How to independently find out the pedigree, genealogical tree of your family by last name: archival data, search on the Internet, on TV shows. Ways to search for ancestors and relatives by last name: description

You can find out the origin of the surname and your family tree if you know how to do it. Read the information in the article about where you can go and on which sites to look at your family history.

Currently, many people want to know their ancestry, where its roots come from. However, knowledge is usually limited only to information about great-grandparents.

• Now it's popular to draw family tree of his family.
• In addition, many people are sure that those who honor and remember their ancestors will live a healthy and long life.
• For religious reasons, you need to know the sins of your distant relatives and be able to repent for them in order to improve your life.
• It is also important to know the genetics of the genus and predisposition to certain diseases.
• From this article, you will learn information about how you can independently find out the history of your family, where the database is located, and whether it can be done for free, for example, on the Internet.

As the saying goes folk wisdom: "The most important thing is to start." If there is a beginning, there will be clues and it will be possible to look deep into the history of your family. So, where to start the search to independently find out the pedigree, family tree of your family by last name? Instruction:

1. Collect all papers and documents from your grandparents, which they inherited from their relatives, parents or even grandmothers. Make an inventory of these papers: list, description and summary. Do not restore dilapidated documents and photographs, just make photocopies.
2. Conversations with relatives. Ask grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles about what they remember about their family. If relatives live in other cities, send your questions in a letter. Always go with a notebook and a pen, because it is possible that you will meet some distant relative on the street, and in order not to ask for a visit, you can ask him about everything and write it down. Ask about everything: who did you work for, where did you serve, what were your hobbies, traditions, are there any special jokes and words incomprehensible to other people in the family.
3. Surname Dictionary, which is in any large library, will help you find out about the geographical area where the surname originated. This will help a lot, as you will know where to go next.
4. Learn aspects of the family associated with participation in wars. The Book of Memory is complete collection names of people who went through the war, went missing or died during hostilities. This book is in libraries, museums and even on the Internet at this link.
5. Search in the archive. Once you know which area your ancestors lived in, look for archival data for that area. You can order a paid certificate from the archive for documents of interest.

Remember: All people remember the same event in different ways. They may give different dates of birth, confuse estates and settlements. They may also not remember the names of other people's children. But the picture will still gradually emerge, ready for further research.

The search for roots by surname is now being actively pursued by historians. Various dictionaries, online resources and reference books help you conduct your research. There are several ways to search for ancestors and relatives by the last name of your father:

• Surname reference books, which are located in the reading room of each library, will help you find out the meaning of the surname. Previously, surnames came from the professional occupation of the father - this will be your distant relative. For example, the surname Bondarev is the son of a cooper. The princes had surnames similar to the names of the lands - Vyazemsky, Shumsky. The surname could come from a clergyman who ruled the church in a particular city or from the location of the area where the person lived.
• Contacting State Center genealogical research. This center has its own website at this link. Here you can find information about your roots, which go back to pre-revolutionary times. The database is constantly updated.
• Search in archives. It is necessary to know the minimum data about the ancestors: where they lived, what they did.
• Search on the Internet. The FamilySpace website contains unique genealogy information. The search is performed by profession, area of ​​residence, last name.
• Search through TV shows. Program website Wait for me can be found at this link. Track if someone is looking for you or apply to find a relative.

Advice: Look for ancestors while grandparents are alive. The history of the family should be left for posterity, let them know their ancestors. As the people say: "The soul is alive as long as it is remembered." Leave a photo, and after time, your descendants will know and remember you.

There are archives in every city and even village. To find information about relatives in the archive, you must first trace the biographies of your relatives, at least minimal data - in which area they lived, where they worked. When you know the area of ​​residence of the ancestor, you can contact the archive of this area with a request.

Advice: Make a paid request, for example, through a notary, then the search will be faster and more effective.

TV Broadcast"Wait for me" - people search: database

It is much easier to search for a person if experienced and professional genealogists help in this. In the television project “Wait for me”, people are searched for in different databases. The specialists of this TV show perform what seems to be the most hopeless search. But people are found, they meet and a new genealogy is being written.

