The term "surname", according to explanatory dictionaries, means a common name for members of the same clan or family, which is inherited. From Latin, the word translates as "gender, family." For the first time this concept appeared in Ancient Rome and meant "people leading a common (joint) economy." This group included family members, blood relatives, and slaves. This naming was inherited from parents to children.
Nowadays, there is practically no person who does not understand the meaning of the concept of “last name”, but few who know the origin and meaning of their own tribal naming. The article will discuss the history, origin and meaning of the surname Eremin. Its carriers can feel pride in their ancestors, information about which is contained in documents confirming the trace left by them in the history of our state.
The origin of the name Eremin belongs to the ancient type of Russian patrimonial names, which were formed from the common folk forms of church baptismal names. The surname became known from the 17th century, it comes from the western regions of the state of the ancient Slavs.
Religious version. Surname Eremin: origin and significance
With the adoption of Christianity in ancient Russia, a religious tradition was established, according to which, when baptized, a child was named after a saint whose name was revered on that day or on the baby's birthday. All baptismal names were borrowed from ancient languages: Latin, Greek, Jewish, they were unusual in hearing and incomprehensible in meaning to our ancestors. It is for this reason that they were transformed until they began to sound in the Slavic manner.
The origin of the surname Eremin refers to the Slavic type of formation of patrimonial names, which were formed from diminutive forms of church names. Most generic nicknames are formed from Christian names that are contained in the calendar (church calendar).
The surname Eremin, whose origin is associated with the folk form of the baptismal name Jeremiah, is no exception. This is the official full form of the notion, which was found only in official church documents, common people were used in everyday life: Veremey, Yeremey, Yarema, Yeremcha, Yerya, from them Veremeyev, Yeremenko, Yeremeyev, Yeremenkov, Yeremushkin, Yaremchuk, Yeremenko, Yaremenyuk , Eremin, Veremeychik, Eremchenko, Eremyuk, Eremichev, Eremchuk, respectively. At the same time, the family forms for -chuk and -enko are usually Ukrainian.
The popularity and prevalence of diminutive forms of baptismal names led to the fact that in the 16-17th centuries, when the process of mass formation of surnames began, it was these abbreviated nicknames that became the basis of many generic names.
Hebrew roots and patron saint
The name Jeremiah came to us from the Hebrew language and means “God will exalt”. It became part of the clergy thanks to St. Jeremiah (one of the four Old Testament prophets). It is believed that he wrote the book "Prophecy" and "Weeping" on the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.
Surname Eremin: origin and history of occurrence
In the 15-17th centuries, among the nobility in Russia, the process of forming family names began, which were inherited along with the title and possessions. The model of their formation took a long time, as a rule, possessive adjectives with suffixes -ev, -in, -ov were used. They initially indicated a father, for example, Ivanov - Ivan's son. So, the origin of the name Eremin is connected with the foundation of the name Yerem.
Instead of a conclusion. The ancient form of Russian family names
When and where the name Yeremin first appeared, these days it is very difficult to say for sure. It should be noted that the bulk of the population of the Russian state received family names only in the 19th century, but in those days the forms of generic nicknames were formed from more correct names. It is for this reason that there are far more Eremeevs than the Eremin and Eremkins, and it follows that the Eremin form arose in an earlier period of the formation of Russian family names and contains the memory of the ancestors, is a monument of folklore, ancient traditions and customs of the Slavs.
The prevalence and popularity of the name is evidenced by such a historical fact that even in the 13th century Vladimir governor Yeremii was known, who participated in a military campaign against the Tatars who defeated Kazan.