Finding this is of the Armenian Group Name

Finding this is of the Armenian Group Name

What exactly is in a name? Significantly more than you might count on! Families labels holds clues to a family group’s origin or family members relationships, interests, occupations, stores, as well as contacts to royalty. If you have Armenian history, understanding Armenian surnames will help you get in touch with your household whenever learn your Armenian genealogy and family history. Have a look at home elevators Armenia in FamilySearch wiki that will help you continue your quest!

Armenian Surname Build

Most Armenian surnames consist of a root and another or more suffixes. The root vel, or it may possibly be a title, private feature, occupation, or place-name. Types of roots as well as their significance range from the utilizing:

  • Kade (magistrate, judge, cadi)
  • Kabasakal (creating a rough or bushy beard)
  • Baghdasar (a€?Balthasara€? in English, meaning protector with the king)
  • Zeytounts (an urban area in historic Armenia)

Armenian Surname Suffixes

The most commonly used suffix is actually -ian and its own modifications, such -yan, -jan, ians, among others. This suffix means a€?issued froma€? or a€?family of.a€? Eg, some body with all the surname Zakarian is the child or descendant of Zakar.

  • -li, which indicates a location name. For instance, the surname Sivaslian shows an association to your city of Sivas. (observe that this surname has actually two suffixes: a€?li,a€? talking about the place-name, plus the customized a€?ana€? for a€?ian.a€? Which means this surname indicates a person who will be the child or descendant of individuals related to Sivas.)
  • -tsi, which points to a spot of source. Eg, the surname Shirakatsi shows a family group origin of Shirak.
  • -ji or -chi, which indicates a vendor.
  • -ter or -der was a name of value for a priest. A surname instance Ter-Petrosyan suggests that the person had an ancestor who was simply a priest.
  • -uni suggests a household link with Armenian nobility. These include Pahlavuni and Mandakuni.

Patronymics in Armenian Surnames

The -ian and similar suffixes come from the patronymic naming system useful a long time in Armenian surnames. Inside program, the surname associated with kid is dependant on one name on the parent. Thus, including, a person known as Samvel Petrosian will be the boy of Petros. And Samvel’s daughter Alex might be called Alex Samvelian.

Patronymics progressively decrease regarding use in the early 1900s as Armenians, like other individuals, started utilizing the same surname over numerous generations.

A fresh Land, a fresh Term

When you have forefathers exactly who immigrated towards United States, you have read reports about immigration authorities assigning latest surnames to immigrants. Probably it happened some times. However, specialist parece on countless ship exhibits, and he receive a€?no research that anybody of Armenian ethnicity was actually arbitrarily designated an a€?American’ identity on ship manifest.a€?

Alternatively, the guy discovered different factors immigrants thought we would transform their own labels. Often they wished to conform to another traditions and code. And also, some chose to reduce their own long surnames. Samourkashian might come to be Samour, or Aznavourian might come to be Aznavour. Often Armenian surnames were simply translated-Ohannisian might being its English counterpart, Johnson. In other cases, surnames are changed to a similar-sounding English phrase without linguistic connection to the original-for sample, Buyukian (Buyuk means a€?large persona€?) might be Bacon.

Dictionary of Armenian Surnames

Probably one of the most useful sources for researching Armenian surnames could be the Dictionary of Armenian Surnames, a work of admiration by C. K. Garabed. By his very own profile, Garabad is certainly not a linguist or philologist; the guy going documenting Armenian surnames as a hobby. Throughout the years, he built-up more than 10,000 labels and also observed significance for a lot of associated with origins. The dictionary includes lengthy lists of Armenian surnames, structured alphabetically. It’s fascinating also to flick through this dictionary.