Nowadays, many people have become interested in the history of the origin of surnames, both their own and others. Indeed, the generic name of a person can tell a lot about his ancestors. Surnames were given in connection with occupation, profession, region of residence, nicknames, names, customs, traditions, character of our distant ancestors. There are generic names that reflect the appearance or circumstances of the birth of the ancestor. A study of the history of the origin of the generic name opens up forgotten pages of the culture and life of our ancestors and is able to tell a lot of interesting things about the distant past of the family. The article tells about the origin and meaning of the surname Gavrilov, the fate of the patrimonial name and interesting facts related to it.
Generic Name Origin
The origin of the surname Gavrilov is associated with the everyday form of the baptismal name. It refers to the common and ancient type of generic hereditary naming.
With the adoption of Christianity in Russia, a religious tradition developed, which obliged to name the baby in honor of the saint, on the day of which he was born or baptized. All baptismal names are borrowed from ancient languages ​​- Greek, Latin, Hebrew. They were unusual for hearing and incomprehensible in meaning; therefore, many of them were transformed and “Russified” due to lively speech and acquired many diminutive forms in everyday speech.
The origin of the surname Gavrilov is associated with the church name Gabriel, which is translated from Hebrew as “divine warrior”. This name became very popular in Russia, it was transformed into the common folk form of Gavril, from which many diminutive forms formed: Gavra, Gavryusha, Gavrik, Gavrilka, Ganl, Gavsha. They gave rise to the origin of surnames: Gavrilovsky, Gaveshin, Gavrilikhipov, Gavrenev, Gavrilin, Ganin, Ganyushkin, Ganikhin, Gavshikov, Gavrikov, Gavrishev, Gavrilichev, Gavutin, Ganichev, Gavrishchev, Gashkov.
Religious foundation
At the heart of the surname Gavrilov lies the church name Gabriel, it refers to the Hebrew name Gabriel. In the Christian religion, the archangel Gabriel is the messenger of God, who brought the Virgin Mary the good news that she will soon give birth to Christ. In Islam, Gibrail (Gabriel) is one of the highest angels who told Muhammad about the Qur'an.
Surname formation history
The familiar model of surnames did not work out right away. By about the 17th century, most surnames were formed by adding family suffixes (s, -ev, -in) to the nickname or name of the father. By origin, these generic names were, in fact, possessive adjectives. So, the descendants of Gavril could get the hereditary clan name Gavrilov.
Toponymic version of the origin of the generic name
According to another version, the origin of the surname Gavrilov is associated with the toponyms of cities, rivers, villages and villages. Such generic names were originally nicknames that indicated the place where the person was from, about the places where he lived or served.
In the Moscow region is the village of Gavrilov Khutor, in the Ivanovo region there is the city of Gavrilov Posad. Those who relocated from these places could be recorded as Gavrilovs in official documentation.
A few more versions of the origin of the family name
So, the origin of the name Gavrilov is associated with the name Gabriel. But other interpretations are likely. For example, in the Don, they called the “sly man” and the “little boy” “gavrik”. In the Oryol region, "Gavrik" is "a simpleton, simpleton, open-handed." The smokers in the dialect have the verbs “gavrit” or “gavrivat”, which means “to do things somehow”, and in the northern dialects “gavriv” means “to get dirty”. In the south of Russia, the verb "ganit" means "to dishonor" or "shame". Perhaps from one of these forms a family name came about.
Gavrilov’s noble family
In the Russian Empire, the noble family of the Gavrilovs was known, which came from the life campaigner Gavrilov Ipat, who served in the 18th century in the grenadier company of the life guard of the Preobrazhensky regiment.
There was another noble family - the Gavrenevs, whose ancestor was Ivan Gavrenev, he was a steward under the Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich. His son Pavel founded the Pokrovsky monastery on the Volga near the city of Uglich. He died in 1504 and was canonized. Rod died out in the 18th century.
Instead of a conclusion
This surname comes from the nickname, name or place of residence of a person whose descendants became the Gavrilovs. The history of the surname Gavrilov is quite ancient, in significant retrospective letters the bearers of the surname were rich and noble persons from the 17th century Vladimir philistinism. They had the sovereign privilege. The first mention of the generic name of the Gavrilovs is found in the census of Russia from the time of Ivan the Terrible. The great sovereign had a special register of harmonious, beautiful noble families, which were given to those close to him for special merits as an encouragement. That is why this generic hereditary name has retained its original meaning and is exceptional.