As mentioned above, this project has its own website, where you can put a person on the wanted list by last name, first name and age. To find information about a person, you must first register on the site. Then click " Search» and fill out the form.

TV show "Wait for me"

If any search data appears, you will be informed about this by the specified contacts. With the help of a search for people on this TV show, several million people were found. More than 5,000 volunteers help search. Therefore, if you turn to this project for help, be sure to find the necessary information.

When applying for a TV show, you will have to wait for some time until the information appears, if it is not in the project database. But I want to search instantly, enter the last name and find right person. Such a search for people on the Internet by last name is done by the FamilySpace website for free. Instructions on how to use the search on this resource:

Go to home page site at this link. Click " Register". Go through the entire process from start to finish.

Then click the " To start searching».

You can also search from your page. At the top there is a window in which you need to enter the last name to search. Type in the name of the person you are looking for and the site will instantly give you the results. You will only have to look through the profiles of people with the same last name and first name and find the one you were looking for.

If such a search did not return the desired results, try searching the archives. Follow this link and you will see the archives of past centuries, state archives and directories of cities and regions.

This site has great search opportunities. There are more than 6 million registered users here, and perhaps most of the people have already found their ancestors or distant relatives.

Starting a search for forgotten villages will help you find the roots of your parents and grandparents. Previously, the villages were called provinces, then they were renamed before the war and again given new names after the war.

• Therefore, many people come to a dead end when searching for a pedigree, especially if the question concerns the geography of the surname.
• How to find the history of the village? Historians and geneologists have long been talking about the need to return the old names to villages and villages. This will help make the search for the roots of the genus easier and faster.
• Currently, old villages can be found in stationary and electronic libraries.
• There is also an edition Lists of villages Russian Empire ”, which published the names and locations of the provinces of that time. Thanks to this edition, you can find what any modern village used to be called.

Important: When searching, keep in mind that the boundaries of the provinces have changed, and therefore many villages will have to be searched in neighboring areas.

There is a website on the Internet that has a catalog of populated places in the Russian Empire. It is located at this address. In the tab " All listings» you will find a list of Russian provinces in alphabetical order.

Whichever way you choose to search for your ancestors, any of them will provide good results. Your descendants will be grateful for the search for such information, because with each generation it is more and more difficult to find information about any distant ancestor.

Video: "Simple Solutions": How to make a family tree

Most people often think about what a surname means. Some are just out of curiosity, while others want to find a connection with their ancestors and important historical events. The surname of each person indicates his belonging to a certain genus, family - this is a historically formed family name. However, not always and not everyone had a similar name - it all started a little differently.

In Rus', the process of the emergence of surnames took a fairly decent period of time - from the end of the 14th to the 19th century. This is due to the fact that at that time the privilege to treat famous family only representatives of the upper class had, specific princes and boyars were given surnames according to the name of those volosts that they owned (for example, Vitebsk, Smolensk). Here it becomes clear what the surname means. The princes were very proud of this, defended and conquered their lands.

The next owners of family names were rich, famous merchants and nobles who deserved something, and often simply bought this right. They were called by the type of activity or by their nicknames (Tkach, Rybnik, Likhachev). The merchants intended to use the received surname to expand the clients, they preferred to work with registered houses that had their own. The clergy had special rights. By the name of the clergyman, it was possible to determine in which parish he served (Nikolsky, Kazansky, etc.).

The rest of the population are commoners. They were familyless, had only a first and middle name. In the archives there are often entries: "Peter, Ivanov's son." Obviously on

The basis of this differentiation was obtained modern surname, whose origin goes far into the past. In addition, at ordinary people there were also nicknames that were given to them according to their professional affiliation or according to some individual characteristics. Such a surname could easily be lost by changing one's trade or character traits, because of which the nickname was obtained.

Later, surnames were also given to former serfs. At first glance, it is not entirely clear what the surname means in this case. But, having figured it out, it becomes clear that they were assigned the surname of the former owner, because of which there could be many namesakes in the same area who did not have at all. In 1888, a decree was issued that obliged everyone to have a surname for inclusion in documents. Many peasants, as the latter, entered a patronymic.

