We meet new people almost every day. Among them there may be not only compatriots, but also people of other nationalities. Knowing what background a person belongs to is quite important if you plan to establish good contact with him. Then we can learn the characteristics of his culture and, as a result, behave decently.

The easiest and most common way to find out nationality is to look at the surname. To do this, you need to remember school, where in lessons they analyzed words into parts: root, prefix, suffix, etc. These skills will come in handy now.

Analysis

1. Take a blank piece of paper and a pen.
2. Write your last name on it and take the word apart, that is, highlight the root, suffix, and ending. It is the suffixes that will be useful to us in the analysis, so highlight them as precisely as possible.

A suffix is ​​the part of a word between the root and the ending.

Slavic

1. Russians. Suffixes: -ikh, -yh, -tskoy, -skoy, -ev, -ov, -yn, -in. For example, Voronin, Ivanov, Zolotarev.
2. Ukrainian. Suffixes: -yuk, -uk, -ko, -enko. For example, Galchenko, Davidyuk, Grishko. Also, Ukrainian surnames include those that indicate occupation (Gonchar, Bondar), individual surnames (Ukrainian, Gorobets), a combination of words (Bilous = White + Us).
3. Belarusian. Suffixes: -enak, – ich, – ok, – onak, -chik, -ka. These are surnames such as Dubrovich, Milchik, Parshonok, Tsyushka.
4. Polish. Suffixes: – sk, – tsk. Endings: -y, -aya. For example, Volnitsky, Kovalskaya. There are also double surnames if the wife wanted to keep her maiden name. This is how the surnames of husband and wife are combined. For example, Bilyk-Kowalskaya. There are some Polish surnames with an unchangeable form, for example, Nowak.
5. Bulgarian. Suffixes: -ov, -ev. They are formed from names (Konstantinov).
6. Czech. They are distinguished by the presence of –ova in women's surnames, even when they sound absurd. For example, Ivanovova.

European

1. French. Surnames often have the prefix De or Le in front of them. There is also a formation from ordinary names and nicknames that were given to a person because of his character or appearance.
2. English. Surnames are translations of words that indicate place of residence, character traits or profession. For example, Sweet (sweet), Clerk (civil servant).
3. German. Same as in English surnames. For example, Krause (curly), Müller (miller).
4. Swedish. Endings: - strom, - sson, - stead, - berg. For example, Andersson.
5. Italian. Suffixes: -ito, -ino, -etto, -ini, -etti, -illo, -ello. For example, Benedini, Morello, Espozello. In addition to suffixes, they may have specific endings, such as –i, -o, -a (Trovato). Surnames could also be given from the name of a river or city. So Leonardo da Vinci got his last name from the name of the city where he was born - Vinci. And the prefix “yes” indicated this. The prefix "di" is also found. He says that the surname comes from the father's name. For example, Aldo di Nicolo tells us that Aldo is Nicolo's son. Also, surnames could come from the family's occupation, but this was common among the working class. Contadino, for example, translated as “peasant”.
6. Spanish and Portuguese. The surnames of these countries are very similar. Suffixes: -oz, -az, -ez, -iz, -es. There are also those that are translated as a certain human trait.
7. Bulgarian. In this country, most surnames are formed from given names. The suffix –ev or –ov is added to them. For example, Georgiy + ev = Georgiev.

Asian

1. Armenian. Suffix: -yan. In Armenia, the majority of surnames have this ending. For example, Avanesyan, Galustyan.
2. Azerbaijani. The basis is national names, to which either the suffix –ov or –ev is added. For example, Abdullaev.
3. Georgian. Endings: -shvili, -si, -dze, -li, -uri, -ni, -ava, -ia, -a, -ua. For example, Katamadze.
4. Chinese and Korean. This is where nationality is easiest to determine, since the surnames of these countries are very specific. They consist of 1 or 2 syllables. For example, Qiao, Li.
5. Japanese. They consist of two words in the national language. For example, Katayama – piece + mountain, Wada – harmony + rice field.
6. Jewish. The range of these surnames is very wide and they are determined not only by specific suffixes. Several groups can be distinguished here:
   – the basis is the roots of Cohen and Levy. Hence - Levitan, Koganovich.
   – the basis is female and male national names, to which the suffixes are added: -ovich, -on, -yan, -is, -inchik, -ik. For example, Yakubovich.
   – a surname can come from a person’s appearance, character or activity. So Melamed is from the profession of “teacher”.

