Now it’s hard to imagine that a person has no last name. Some peoples may not have middle names in official documents. Today we’ll talk about the origin of the Sokolov surname. Studying the history of your family will always be beneficial - you can gather information about your ancestors and find out interesting facts from the history of a particular region where your family lived.
History of the term "last name"
The word itself originates from Latin and translates as "family". It is very symbolic, since in the modern world it is the surname that represents a particular genus, which makes it possible to compose a family tree.
Previously, the surname was a community where the masters and their slaves were under the same, so to speak, name. It was indicated that bonded people belonged to certain people.
But now everything is different, and the surname is passed from generation to generation. If there is a desire, then you can find the very first person, the ancestor, who laid the foundation for this family. The veneration of ancestors has always been important.
Falcon or Sokolov?
In today's world, you can find both options. Do they belong to the same genus? This is worth knowing by looking at the family tree of a particular family. The origin of the Falcon surname is usually associated with the same name.
In ancient Russia, it was customary to give the child a first name for baptism and a second non-church name, often associated with the animal kingdom. For example, Wolf, Bear, Falcon, Oak and the like. This is a reference to the pagan past, and people believed that the child was thus endowed with the qualities of a name. Parents hoped that this would save the child from the evil eye and damage, help in life. For example, the falcon is clear, the bear is strong. This is one of the variants of the origin of the Sokolov surname. Moreover, such a phenomenon was observed until the end of the XVII century. Exactly until the church forbade to give a second pagan name.
An interesting fact is the fact that often children were given bird names, not animals. Perhaps this is due to the fact that there was a kind of worship of birds. And this is not surprising. The birds played a large role in the economy of each family, they predicted the weather. Do not forget that such a bird as a falcon often participated in hunting, and this was widespread among the nobility.
What is the origin of the name Sokolov? Second option
However, not only because of the animal name could this surname appear. In the XVII-XIX centuries, many people still did not have surnames at all. If a young man got to study at a theological seminary, he could get a surname depending on the place of birth or residence. That is, if the village where the student came from was called Sokolovo, then, accordingly, he received the name Sokolov. Also, the surname was assigned according to the names of church holidays, icons, saints, animals, plants.
The third variant of the origin of the surname
We already know that the names were originally given to families depending on the name that the person had. But there are also cases when higher authorities could change their last name. But not just like that, but depending on the qualities that a person showed.
An example is the case when an exam was held in the Tver province, in which a young man with the name Bukharev simply phenomenally answered questions. The person who received the answers was incredibly amazed by the young seminarian’s mentality and said that he should now be not Bukharev, but Orlov or Sokolov. Here again is a reference to the qualities that these birds of prey possess. This is a rather interesting case when the name changed so unusually. This happened quite rarely, but it could well be.
The origin of the name Sokolov, as we see, can also be associated with several options. In order to know this exactly, you need to make a family tree. Family documents and even archives of local libraries will help you with this. It is possible that they could write about your ancestor in the press of that time.
The origin, meaning and history of the Sokolov family name is certainly interesting, but remember that this is one of the most common generic names. Researchers at the beginning of the twentieth century in St. Petersburg counted the number of repetitions for various surnames, and Sokolov was in seventh place.
The origin of the name Sokolov is also very important for posterity, it allows you to get acquainted with the culture of ancient Russia and get to know your family closer.