What does a surname mean? It has an ambiguous meaning. Someone could get it because of the possession of the territory or because of their craft, and someone because of their short stature, clubfoot or other external signs. Then its informativeness was much greater than now, because by the available surname it was possible to learn a lot about a person. Today it doesn't do much for us. Some carriers themselves do not know what the surname of their family means, how it was obtained, who their ancestors are. Although there are those who dive into the depths of genealogy in search of information, trying to find their roots.

« Never call a spade a spade if you don't know their last names.».
Stanislav Jerzy Lec

What is the meaning of surnames

The value of a person's surname is difficult to overestimate. From the moment the child crosses the threshold of the school, he ceases to be just Petya, Natasha or Dima, but also becomes Zaitsev, Romanova, Belov. With this important "increase" it is as if our growing up begins. With the exception of close relatives, friends and acquaintances, we distinguish people primarily by their surnames. The surname helps to make the first impression of a person - for example, with a high probability of hitting, guess his nationality. Knowing what a surname means, you can learn a lot about an ancestor, an ancestor. Where did he live, what did he do, was he tall or small, noisy or quiet. The roots of surnames lie in the personal names or nicknames of people, their professions, the names of places that existed at the time when surnames began to form. On the territory of Russia, this process became widespread in the 16th century, and was fully completed only at the beginning of the 20th century.

What does your last name mean?

Interestingly, the interpretation of surnames very often comes as a complete surprise to their owners. So, sonorous, similar to an artistic pseudonym, the names of Emeralds and Tulips were given not to a jeweler and gardener, but, most likely, to students of a church school or seminary. Surnames with a meaning associated with the names of animals and birds, as a rule, are among the most ancient. They were formed at a time when, along with personal names, there were also nicknames in use - Crow, Bear, Pig. Many surnames come from nicknames-amulets that drive away evil spirits. Fool parents often called their child with the hope that he will grow up smart, Anger - kind. So, the ancestors of the Durakovs were not at all fools, and the Zlobins were gloomy and embittered. By the way, famous surname Nekrasov also originates from the nickname Nekras, that is, the expectation that the child will grow up handsome, handsome. So, you should not be complex because of the "dissonant" surnames, all the more so to form a negative opinion about the owners on them.
Of course, it is not always possible to determine with absolute certainty what meaning of the surname was originally true. Some surnames were born from distorted foreign borrowings, others from words that you can no longer find in modern dictionaries. However, interest in one's surname makes one learn more about one's ancestors, which means touching the history of one's family.

Surname Numerology

Finally, the numerological analysis of the surname can tell about a certain general mood of the family, hereditary abilities, potential "family" opportunities for success or failure, about ways of communicating with outside world developed by generations of one "dynasty". Each representative of the surname at the same time strengthens it with its own energy and receives support from it. It is no coincidence that people's fate changes dramatically when they change their surname.
Free online last name analysis will help you get closer to the secrets that you may not have suspected.

The meaning of surnames by nationality

Below is a list of nationalities, by going to the pages of which you can find out some details and the meaning of the surname, depending on the country in which they appeared.

Absolutely all people understand what a surname is. But not everyone knows its history and origin. There are also several meanings of this concept. In the article we will consider all the details and dedicate the reader to when surnames appeared in Rus', and the meaning of this concept in everyday life.

What is a surname?

1. The surname, according to many explanatory dictionaries, denotes a common name for all members of one family, which is transmitted from father to son, and so on.
2. From Latin familia is translated as "family, clan". Since ancient Rome this concept denoted the family legal unit leading common household. It was made up of family members, blood relatives and even slaves. This name passed by inheritance, marriage, adoption.
3. From French and German, to explanatory dictionary V. Dahl, the surname denoted the family, clan, blood ties, ancestors, nickname. For example: family teas, "he is from a noble family", familiar address (in a family way, in a familiar way, in a brotherly way), familiarity (to make friends and close relations with someone, to fraternize).