You need to know some (sometimes the simplest) features of the formation of proper names in certain national languages. Most often, the differences come in the endings. It is not difficult to remember that Georgians use “-shvili” and “-dze”; Ukrainians use “enko” and “yuk”; Armenians start with “-yan”, etc., etc.. Then various nuances become clear. That Aivazov, Aivazyan and Aivazovsky belong to the same nation. But Gribovskaya and Grybauskaite are different. That is, roots also mean something. There is a special chic when some small ethnic group is among big nation, and mastered the language and the system of formation of personal names. But with its own national specificity. This is closely related to the history of peoples. With the peculiarity of languages. But sometimes it just becomes familiar, for example, something like this Russian name for some reason it is even more popular among one small nation, and not among the Russians themselves.

By ending and suffix. Having rummaged through the Internet and based on personal experience, compiled a list of traditional national suffixes and endings for residents of European countries:

Russians - use surnames with the suffixes -in, -yn -ov, -ev, -skoy, -tskoy, -ih, -yh (Snegirev, Ivanov, Voronin, Sinitsyn, Donskoy, Moskovskikh, Sedykh);

Ukrainians - the first group of surnames of this nationality is formed using the suffixes -enko, -ko, -uk, -yuk (Kreshchenko, Grishko, Vasilyuk, Kovalchuk); the second group denotes the type of craft or occupation (Potter, Koval); the third group of surnames consists of individual Ukrainian words(Gorobets, Ukrainian, Parubok), as well as a merger of words (Vernigora, Nepiyvoda, Bilous);

Belarusians - typical Belarusian surnames end in -ich, -chik, -ka, -ko, -onak, -yonak (Radkevich, Dubrovka, Parshonok, Kuharchik, Kastsyushka); many names in Soviet years were Russified and Polished (Dubrovsky, Kosciuszko);

Latvians - belonging to masculine denotes a surname ending in -s, -is, and for a feminine ending - in -a, -e (Verbitskis - Verbitska, Shurins - Shurin)

Lithuanians - male surnames end in -onis, -unas, -utis, -aitis, -enas (Pyatrenas, Norvydaitis), women's surnames are formed from the husband's surname using the suffixes -en, -yuven, -uven and the ending -e (Grinius - Grinyuvene), surnames unmarried girls contain the basis of the father's surname with the addition of the suffixes -ut, -yut, -ayt and the ending -e (Orbakas - Orbakaite)

Estonians - masculine and feminine genders are not distinguished by surnames, all foreign surnames (mostly German) were at one time Estonianized (Rosenberg - Roosimäe), this process continues until today, for example, in order to be able to play for the Estonia national team, football players Sergei Khokhlov and Konstantin Kolbasenko had to change their last names to Simson and Nahk;

Poles - most surnames have the suffix -sk, -tsk, and the ending -й (-я), indicating masculine and feminine gender (Sushitsky, Kovalskaya, Khodetsky, Wolnitskaya); There are also double surnames, in case a woman, when getting married, wants to keep her surname too (Mazur-Komorowska); In addition to these surnames, surnames with a constant form are also common among Poles (Nowak, Sienkiewicz, Wujcik, Wozniak)

French - many surnames are preceded by the prefix Le or De (Le Pen, De Pompadour); Basically, various nicknames and personal names were used to form surnames (Robert, Jolie, Cauchon - pig);

English - the following surnames are common: formed from the names of the place of residence (Scott, Wales); denoting profession (Clerk - civil servant, Hoggart - shepherd, Smith - blacksmith); indicating character traits and appearance (Armstrong - strong, Sweet - sweet, Bragg - boastful);

Germans - surnames formed from personal names (Werner, Peters); surnames that characterize a person (Krause - curly, Klein - small); surnames indicating the type of activity (Müller - miller, Lehmann - landowner);

Swedes - most surnames end in -sson, -berg, -sted, -strom (Andersson, Olsson, Forsberg, Bostrom);

Norwegians - formed from personal names using the suffix -en (Larsen, Hansen), surnames without suffixes and endings can also be found (Per, Morten); Norwegian surnames can denote the names of animals and trees and natural phenomena (Blizzard - blizzard, Svane - swan, Furu - pine);

Italians - surnames are characterized by the suffixes -ini, -ino, -ello, -illo, -etti, -etto, -ito (Benedetto, Moretti, Esposito), and can also end in -o, -a, -i (Conti, Giordano, Costa); the prefixes di- and da- indicate, respectively, that a person belongs to his clan and geographical location(Di Moretti is the son of Moretti, Da Vinci is from Vinci);

