Many people are interested in how this or that word came into our everyday life, which it denoted earlier, whether its meaning has been preserved. Particular attention is paid to first and last names. More and more people are eager to learn about the life of their ancestors and compose a complete picture of their kind. In search of truth, they study the work of modern scholars and their predecessor colleagues.
What does the surname Ivanov mean ? Why are so many boys called Alexandra? What is the difference between Catherine and Katerina? Kovalevs and Kuznetsovs: do the origins lie in one profession or not? What is the origin of the surname Ivanova? These and many other questions torment hundreds of people every day.
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 Russia as a concretization of belonging to any kind, family. And only a few centuries ago, this term acquired its second meaning, which gradually became the main one. Thus, the surname denotes the name by inheritance, which is used inextricably linked with the name. From generation to generation, it is transmitted from older family members to younger ones.
Anthroponymy and Onomastics
In order to find out what the initial meaning inherent in a given surname is, it is necessary to turn to the sources of its occurrence. What does the surname Ivanov or Golubev mean, you can find out by the scientific method. And anthroponymy will help in this. It is a branch of the science of onomastics, which studies the surnames, names, patronymics and nicknames of people, the sources of their occurrence, development, 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 the name of Ivanova is. It's no secret that in the post-Soviet space there are many carriers of this generic trait. All Russian surnames can be attributed to one of several groups:
1. Those that are formed on behalf of the ancestor received by him at baptism (Sidorov, Petrov, Bogdanov, etc.).
2. Surnames, the sources of which are the names of representatives of the animal and plant world (Golubev, Kurochkin, Hawks, 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 derived from the name of the locality of residence (Beloozersky, Leskov, Roshchev, Chashchin and others).
5. Those whose sources lie in home and street nicknames (Grozny, Smirnov, Drowsy, etc.).
The origin of the surname Ivanova (Ivanov, Ivanova) belongs to the first group.
Leaning on the holy calendar
In accordance with the old religious rites, each infant was given a name only at baptism, but not before. He was chosen from the church calendar, called the holy calendar, or the month of the word. In this book, each day of the year contains a list of names of revered saints. Before the baptismal ceremony, the priest offered parents several names to choose from. However, sometimes the minister of the church made concessions and allowed to name the child at his discretion. The main criterion for selecting a name was its presence in the calendar.
It is worth noting that even today many prefer this ritual.
As a rule, the choice fell on the names of the saints, legendary historical figures, also revered by the church. Christianity came to the territory of Ancient Russia in the 10th century. Therefore, many names have Byzantine roots. Initially, they sounded unusual for a Russian person. Gradually, their pronunciation was slightly modified.
Path of transformation
The name Ivan, from which the surname Ivanov came, is a modified Russified form of the ancient church canonical name John. If we turn to the Hebrew language, then in translation it means "Grace of God." St. John is chanted during church service almost 170 times a year. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that during the baptism of boys the given preference was given to this name.
It was unusual for a Russian to call his son John. Therefore, gradually the name was modified into a more convenient form for the Slavs - Ivan. Initially, the so-called boys exclusively at home. Gradually, the name Ivan supplanted the original church form of John. Already in the 12th century, the modification was adopted by the church and began to be used directly. The canonical analogue was gradually forgotten.
Mitrofanov son or Kuznetsov daughter
The origin of the surname Ivanova is directly related to the given name. As a rule, in those days, the affiliation of children to a particular family was determined by the father or, less commonly, by the mother. Therefore, instead of the name of the child, they often said this: "Timofeev’s daughter, Sergeyev or Platonov’s son." Similarly, the meaning of the name Ivanov.
However, not only the affiliation of the offspring was determined in this way. Serf servants, wives and any relatives, land and even cattle - everything was described as belonging to someone: “Kuznetsovo, Sidorovo or Kovalevo property”. Until the 18th century, inclusive, almost the entire population of Russia did not have surnames. This applies to the upper nobility, to say nothing of the serfs. The latter for a long time were called by the name of its owner (owner). The first to receive the surname were precisely the representatives of the upper classes. For a long time, the rest of the population had only nicknames, the origins of which belong to their feudal lords.
Officials and their influence
Interestingly, in 1858, a study was conducted in the Moscow province of the most common surnames among residents. Thanks to the research, it turned out that in some counties the now popular Petrovs, Ivanovs and Sidorovs were completely unknown and quite rare at that time. And only after a few decades, these names began to be widely used. This happened thanks to officials.
In 1897, an all-Russian unified population census was conducted. It was then that almost all people got their own names. As a rule, the choice was made by name, nickname or profession of father or grandfather. Therefore, the names of Vasiliev, Kuznetsov, Mikhailov, Yakovlev and others are the most common among the entire population of Russia. The story of Ivanov’s surname is similar.