We examined all the concepts in the dictionaries of what a surname is, and now we will figure out when people got a surname.

Historical information

The history of the surname as a concept begins in Ancient Rome. It was there, among the tribal nobility, that it began to be inherited. Usually a surname was given according to the place of birth or residence of a person, where his possessions were located.

IN European countries the tradition of passing on the surname of ancestors began only in the 15th century. And that was the advantage of noble people, a small handful of aristocrats. The rest of the mass of poor working people used only names.

The appearance of surnames in Rus'

The first historical data on the appearance of the surname date back to the 13th century. At first they understood what a surname is, citizens of Veliky Novgorod and the region from Baltic Sea before Ural mountains, which belonged to the possessions of this principality. Of course, these were representatives of noble families. In 1268, in the annals one could read about Tverdislav Chermny and Nikifor Radiatinich, etc. These were the "good" boyars.

The princes received their second name by the name of their lands. For example, Obolensky, Vyazemsky. But some received surnames from nicknames. For example, Humpbacked, Tongue-headed, Coward, Mare, Toothless.

Then there are already messages in the documents about the names of princes and high boyars living in the Moscow principality. Russian surnames were single, sometimes written with a hyphen. From the end of the 15th century, the first surnames with foreign roots appeared at that time, depending on whose descendants were, immigrants from which countries. For example, Karamzin, Akhmatov, Lermontov, Bakhteyarov.

Surnames of the poor people

Most of the inhabitants of the country, belonging to commoners, did not have surnames. They had such an opportunity only after the abolition of serfdom in 1861. Before this function carried out various nicknames, the name of the owner of the serf. All the inhabitants of villages and villages belonging to the landowner were subjected to enslavement.

This phenomenon has become widespread since the 16th century. In the documents, the peasants were drawn up as follows: "Ivan, Mikhailov's son, nicknamed Crooked Nose." Serfdom did not spread to the northern regions of Russia, and there people had real surnames that were inherited. The most famous peasant of those regions, who glorified his last name, is Mikhail Lomonosov. The Cossacks and the inhabitants of present-day Belarus had the surname of their father. They used to be considered residents of the lands of the Commonwealth, and the entire population of the black earth provinces were given surnames.

Most of the surnames originated from the name of the father, according to the baptismal name or the name of one of the famous ancestors. The first census in 1897 revealed that more than 75% of the people inhabiting the country did not have a surname at all, especially residents of the outskirts and remote areas.

After granting the right to all the people to have their own surname, registration took a long time. The process of obtaining a surname for each person was completed only in the 1930s. By this time, all the nationalities of the great Soviet Union were covered.

Whose? Whose?

The appearance of the surname is different, but more than 60% of all surnames given to Russian people are formed by the name of the ancestor - father or grandfather. Previously, they asked the question: "Whose? Whose will you be?" The answer was the following: "My surname is Petrov, that is, the son of Peter, Alekseev is the son of Alexei, etc." Therefore, most of the surnames have common suffixes -ov/-ev. A study of the history of surnames showed that they came not only from names, but also from the nicknames of people. For example, the father had a nickname - Beardless or Clubfoot, then the son's surname was Bezborodov or Kosolapov.

But there were other suffixes as well. If the name of the ancestor ended in a hard consonant, then they wrote -ov(Ivan - Ivanov, Plato - Platonov). If the names of relatives ended in a soft consonant, a suffix was already added here -ev. For example, Porfiry - Porfiryev, Ignatius - Ignatiev. If the names ended in -а or -я, then the suffix was put -in. For example, if the name is Ilya - my last name is Ilyin, Afonya - Afonin, Yerema - Eremin.

But some authorities did not recognize such surnames that ended in -in or -y/-y. Such surnames were forcibly replaced by others in which the generally accepted suffixes -ov were found. For example, a person had the surname Kuzmin, it was altered during the census, especially in the area of ​​the Don Cossacks, to Kuzminov, and the surname Bedny to Bednov.

But there were separate regions, where surnames with the suffix -in belonged to more than half of the population. This is mainly the Volga region.