Spaniards and Portuguese - have surnames ending in -ez, -es, -az, -iz, -oz (Gomez, Lopez), surnames indicating a person’s character are also common (Alegre - joyful, Bravo - brave, Malo - bad) ;

Turks - most often surnames have the endings -oglu, -ji, -zade (Mustafaoglu, Ekindzhi, Kuindzhi, Mamedzade), also when forming surnames they often used Turkish names or everyday words (Ali, Abaza - fool, Kolpakchi - hat);

Bulgarians - almost all Bulgarian surnames are formed from personal names using the suffixes -ov, -ev (Konstantinov, Georgiev);

Greeks - the surnames of the Greeks cannot be confused with any other surnames, only they have the endings -idis, -kos, -poulos (Angelopoulos, Nikolaidis);

Czechs - the main difference from other surnames is the obligatory ending -ova in female surnames, even where it would seem inappropriate (Valdrova, Ivanovova, Andersonova).

This is quite correct, but slightly simplified information) Because, as I noted above, there are many small nuances. Let's say, Yakimansky or Preobrazhensky are pure Russians, not Poles. But this way you can determine the descendant of a clergyman. “Novak” is generally found in almost all Slovenian lands. The fact that Janusz Nowak is waiting for the tram on Marszałkowska is also natural that at the same time Davorin Nowak is removing the sail on his yacht on the Adriatic. The Danes are about the same as the Norwegians; and even the monotony of surnames starting with “Sen” causes problems in everyday life. I’ll also point out that the lion’s share of Polish, Lithuanian and Belarusian surnames can transform into one another by replacing the endings. Manufacturer Alekseev, taking the pseudonym Stanislavsky, could easily be Stanislauskas in Lithuania. The Turks only developed surnames in the first half of the 20th century, and because of instructions from above. To briefly tell how surnames are formed among Jews, it would take, in volume, four such answers) Russians with endings in “-ih”, “-yh” usually come from Siberia. English and German professional surnames (taking into account the kinship of the two peoples (however, if we do not talk about the Dutch)) are very similar: Miller-Muller, Smith-Schmidt, etc.. The famous German cartoonist John Heartfield was in reality Herzfeld.

Answer

Comment

To the words above I will add that suffixes and endings must be looked at carefully. Otherwise (d`)Artagnan will turn out to be a relative of the Armenian, and not a Gascon (at that time, rather a separate subethnic group at the junction of the French and Spaniards

To determine nationality by last name, you need to remember the morphemic analysis from school curriculum Russian language. A direct indication of nationality is contained in the root of the surname and its suffixes. For example, the suffix “eyko” in the Shumeiko surname is proof of the family’s Ukrainian origin.
To determine nationality by last name, sometimes it is necessary to study many books

You will need

A sheet of paper, a pen, the ability to do morphemic analysis of a word, etymological dictionary Russian language, dictionary foreign words.

Instructions

1. Take a piece of paper and a pen. Write your last name and highlight all the morphemes in it: root, suffix, ending. This preparatory stage will help you determine what nationality your family's surname belongs to.
2. Pay attention to the suffix. Since in Russian more often than others foreign names There are Ukrainian ones, these can be the following suffixes: “enko”, “eyko”, “ovsk/evsk”, “ko”, “ochko”. That is, if your last name is Tkachenko, Shumeiko, Petrovsky or Gulevsky, Klitschko, Marochko, you should look for distant relatives on the territory of Ukraine.
3. Look at the root of the word if the suffix does not answer the question of what nationality your last name is. Often its basis is one or another profession, object, animal, bird. As an example, we can cite the Russian surname Gonchar, the Ukrainian surname Gorobets (translated into Russian as Sparrow), the Jewish surname Rabin (which means “rabbi”).
4. Count the number of roots in a word. Sometimes the surname consists of two words. For example, Ryabokon, Beloshtan, Krivonos. Similar surnames refer to Slavic peoples(Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Poles, etc.), but are also found in other languages.
5. Evaluate your surname from the point of view of belonging to the Jewish people. Common Jewish surnames contain the roots “Levi” and “Cohen”, found in the surnames Levitan, Levin, Kogan, Katz. Their owners descended from ancestors who were clergy. There are also surnames that came from male (Moses, Solomon) or female names (Rivkin, Beilis), or were formed from a merger male name and suffix (Abrahams, Jacobson, Mandelstam).
6. Remember, does Tatar blood flow in your veins? If your surname consists of a combination of Tatar words and the suffixes “in”, “ov” or “ev”, then the answer is obvious - there were Tatars in your family. This is especially clearly seen in the example of such names as Bashirov, Turgenev, Yuldashev.
7. Determine which language the surname belongs to, based on the following clues:
   - if it contains the prefix “de” or “le”, look for roots in France;
   - if the surname contains the English name of the territory (for example, Welsh), the quality of a person (Sweet) or profession (Carver), relatives should be looked for in the UK;
   - the same rules apply to German surnames. They are derived from profession (Schmidt), nickname (Klein), name (Peters);
   — Polish surnames can be recognized based on the sound - Kovalchik, Senkevich. Look in the dictionary of foreign words if you have difficulty assigning a surname to a particular language

