The history of the origin of the name Subbotin is not unambiguous. But at the same time, all the versions existing today associate it with the word that is called the sixth day of the week. The meaning and origin of the surname Subbotin is described in detail in the article.
Before the introduction of Christmas time
Considering the origin of the name Subbotin, it should be noted that on this occasion there are two main versions. To get acquainted with them, you should find out how since ancient times the process of forming surnames in Russia took place.
Children are often given names that are different from current ones. You will not meet them in the Saints, which appeared in our 10th century. Then the parents could name the children depending on how far their imagination extended, and often the names looked like nicknames.
For example, sons could simply be "counted" and then they were called First, Second, Third and so on. Could be called Ryaba, Lame or Silly, according to the shortcomings of the child or because they believed that a bad name would lead evil dashing away from a beloved child.
And also children were called on that day of the week in which they were born. So there were Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. And then from these names the surnames also appeared - Tuesdays, Thursdays, Subbotin.
Abandonment of the worldly name
In continuation of the study of the origin of the surname Subbotin, it is necessary to trace how the process of the formation of generic names in Russia further developed. Children began to be called by the Saints. But names such as the Sabbath were given as the second, worldly, joining the first, baptismal. The second was used more often and assigned to a person for life.
At the same time, there are many holidays that are associated with Saturday, for example, Great or Parent. Therefore, children could be called in honor of the holidays. The descendants of these people became Subbotins, that is, sons, grandsons, great-grandsons of the Sabbath.
The practice of calling children a second, non-baptismal name continued until the 17th century. It led to the fact that among Russian surnames there are many such that are formed from worldly names.
Keep the sabbath day
There is another version. Her supporters suggest the following origin of the name Subbotin. They believe that she, bypassing the name, was formed directly from the name of the day of the week. It was a holy day for the Jews - Shabbat, which in Russian sounds like Saturday. In all likelihood, the people who took the customs of this day very seriously were Jews. Therefore, they began to be called Subbotins. Over time, the nickname could degenerate into a surname.
Below are a few more historical facts that help trace the origin of the name Subbotin.
A bit of history
It should be noted that in the Russian Empire, Jews began to receive names in the late 18th - early 19th centuries. This happened after Western Belarus, Ukraine and the Baltic regions were annexed to Russia. After the partition of Poland under Catherine II, a large number of Jews appeared on our land. Most of them had only names and patronymics, for example, Avigdor, son of Immanuel.
About once every ten years a population census was carried out in order to determine the number of subjects and ensure their draft in the army. Then the Jews began to give names. Their education went in different ways. For example, the basis could be a place of residence. So, there is the surname Odessa, that is, a resident of the city of Odessa. Or it was the name of the father - Nathanson - the son of Nathan. Surnames could be given in accordance with the profession, lifestyle, and hallmarks.
Since Jews are distinguished from other peoples by their faith and related customs, which they often strictly adhere to, the studied surname was most likely to receive Orthodox Jews who observed Shabbat.
Next, the meaning of the surname Subbotin will be considered.
Origin of the word
To understand the issue under study, you should turn to the etymology of the word from which it is formed. It fell into the Russian language from Old Russian and Old Slavonic. In the first of them was the word "Saturday", and in the second - "Sobota".
In Old Russian, this token appeared from the ancient Greek. The noun σάμβατον is discovered there. But in Old Slavonic it was formed through borrowing from Latin - from sabbatum.
In Latin, like many others, the word has passed from ancient Greek. And in ancient Greek, it appeared from Hebrew. In Hebrew, the word has such a spelling as ת, but sounds like "Shabbat". This term has a connection with the verb “shavat”. It has several meanings, although close to each other, that is “to rest”, “to stop”, “to abstain.”
The Sabbath, that is, the Sabbath, among the Jewish people is not the sixth, but the seventh day of the week. On this day, the Torah forbids doing any kind of work. Saturday is honored not only by Jews, but also by other categories of believers. We are talking about Karaites, Samaritans. There are its admirers in Christianity, these are Seventh-day Adventists, as well as Russian “Subbotniks”.
That's all. Now you know what the name Subbotin means.