There were also surnames that were created by numerous additions various suffixes. For example, Ignat - Ignatyuk - Ignatyuchenko - Ignatyuchenkov.

Name of professions

Many people associate the origin of the surname with the species labor activity. If the worker was a carpenter, then he was given the surname Stolyarov. Such roots include the following surnames: Kuznetsov, Bocharov, Diggers, Kulinarov, Carpenters, Water Carriers, Goncharov, Kovalev. They began to do this due to the fact that people often repeated names, and there were a small number of second baptismal names. And the workers had many professions.

Surnames of priests

The clergy began to take sonorous surnames only from the 18th century. The names of parishes and different churches were used. For example, Trinity, Preobrazhensky. Some took euphonious names for themselves, using Latin names: Reformed, Gilyarovsky, Athenian. After graduating from the seminary, the teachers gave the students surnames that corresponded to the capabilities, efforts and behavior of the seminarians. Good students received such surnames - Dobromyslov, Tikhomirov, Nadezhdin. Bad students got less sonorous, bearing names negative characters from the Bible. For example, Saul or Gibraltar.

The advent of passports

During the reign of Peter I, due to the fact that the poll tax and recruitment duty were introduced, the Senate Decree of June 18, 1719 was adopted, which ordered all residents to have police records. In another way, they were called travel letters or passports. The document indicated the name, surname of a person or his nickname, permanent place of residence, information about Family status, what was the name of the father, the family members who traveled with him, and the direction of travel.

Emperor Paul I in 1797 ordered the compilation of a General armorial of all noble families. The work was done tremendously. More than 3,000 of all family names were collected, as well as the coats of arms of each noble family.

Modern passports

Every person in the world has a passport, which indicates his name (in some patronymics), surname. Address specified permanent residence, Family status.

There are rules for changing the name in the passport. This may happen:

1. By own will. For example, when the surname got indecent or offensive - Bukhalo, Stsykun or Grave. A person is not obliged to bear the burden of some distant ancestor who got that last name. Although this procedure is long and troublesome, it is quite possible, especially if you like your mother's surname.
2. When adopting a child, or vice versa.
3. When switching to the surname of the husband or wife after marriage.
4. In the event of a divorce, the spouse may revert back to her maiden name.

When changing a surname to another, all existing documents will have to be redone: a passport, an identification code, a will, medical cards in a district clinic, car registration, bank cards, a driver's license, a student's certificate, documents on insurance policies, etc.

A study of the history of surnames showed that it is possible to learn from it historical data, the social status of ancestors, their spiritual world and type of activity. This work is very educational. If you want to know the history of your last name, there are many websites that describe historical origin some common surname.

For a long time, generic nicknames and names have been used to emphasize a person's belonging to his family. Previously, it could mean professional activity, character traits appearance or personality of its owner. That's whyfind out the history of the origin of the surnamefor researchers means to find out a lot of interesting and important information about its carriers. Who they were, what they did and where they lived - all this information can be hidden and encrypted in the name of your family.

If before nicknames were used for practical purposes and could be forgotten over time or changed due to circumstances, then the surname in modern understanding has a completely different meaning. It is directly related to the genealogy, the history of the family and the continuity of generations. Unfortunately, we often take it for granted. We have been wearing it since childhood, without thinking about what secrets of the family are hidden in it. It is rarely considered as a reason for pride, since now everyone receives it from birth. But before it was the privilege of only noble persons and noble families. It was a kind of reflection of the superiority of the nobility and the unity of family members.

It is possible to pay tribute to your ancestors, to honor their memory, to strengthen kinship and family ties even today. It just takes a little effort and find outhow to find out the history of your family by last name. Online services for freeoffer access to archives containing large lists of detailed description the supposed place, cause and approximate time of origin, up to the indication of the century. You can use them, or turn to specialists who will help you calculate your roots, tell you why the genus was named that way, and even make a family tree.

If you have enough patience and enthusiasm, try to find out the meaning of your last name yourself. How to do this, you will learn from our article, where we have collected a variety of helpful tips about this theme.