Wikipedia:

Most surnames in the Russian nominal formula are derived from patronymics (based on the baptismal or secular name of one of the ancestors), nicknames (based on the type of activity, place of origin, or some other characteristic of the ancestor) or other family names.

Russian surnames in most cases were single or hyphenated, passed down strictly according to male line. IN mid-19th century, especially after the abolition of serfdom in 1861, surnames were formed for the majority of people of the peasant class. By the 1930s, the process of obtaining surnames by various nationalities was completely completed.

Russian surnames most often end in -ov/-ev. From 60% to 70% of Russian surnames have the ending -ov/-ev. Surnames in -ov/-ev are formed as follows:

Surnames formed mainly as patronymics or by the name of the grandfather (the name of the grandfather, from whom the temporary surname of the father came) from church or Slavic personal names or nicknames, for example, Ivan → son of Ivan - Ivanov, Alexey → son Alexey-Alekseev, a man nicknamed Bezborody → son of Bezborodoy - Bezborodov, etc.

This also includes surnames derived from nicknames associated with the profession. For example, a person by profession is a blacksmith → the son of a blacksmith - Kuznetsov.

The authorities of the Don Army Region did not recognize surnames ending in -in and -i/y. During the population census, such surnames were changed to -ov, for example, the surname Kuzmin turned into Kuzminov, Bessmertny - into Bessmertnov, etc.

Russian surnames ending in -in occupy the second place in prevalence among Russian surnames, after surnames ending in -ov / -ev. In some places in Russia, especially in the Volga region, surnames starting with -in cover more than 50% of the population. Everything that is written about family names in -ov/-ev fully applies to surnames in -in. Surnames ending in -in are present among Belarusians and are less popular than among Russian surnames. Among Belarusians, the ratio of the suffixes -ov/-ev and -in is completely different, 90% to 10%. This is due to the fact that the basis of surnames was perceived not in the original Russian diminutive form of names with -ka, but with the Belarusian form with -ko (Ivashkov, Fedkov, Geraskov - from, respectively, Ivashko, Fedko, Gerasko, instead of Ivashkin, Fedkin, Geraskin).

The Russian North is the historical homeland of Russian surnames, having the suffixes -ih and -ih. These surnames appeared at the turn of the first and second millennia and later spread to the central regions of Rus' and the Urals. The appearance and widespread distribution of surnames in Siberia occurred much later and was associated with the beginning of the period of conquest of Siberia in the second half of the 16th century.

Surnames on -i/-s come from the nickname that characterized the family - Short, White, Red, Large, Small, etc. - and are a form of the genitive (or prepositional) plural of a possessive adjective, which was formed by adding a patronymic suffix to the root of the nickname. Doctor of Philological Sciences A.V. Superanskaya describes the mechanism of formation of these surnames as follows: “The head of the family is called Zolotoy, the whole family is called Zolotoy. A native or descendants of a family in the next generation - Zolotykh"

Surnames in -skiy / -tskiy They are more common among Poles. Despite this, a fairly large percentage of the Russian population have surnames in -sky / -tsky. The surname originates from areas that were previously occupied by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. TO this method word formations include surnames derived from names:

Localities or settlements - this method of formation is especially characteristic of princely families or the Western Russian gentry of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, however, it is not so characteristic of Great Russian noble families(unlike Western Europe). Examples: Belozersky is the owner of the Beloozero estate, Vyazemsky is the owner of the estate in Vyazma.

Church parishes (churches), in turn, formed from the names of church holidays, the names of saints. Examples: Voznesensky, Holy Cross, Rozhdestvensky, Trinity, Uspensky, Yaransky.

Artificially created in the seminary. Examples: Athenian, Athos, Dobrovolsky