Origin of the name of Ivanov, its history and meaning

Many people are interested in how this or that word came into our everyday life, what it indicated earlier, whether its meaning has been preserved. Particular attention is paid to the names and surnames. More and more people are trying to learn about the life of their ancestors and make a complete picture of their kind. In search of truth, they study the work of modern scientists and their predecessor colleagues.

What does the name Ivanov mean ? Why are a lot of boys called Alexanders? What is the difference between Catherine and Catherine? Kovalevs and Kuznetsovs: are the origins in one profession or not? What is the origin of the Ivanov family? These and many other questions are being tormented by hundreds of people every day.

An hereditary trait transmitted from generation to generation

The etymology of the word "surname" is inherently interesting. So, this term came to us from Western Europe, although the source of its origin is the ancient Latin language. Initially, the word "surname" was used in Rus as a concretization of belonging to any family or family. And only a few centuries ago this term acquired its second meaning, which gradually became the main one. Thus, the surname denotes a name by inheritance, which is used in indissoluble connection with the name. From generation to generation, it is passed from the older members of the family to the younger ones.

Anthroponymics and onomastics

In order to find out what is the original meaning, laid down in this or that surname, it is necessary to turn to the origins of its origin. What does the name Ivanov or Golubev mean? You can learn by scientific method. A help in this anthroponymic. It is a section of the science of onomastics, which studies the names, names, patronymics and nicknames of people, the origins of their origin, development, the causes of modification and functioning. Anthroponymy became a separate branch of onomastics in the 70s of the 20th century.

Grouping by individual characteristics

Let's see what the origin of Ivanov's name is. It's not a secret that there are many carriers of this generic attribute in the post-Soviet space. All Russian names can be attributed to one of several groups:

1. Those who are formed on behalf of the ancestor, received by him at baptism (Sidorov, Petrov, Bogdanov, etc.).

2. Surnames, whose origins are the names of representatives of the animal and vegetable world (Golubev, Kurochkin, Yastrebov, Galkin, Romashkin, Elkin and others).

3. Educated from the type of activity of the ancestor, from the profession of the ancestor (Tkachev, Kuznetsov, Kovalev, etc.).

4. Surnames that have been born from the name of the locality (Beloozersky, Leskov, Roshchev, Chashchin and others).

5. Those whose origins lie in domestic and street nicknames (Grozny, Smirnov, Dremotny, etc.).

The origin of the name Ivanov (Ivanov, Ivanova) belongs to the first group.

Relying on the Saints

In accordance with ancient religious rituals, each child was given a name only at baptism, but not before. He was chosen from the church calendar, which is called the saints, or the month's mess. In this book every day of the year contains a list of names of revered saints. Before the rite of baptism, the priest offered his parents several names to choose from. However, sometimes the minister of the church made concessions and allowed to name the child at his own discretion. The main criterion for the selection of the name was his presence in the saints.

It is worth noting that even today many people prefer this ritual.

As a rule, the choice fell on the names, whose bearers were saints, legendary historical figures, also revered by the church. Christianity came to the territory of Ancient Rus in the 10th century. Therefore, many names have Byzantine roots. Originally they sounded unusual for a Russian person. Gradually their pronunciation was slightly modified.

The path of transformations

The name Ivan, from whom the surname Ivanov was born, is a modified Russified form of the ancient church canonical name John. If you turn to the Hebrew language, then in translation it means "Grace of God." St. John is sung during the church service almost 170 times a year. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that the baptism of the boys gave the greatest preference to this name.

It was unusual for a Russian to call his son John. Therefore, gradually the name was modified into a form more convenient for the Slavs - Ivan. Initially, the so-called boys exclusively at home. Gradually the name Ivan replaced the original church form of John from his everyday life. Already in the 12th century, the modification was adopted by the church and began to be used directly. The canonical analog was gradually forgotten.

Mitrofanov's son or Kuznetsova's daughter

The origin of the name of Ivanov is directly related to the name in question. As a rule, in those distant times the children's belonging to a particular family was determined by the father or, more rarely, by the mother. Therefore, instead of the child's name, they often said: "Timofeeva's daughter, Sergeyev or Platonov's son". Similarly, the meaning of the surname Ivanov.

However, not only the belonging of the offspring was determined in this way. Fortress servants, wives and any relatives, land and even cattle - everything was characterized as belonging to someone: "Kuznetsovo, Sidorovo or Kovalevo property." Until the 18th century, inclusive, virtually the entire population of Rus had no surnames. This also applies to the higher aristocratic estate, what can we say about serf peasants. The latter were for a long time named after their owner (owner). First, the right to use the name was given to representatives of the upper classes. For a long time the rest of the population had only nicknames, the sources of which refer to their feudal lords.

Officials and their influence

Interestingly, in 1858 in the Moscow province, a study was conducted of the most common names among residents. Thanks to research, it turned out that in some counties the popular Petrovs, Ivanovs and Sidorovs were absolutely unknown and rare at that time. And only after several decades these surnames became widely used. It happened due to officials.

In 1897, the All-Russia Common Population Census was conducted. It was then that almost all people got their own names. As a rule, the choice was made by the name, nickname or profession of the father or grandfather. Therefore among the whole population of Russia the most common are the names Vasiliev, Kuznetsov, Mikhailov, Yakovlev and others. The history of Ivanov's family is similar.