How to find out the origin of your last name: freeexcursion into history

To begin with, let's remember how the nicknames of our ancestors were formed in Ancient Rus'. We call them by nicknames, since it is impossible to attribute them to the modern definition of a surname. They were given to make it easier to recognize a person or contact him, changed over time. As for the forced peasants, in general, the change of their generic name could change at the whim of the master. The owners especially liked to have fun, coming up with offensive and offensive nicknames. For example, nee Ignatov (after the name of the ancestor), became Shcherbakov (by external sign - the absence of front teeth).

Find out the meaning of your last nameconnected with the ancient roots themselves, the easiest way is for those whose ancestors lived in the region of Veliky Novgorod. Chronicles dating back to about the 13th century indicate that it was there that the very first generic nicknames originated. In the ancient archives there are references to Novgorodians who died in the Battle of the Neva.

They appeared among princes and boyars in the 14th century. The loudest and most famous of them were worn by representatives of influential and ruling dynasties: Shuisky, Nevsky, Donskoy. A little later, the nobles also appeared borrowed from foreign languages: Fonvizin, Yusupov, Karamzin.

However, ordinary, not eminent and not noble people remained with nicknames. Even the reforms of Peter the Great could not put things in order with the peasant families. So, it was he who introduced the word, it comes from the Latin familia - family, into use. Conducted censuses of the population, including the peasant population - the so-called "revisions". Of course, it would be much more convenient for the emperor if each clan had a permanent name, passed down by inheritance, but this was still a long way off. The absence of a permanent surname indicated the low origin of a person and remained a stigma among the general population throughout almost the entire existence of the Russian Empire.

Remember the works of Russian classics. There are never indications and information about the names of serfs. Take for example " Dead Souls» Gogol. There the peasants were listed by nicknames.

Naturally, the names for the families were not taken from nowhere. They were assigned according to certain characteristics. If now we do not think about the roots and meaning, then earlier the generic nickname made sense. Sohow to find and learn the history of the origin of your last name - freeway to find out interesting details the lives of your ancestors, we invite you to study the most common options in Rus', which are still found in a modified, and sometimes even in their original form:

• By analogy with animals: Lisitsyn, Medvedev, Khomyakov, Volkov, Kobylkin.
• By occupation: Stolyarov, Kuznetsov, Rybakov, Streltsov.
• place of residence or geographical names: Belozersky, Kareltsev, Sibiryak, Vyazemsky, Donskoy, Bryantsev.
• By the names of the ancestors: Fedotov, Ivanov, Fedorov.
• By the name of the religious holidays during which the child was born: Preobrazhensky, Assumption, Annunciation.
• According to household items that a person used in his work: Shilov, Spitsyn, Molotov.
• According to external signs: Ryzhov, Krivtsov, Krivoshein, Sleptsov, Nosov, Belousov, Sedov.
• By home nicknames: Malyshev - baby, Menshikov - youngest child in the house.
• By nationality: Tatarinov, Ordyntsev (from the word "horde"), Nemchinov.

As you can see, having determined the origin of your surname, you can find out about the profession of your ancestors, what they did, who they were or where they were born. If you are the Tolmachevs, then there were once translators in your family. The distant ancestors of Muromov could have been born or lived in the city of Murom, and the Pobezhimovs probably had an escape. These data may be useful to you in compiling your family's pedigree.

Very interesting phenomenon are the so-called seminary families. They arose much later, in the 17th century among the representatives of the clergy. among the people they were also called "priests", as they were worn mainly by clergymen. They were created artificially, the priests explained this by the fact that they want to be closer to the people. They were specially made harmonious, beautiful, which emphasized the special status of the wearer. They are formed mainly with the help of suffixes sky / -sky. Here are some of them:

• Akvilev
• Blagonadezhin
• Vetrinsky
• Bethlehem
• Damascus
• Demosthenov
• Euclidean
• Zlatoumov
• Kristallevsky

Their origin is based mainly on Latin words. Also there are names of birds, animals and plants, names of philosophers, priests and saints. Often they are also transliterations of Russian names from Latin. Such surnames sound somewhat unnatural for our language and it is almost impossible to meet them today. However, if instead of the usual Russian suffixes ov/-ev, in/-yn you have sky/-tsky, then most likely your ancestors belonged to the clergy.

