04/08/2019 Slavic name suffixes - Wikipedia

Slavic name suffixes

A Slavic name suffix is a common way of forming patronymics, family names, and pet names in the Slavic
languages (also called the Slavonic languages). Many, if not most, Slavic last names are formed by adding possessive
and other suffixes to given names and other words. Most Slavic surnames have suffixes which are found in varying
degrees over the different nations. Some surnames are not formed in this way, including names of non-Slavic origin.

Note: the following list does not take regional spelling variations into account.

-ov / -ev (-ova/-eva): Russia, Bulgaria, Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia (especially frequent in Vojvodina),
Croatia (rare) (Almost always -iv in Ukraine), Czech Republic and Slovakia (feminine forms only); this has been
adopted by many non-Slavic peoples of Central Asia who are or have been under Russian rule, such as the
Tatars, Chechens, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, etc. Note that -ev is the soft form of -ov, found after palatalized
consonants or sibilants. The suffix -off comes from the French transliteration of -ov, based on the Muscovite
pronunciation.
-sky (-ska), -ski (-ska), -skiy (-skaya): Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Czech Republic (-ský (-ská)), Slovakia (-ský/-sky
(-ská/-ska)), Bulgaria, Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia (especially in Vojvodina), Croatia.
Note that these first two can be combined: -ovsky (-ovska), -owski (-owska), -ovskiy (-ovskaya): Republic of North
Macedonia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia.
-ić -vić -ović -ič -vič -ovič -ich, -vich, -vych, -ovich, -owicz/-ewicz: Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Slovenia, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia, Republic of North Macedonia (rare),
occasionally Bulgaria. Yugoslav ex.: Petrović, means Petar's son. In Russia, where patronyms are used, a person
may have two -(ov)ich names in a row; first the patronym, then the family name (see Shostakovich).
-in (-ina): Russia, Serbia (especially in Vojvodina), Bulgaria, Republic of North Macedonia (rare)
-ko: Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belarus, also in Russia
-nko, -enko: of Ukrainian origin in Ukraine, Belarus, also in Russia
-enkov (-enkova): of Ukrainian origin in Ukraine, Belarus, also common in Russia and Bulgaria.
-ak/-ek/-ik (-akova/-ekova/-ikova): Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia,
also in Russia
-uk, -yuk, -iuk: Ukraine, Belarus, also in Russia.
-chuk: Ukraine, Belarus; in Poland as -czyk
-ac/-ec: Slovenia and Croatia (both versions), Serbia (only -ac), Czech Republic and Slovakia (only -ec), Belarus,
Russia, and Ukraine (as ец, -ets).
An example using an occupation is kovač, koval or kowal, which means blacksmith. It is the root of the names
Kovačević, Kovačić, Kowalski, Kowalchuk, Kowalczyk, Kovalenko, Kovalyov, and Kovalev. All mean "descendant of a
blacksmith".

The given name Petr or Petro (equivalent to Peter) can become Petrov, Petriv, Petriw, Petrovsky, Petrovich, and Petric.
All mean "descendant of Peter". This is similar to the use of "-son" or "-sen" in Germanic languages.

In East Slavic languages (Belarusian, Russian, Rusyn, and Ukrainian) the same system of name suffixes can be used to
express several meanings. One of the most common is the patronymic. Instead of a secondary "middle" given name,
people identify themselves with their given and family name and patronymic, a name based on their father's given
name. If a man gives his full name as Boris Vladimirovich Kuznetsov, then his father's name must have been Vladimir:
Vladimirovich in this case literally means "Vladimir's son".

Similarly, many suffixes can be attached to express affection or informality (in linguistics, called a diminutive). For
example, calling a boy named Ivan "Ivanko" or Yuri "Yurko" expresses that he is familiar to you. This is the same as
referring to Robert to "Rob," "Bob" and "Bobby"; and William to "Bill", "Will" and "Willy".

See also
Belarusian name

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_name_suffixes 1/2
04/08/2019 Slavic name suffixes - Wikipedia

Bosnian name
Bulgarian names
Croatian name
Czech names
Polish names
Russian names
Serbian names
Slovak name
Ukrainian name
Slavic names

External links
"Slavic Name Endings" by Dan Bavolack, Kathleen Dorsam, and Stephen F. Payer (https://web.archive.org/web/2
0080514065734/http://userweb.ccomm.com/sfpayer/DB/Slavic-Rusyn%20Items.htm)
"Russian Culture – More Russian Names" by Sergey Feduleyev (http://en.allexperts.com/q/Russian-Culture-2986/
Russian-Names-2.htm) [Note: link not valid any more]
"Russian names" by Nikolai V. Shokhirev (http://www.shokhirev.com/nikolai/lang/names/names.html)

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This page was last edited on 4 July 2019, at 18:01 (UTC).

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