn by English speakers. Usually metronymic (formed from Mother's name.)


This book also gives some prefix and root word meanings. ROSMARY A. CHORZEMPA'S POLISH ROOTS, gives these examples:

BYELORUSSIAN SURNAMES

Patronymics are the main source of White Russian surnames. A Byelorussian "h" is a "g" in Russian (e.g., "Halicz" in Byelorussian is "Galich" in Russian.) Common surname suffixes are -ov, -ovich, -ovych, -evych, -onok, -yonok and -enock. The Polish suffixes -icz, -wicz, -owicz, and -ewicz are Byelorussian or Ruthenian/Ukrainian in origin. More surnames were derived from first names than from any other source, and most are patronymic (from the father), with very few being matronymic (from the mother).

RUTHENIAN/UKRAINIAN SURNAMES

Earliest surnames were taken from birds, animals and occupations. There are 4 main types of Ruthenian/Ukrainian surnames: those taken from (1) first names, (2) place names, (3) occupations and/or social status, and (4) personal characteristics. Names written in Cyrillic alphabet cannot be directly translated into Polish or English; therefore, these are only approximations.

-ak, -chak, -chuk, and -uk, with the most popular being -enko, -chuk and -uk. All mean "son of." They are used with Christian names, surnames, and occupational names. For example, "Petrenko" is the "son of Petro (Peter)." Peter's wife would be known as "Petrykha," and a matronymic surname would be "Petryshyn," "son of Peter's wife."

Surnames deriving from place names are of two kinds:

(1) the place where an ancestor came from or was residing, and

(2) the ethnic, national, or tribal origin of an ancestor. For example, "Zabolotnyj" is "one who lived beyond the marsh." "Wolyniak" probably came from the Volyn (Volhynia) region. "Tataryn" had a Tatar ancestor. "Boychuk" is from the "Boyko," an ancient Slavic tribe of Trans-Carpathia. Ukrainian nobility took their surnames from their estates or the localities they administered and added -cky, -sky, -skij, -skyj, and -zky (much like the Polish nobility who added -cki and -ski.) Adjectival surnames use the sufixes-ck-, -sk- and -zk-, and have the endings -yj or -ij for the masculine and -a or -ia for the feminine. Occupations and the social status of people greatly influenced surnames. Therefore, Ukrainian (Ruthenian) surnames may give a clue to the occupation of one of your early ancestors; for example, "Tkach" (the weaver), "Kravets" (the tailor), "Pekar" (the baker) and "Spivak" ) the singer.

Other surname endings are -ar, -is, -iy, -ka, -kar, -man, -nik, -nyk, -sur, -un, -yk, and -ylo. The most typical Ukrainian surname ending is -enko, which is not found in any other ethnic group, and is commonly found in central and eastern Ukraine.


SLOVAK AND CARPATHO-RUSYN SURNAMES

The ending -ula is a Latin diminutive meaning "little." It is seen in Polish, Slovak and Carpatho-Rusyn surnames, such as "Mikula" (little Nicholas) and "Babula" (little old lady.) Some -ula endings, however, do not mean "little," for example "Cebula" (onion) and "Fabula" (fable or story.) The surname ending -ulka is a Slovak diminutive ending. The suffix -ek is also seen in surnames of this area.

[Perun]

Interesting....thanks for the information

[WebViro]

What is the ethnicity to an ending like -sek?

[bocian]

Most probably west Slavic-- Polish, Czech, Slovak...

[Zrinski]

Czech or Slovak most definately. I'd say Czech since my grandfather is Czech(Moravian) and has the surname on -sek.

[WebViro]

My father's side came from that area in Europe, specifically when it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and he has always considered himself a Slovak, although the name to me seemed more Czech... I don't exactly want to say it online, but if you private message me, I would be glad to share. Since a lot of the history was lost over the years, I am trying to get things in order and maybe find relatives still living there...


Thank you for your replies.

[Rusalka]

What do you make out of the last name "Cinic"? The last c has the accent mark I believe. It's pronounced Djinich (or Djeenich for English speakers, I guess.)

[bocian]

Originally Posted by Rusalka

What do you make out of the last name "Cinic"? The last c has the accent mark I believe. It's pronounced Djinich (or Djeenich for English speakers, I guess.)

Which accent mark? Hard (as in church, little v) or soft (as in cheer) ?

I would think it would be pronounced 'Tseeneech'. However, maybe if the first 'c', is followed by an 'i', it would be pronounced the same as the 'c' with the little thingy on top (as in Polish). So then it would be 'Cheeneech'

Anyway, I think a Balkanoid should answer this...

[Rusalka]

Originally Posted by bocian

Which accent mark? Hard (as in church, little v) or soft (as in cheer) ?

I really don't know the difference. Umm, just "ch", I think. Like the ch in Ivasinevic, with a 'v' on top, I suppose. In Turkish spelling the accent is on the bottom of the c, like this: ç (if you can see it) and I only know the Turkish spelling of the name. It's spelled Ciniç, actually, because c pretty much equals the sound "dj".

I would think it would be pronounced 'Tseeneech'. However, maybe if the first 'c', is followed by an 'i', it would be pronounced the same as the 'c' with the little thingy on top (as in Polish). So then it would be 'Cheeneech'

They probably had it written like the way it was pronounced when they had it recorded in Turkey so I'm pretty sure that's how it was pronounced, roughly. That is as "Djinich".

A little bird already told me it's common amongst Serbians and Bosnians. Thanks for the suggestions bocian, gives me a better idea about Polish spellings and pronounciations.

[henerte]

Ending -sek probably doesn't exist. There are lastnames like e.g. Walasek but the ending is -ek.

I would say that this ending exists in almost all slavic languages (prevails in Czech though). If you want to know where does it come from you would have to reveal the root of it.

[Vincent]

What about the ending -ica (itsa) ? My surename ends like this. Is it just a diminutive found in a small number of names, or a well known suffix?

Does anybody know?

[Marcus Marulus]

Originally Posted by Hohenheim

What about the ending -ica (itsa) ? My surename ends like this. Is it just a diminutive found in a small number of names, or a well known suffix?

Does anybody know?

Yes, most probably a deminutive.

[Gromoljut]

Originally Posted by Hohenheim

What about the ending -ica (itsa) ? My surename ends like this. Is it just a diminutive found in a small number of names, or a well known suffix?

Does anybody know?

Most likely, it is a diminutive normally used for non-personal nouns (animals and objects alike), which is why it is rarer than the forms like -czyk, -ček, -ek, etc.

Being derived from a non-personal noun, it must mean the ancestor from which you have your last name has been known in connection with something other than his personal traits or proffession, like something he owned, animals he bred/hunted, ...

[Hegumen]

Originally Posted by Rusalka

They probably had it written like the way it was pronounced when they had it recorded in Turkey so I'm pretty sure that's how it was pronounced, roughly. That is as "Djinich".

A little bird already told me it's common amongst Serbians and Bosnians. Thanks for the suggestions bocian, gives me a better idea about Polish spellings and pronounciations.

The names Đinić and Džinić are Serbian and Bosnian surnames, if I'm not mistaken (džin = giant).

[Ariets]

I've classic Polish-noble -(w)ski ending.

[kyashan]

-ich is common among istro-dalmatian italians. they got their surnames changed under the Austrian Empire rule.

[M.R.]

Did they just add -ich to their last name or changed it completly?

[Marcus Marulus]

Originally Posted by kyashan

-ich is common among istro-dalmatian italians. they got their surnames changed under the Austrian Empire rule.

...or it means that they had some distant Slavic ancestor? -ić, -ović and
-ov are very common Slavic surname suffixes.