Where to find out the history of the family: we determine the profession of ancestors by last name

When compiling a family tree, it is very important to know what your distant relatives did many centuries ago. Perhaps they did something very important for the state: they were war heroes, they saved people, they were engaged in art. This can be an impetus in a future career and definition life path for yourself. Inspired by the deeds of the ancestors, it is much easier to find and understand your destiny. How to do it? Access to ancient archives, historical documents and annals is not available to everyone. On the Internet, the possibilities are also limited, since the resources offering to find out the history of a kind by last name for free online do not have a complete list of the necessary information. In addition, it is not always reliable and there is no way to verify the data.

The best thing to do is to do it yourself. Listen to your last name, break it down into its component parts (prefix, root, suffix) and think about what word or phrase it came from. Here are the names of the representatives different professions and estates in Rus':

Merchants

Merchants have always been a privileged class, enjoyed honor and respect. Therefore, much earlier than ordinary people, they were awarded the right to bear surnames. Initially, this opportunity was provided only to influential and noble merchants of the higher guilds. The most famous of them:

• Bakhrushins
• Mammoth
• Schukins
• Ryabushinsky
• Demidovs
• Tretyakovs
• Eliseevs
• Soltadenkovs

nobles

The etymology of this word means that this is a certain person who is at the princely or royal court. Members of the estate passed on their status by inheritance from generation to generation, and with it the surname of their ancestors.

• Ancient nobility who received the title in the period before the second half of XVII century: Scriabins, Eropkins.
• Nobles with the title of count, baron, prince, listed in genealogical books: Urusovs, Alabyshevs.
• Foreign nobility: in the surnames there are foreign elements "de", "fon", "von dem".

Clergy

For clergy, surnames were most often used denoting the parish in which the priest worked: Uspensky, Voznesensky, Rozhdestvensky. Those who graduated from the seminary were assigned fictitious ones. The euphony depended on how diligent the student was. For example, someone who demonstrated outstanding academic achievement was given the surname of Diamonds.

Service people

Those who were on public service, also enjoyed a special position and privileges from the sovereign. This is especially influenced by the fact that the noble rank could be obtained in the service. The emergence of such surnames is attributed to the XVII - XVIII. They usually reflected the location of the employee or areas of important battles and battles. These include:

• Kazantsev
• Bryantsev
• Moskovkin
• Karelians

Peasants

This estate officially received surnames only after the revolution and the overthrow of the monarchy in the Russian Empire, although many rulers of the state made attempts to restore order with their nicknames. Surnames of serfs emphasized their low social status, most often associated with crafts and physical labor, as well as household equipment that was used for this:

• Melnikov
• Chomutov
• Sokhin
• Bochkarev
• Goncharov
• Pivovarov
• Cabbers
• Karetin
• Basement
• Nebogatikov
• Bosyakov

If you found your last name on this list, then it will be easier for you to understand what kind of activity your ancestors had. So, you have found the answer to one of the mysteries of your family tree.

How to find and determine the origin of your last name yourself

If you are interested in in-depth independent searches and set up for a serious investigation, then you can make significant progress in the study of your ancestry. Here are some tips to help you with this:

Learn more about genealogy

Very often, reading books and studying resources on this topic becomes a source of inspiration for one's own research. Devote a few days to this, and then your work will become more orderly and conscious.

Purchase the necessary materials

It's hard to keep all the information in your head. To make it more convenient for you to draw diagrams and record data, stock up on notebooks and folders. You can even make a large table on a piece of paper with all the names of your close and distant relatives.

Dig up the family archives

At home, you probably have old documents stored: passports, birth certificates, certificates, extracts.

Connect relatives to work

Ask your parents, grandparents, what surnames were in your family. It is especially important for women to know them maiden names that they wore before marriage.

Getting to know the history of a family is a great opportunity to get together and feel the unity of family members.