Armenian surnames and their origin

Armenians are a very ancient people, the fate of which has suffered many troubles. The numerous vicissitudes that accompanied them led to a significant dispersion of the ethnos. As a result, almost all countries have Armenian diasporas. In this article we will touch upon such topic as Armenian surnames. We discuss their origin, features, and give a brief list of examples.

Ancient Armenian onomastics

In Armenian onomastics, the surname means the name of the genus. It is called "azganun". Such names appeared comparatively recently. Until the late Middle Ages there were no generic names. In order to distinguish the same-named people among themselves, Armenian surnames were not required. As in the whole eastern world, they resorted to the designation of something like the Russian patronymic, but they mentioned in him not his father, but his grandfather. That is, in fact, the full names of the Armenians sounded like "Garnik, grandson of Aram", for example. But this was an official appeal, but in everyday life often nicknamed. For example, "Garnik Hmayak", which means "Garnik Lame". Obviously, the nickname came mostly from any recognizable feature or feature of a person.

Origin of last names

For the first time, Armenian surnames were required when the demographic situation dramatically improved, and with it the emigrants also grew stronger. Moving people from place to place necessitated the creation of stable nicknames that would extend not only to the person, but also to his entire family and descendants. So gradually, from the nicknames and developed Armenian surnames.

Features of ancient surnames

In addition to the first surnames, the Armenians had a custom to attach to them an indication of the place from which the person came. For example, Ananiya Tatevatsi or Grigor Shirakatsi are vivid examples of such names, to which a geographical indication of the homeland of a person is attached. Sometimes, however, another approach was applied. Namely, a person was determined by the nature of his professional activity. For example, Mkrtich Magistros.

Parallels in the world

It is worth saying that the process was not unique for the Armenians. A similar scheme for the formation of surnames was practically in all peoples. Well, for example, the Russian surnames "Novgorodtsev" and "Kazantsev" vividly testify to the historical homeland of carriers. And the professional identity of the founder of the surname gives such names as "Kuznetsov" or "Voinov".

Varieties of Armenian surnames

In the late Middle Ages noble aristocratic surnames began to appear in the corresponding circles. These are, for example, the beautiful Armenian names Mamikonyan and Amatuni. When they were used in speech, they were preceded by a particle "azg", which means "genus". The second option is a particle of "tun". That's why the surname was "Azg Mamikonyan" or "Tun Amatuni". Over time, the same family names began to appear and craftsmen, and even the peasants. In addition to the already mentioned profession, personal characteristics and geography of settlement, the names also began to show indications of character traits. For example, a cunning person could be awarded the name "Chahatyan", which means "fox".

But still the most common Armenian names come from the personal names of the founders of the family. And in order to make a name from the name, the Armenians simply added one or another traditional suffix to the word. Most often they were "yang", "yantz", "oz", "uni", "ontz", "entz". Of these, "yang" is a particle, which most often contains Armenian surnames. Male and female surnames did not differ. In itself, this suffix is the result of reducing the suffix "yantz", which simply means belonging to the genus. That is, the surname "Abazyan" said that its bearer comes from the genus of a man named Abaz.

Nakharra Armenian names and surnames were especially distinguished against the general background. For example, the latter was followed by the suffix "uni". As for the suffixes "enz", "onts" and "oz", they are most often found in Zangezur.

Further evolution

For us, the most relevant is the Russification of a number of Armenian surnames. This process was launched when systematic population censuses began, and then total passportization. In the course of this, many Armenian surnames, female and male, discarded their traditional endings. Sometimes it happened by mistake of an ignorant copyist. Sometimes it was done consciously.

If you study the Armenian names deeper, you can be sure that they did not arise from scratch. Behind each of them there is a unique and interesting story, in which it is possible to identify certain stages of development, factors of influence, guidelines and so on. This is the responsibility of professional onomastics.

About the list of Armenian names

Armenian surnames, the list of which will be given below, is not even the tip of the iceberg, but just a drop in the ocean. These names are actually numerous, because in the process of resettlement the Armenian diasporas created more and more variants of their surnames. Therefore, one should not be surprised that the good half of them, if not the bulk, are the Armenian roots from other languages - Turkish, Greek and many others.

Armenian surnames: list

• Avazyan. Means "replacement".
• Aganjanian. This name consists of two Turkic roots, meaning "soul" and "lord".
• Agayan. Simply "lord."
• Adilyan. It is of Arab origin. The Arabs serve as the epithet of a ruler who is distinguished by justice.
• Arazian. It comes from the Azerbaijani word, which can be translated as "bliss, happiness."
• Aramyan. It means "peace" and "comfort".
• Arzuyan. Persian by origin surname with meaning "dream", "hope".
• Asadyan. "The happiest."
• Asgaryan. "Jr".
• Afsaryan. It comes from a word that means something like a crown or a crown that served in the East as a headdress of a ruler.
• Arshadyan. This name is translated as "senior".
• Arshakyan. It comes from an ancient Iranian word meaning "courage".
• Akhverdian. The same as the Russian name Bogdanov, that is, "given by God."
• Azaryan. This name is translated by the word "fire".
• Ahadean. Surname of Arab origin with the meaning "single".
• Ashrafyan. Another Arab name by birth. But this time it means "noblest".
• Ayazyan. This name comes from a word that means a cool, light breeze.

• Arslanian. Translated as a "lion".
• Altunyan. This name came to the Armenian language from the ancient Türkic. It means "gold".
• Azizyan. From the word "Aziz", which translates as "great."
• Azadyan. An ancient surname, which literally translates as "free", hinting at this by the social situation in feudal society.
• Atayan. It comes from the Turkic word "Ata". It means either a father, or a saint, a righteous mentor, or just a senior in age.
• Abdalbekyan. A complex compound name, the general meaning of which is conveyed by the expression "having power."
• Garakhanyan. This is the name of noble houses. It means "great ruler".
• Kagramanian. In Persian, this name could be translated as "master" or "hero."
• Kalantaryan. A surname with a religious meaning associated with the Islamization of some Armenians. She means a hermit, a dervish, who spends his life in wandering around the world.
• Kocharyan. Means "nomad".
• Khosrowian. The meaning of this name can be roughly conveyed by the words "good glory" or "good news", or even "good reputation".
• Khudaverdiyan. Another variation of the surname with the meaning "given by God."
• Shirinyan. Literally means "sweet."
• Yuzbashnian. The surname is probably derived from the military environment. It consists of two roots - "one hundred" and "head". Literally translated as "hundred-headed". Apparently, he hints at the title of centurion.
• Babayan. "Baba" is a respectful reference to the father.
• Bagiryan. From the Azerbaijani language this name should be translated as "studying" or "comprehending the teaching."
• Bagramyan. The Russian language is translated as "victorious".
• Bashiyan. This surname comes from the word "teach", and, accordingly, means "teacher".