Artemovich or Artemyevitch: how correctly is this patronymic written?

The answer to the question put in the headline of our publication is extremely simple: since Artem and Artemy are different names, the patronymics formed from them will differ in writing. Accordingly, the son of a man named Artem should wear Artemovich's patronymic, and the descendant Artemy - Artemyevitch.

Everything flows, everything changes

Names that are close in sound usually have common roots. In some cases, with the passage of time, their isolation takes place. Disagreements in the spelling of patronymics Artemovich or Artemievich look somewhat contrived, since there is no reason to consider these names the same. Morphological changes in language have always occurred, and this process is quite natural.

Consider this statement on the example of the now widespread female name Alain. In the birth certificates of our mothers and grandmothers, this writing is almost never found. Parents who want to call a daughter Alenka, in the registry office offered to write the girl Elena or Olga. Today Alena is a completely independent name. The same, but much earlier happened to the male names Artem and Artemy.

Dedicated to Artemis

In Greek, this name sounds like "strong, strong, with good health." Many sources cite information that it originated in the name of the mythological Artemis, the patroness of family bonds and an assistant in childbirth. Ancient authors also call Artemis the goddess of hunting, fertility, the protector of all life on Earth.

Here we see one of the rare cases when a man's name is formed from a woman's name. Usually everything happens exactly the opposite. For comparison: Basil and Vasilisa, Alexander and Alexander, Eugene and Eugene.

Orthodox Traditions

Often one can hear the opinion that Artem is a diminutive form of a name, and at the christening of a boy he will still be called Artemy. Therefore, there is no difference what will be the patronymic of future children: Artemovich or Artemyevitch. This statement is far from the truth. To prove my point of view, let's look at orthodox svyatsy. In Christianity, several saints bearing this name are worshiped. In addition to the martyr Artemy of Antioch and the miracle worker Artemy Verkolsky, there is also the apostle Artem.

Although in the last of the names there is an ending "-a", it can be stated that the morphological separation took place very long ago. What patronymic: Artemovich or Artemyevitch - would bear the descendant of Artyom? Obviously, the first option is the most correct.

According to the traditions that have developed in the Russian language, patronymics from names ending in "-a" are formed by attaching the suffix "-ovich". For example: Gavrilovich, Danilovich, Vavilovich. The exceptions are the names of Sawa, Nikita, Thomas and some others. Their sons will carry the patronymic Savvich, Nikitich, Fomich. Although recently this provision is somewhat outdated. Descendants of people with similar names are often recorded by Nikitovichi, Savvovichi, Fomovichi.

However, the patronymic Artemovich (or Artemyevitch) is not included in the list of exceptions, and difficulties with its writing should not arise.

Rules for the formation of Russian patronymics

So, we were convinced that Artem and Artemy are not the same thing. In the life of boys you can call the Themes, Artyushkas or Artemyushkas, but the essence of this does not change. The entry in the birth certificate will show with absolute accuracy the name of the young man or adult man. The same applies to the patronymics of Artemovich or Artemyevitch. They should be recorded depending on which of these two names is worn by the child's father.

To dispel the last doubts as to which of these options is the only true one, let's look at any Russian language reference book and read the rules:

"From the male name, ending in a solid consonant sound (except sibilant w, w, h, w, c), patronymic are formed by attaching suffixes" -ovitch / oblong. "For example: Ivanovich-Ivanovna, Petrovich-Petrovna, etc. ".

In this rule, "Artem" fits in perfectly. The son of a man with that name will be Artemovich, and his daughter Artemovna.

Now let's look at the names ending in "-y": Vitaly, Vasily, Terenty, Yuri and others like that. Here the rule is: if the end of the name is unstressed, then the suffixes "-ev / evna" are added when forming the patronymic. The last letter is discarded, and the preceding "and" sound either remains, or is replaced by a soft sign. The transition "and" into a soft sign occurs when the combination of "-nt-" (for example, Vikenty-Vikentievich, Terenty-Terentyevich) stands before the end of the name.

The same rule applies to names where, after cutting off the end of the "i", there is only one consonant sound: Artemiy, Vitaliy, Arseniy and others. Therefore, without a doubt, choosing between options Artemovich or Artemyevitch, you should give preference to the latter. For comparison, let's analyze a couple of similarly closely related names Kondrat and Kondraty. Sons of men with such names will bear the patronymic Kondratovich and Kondratievich.