Armenian surnames – most popular, list 2019

The content of the article

• Armenian names and surnames
• Why do Armenians have a surname for Jan
• The prefix ter in Armenian surnames
• Do Armenian surnames bow
• Armenian Jews – last names
• Armenian men’s last names
• Beautiful Armenian last names

How to find out a person’s nationality if there is no way to ask him about it? There are several ways: you can listen to speech and look at the exterior, trying to identify characteristic features. Another simple but effective method is to analyze the last name. If it ends in “yang”, “en”, “enz”, it is likely that the person you are interested in is Armenian.

Armenian names and surnames

Initially, the inhabitants of this land did not have full names, since there was no need for them. The Armenians lived in small groups and knew each other perfectly. If in the village there were several people whose name was the same, those around them found distinctive characteristics and added to the clan names: by the same principle surnames appeared among many peoples, including Russians.

The origin of Armenian surnames can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when active trade began, and craftsmanship separated from agriculture. In this era, people lacked only nicknames. To understand who they were talking about, people, talking about each other, added to the name the place where the person came from, or his type of activity, or a special feature.

If the craft in the family was passed down from generation to generation, then the young man necessarily inherited the name of his predecessors. Often, the name of the authoritative founder of the clan was taken as the basis, the suffix of affiliation was added to it, for example, “uni”, “yang”, “enz”, “onts”, “oz” and others. So the generic names of the Armenians constantly evolved and gradually turned into modern, familiar ear, but each has its own meaning.

Why do Armenians have a surname for Jan

Ordinary people have full names (in the format we are used to today) began to appear in the early 19th century. In the same era, one can find the answer to the question, why do Armenians have a surname for Jan? This ending is very common for this nationality, although it is borrowed from the Iranian language. This suffix was used to indicate belonging to any kind, an expression of a kinship. The “yang” ends with: Aramyan, Margaryan, Kartyashan, Mirzoyan, Baghdasaran, Arshadyan, Ormanyan and other derivatives of proper names.

The prefix ter in Armenian surnames

This ancient prefix was used until the beginning of the 19th century. She was added to the full name of noble Armenians, clergymen or nobles (the first a priori belonged to a separate estate and were selected from noble princely families). The prefix ter in the Armenian surnames of modern representatives does not occur, however, among historical characters you can meet it: for example, Ter-Yasayants, Ter-Asaturovs, Ter-Hovakimyan, Ter-Guksayany.

Do Armenian surnames bow

As linguists note, a flurry of questions about whether the declension of Armenian surnames is possible comes to them in the summer or early fall, when children begin to enroll in schools, and students go to schools. The exact answer to the question can be found on the portal Gramota.ru or in the proven reliable directory of Rosenthal.

The rule says that any word obeys the laws of grammar and should be inclined if the finite element lends itself to inflection. That is, it is possible to understand whether the Armenian male surname is inclined by the letter of graduation. If it ends in a consonant, it is inclined, in a vowel – no. Armenian female surnames (like any non-declining ones) do not change under any conditions. That is, it should be written as follows: “Armen Muradyan”, but “Anna Muradyan”.

Armenian Jews – last names

Jews have lived in Armenia for more than 2000 years: once they made up a significant part of the urban population, they were engaged in trade and crafts. If we talk about Armenian Jews, their surnames are very peculiar, often derived from the names of biblical characters. For example, Petrosyan, Matevosyan, Tadevosyan, Ghukasyan, Ananyan … The list of Armenian surnames of this kind can be continued indefinitely; in addition, it must be borne in mind that earlier names could sound differently, and change over time.

Armenian men’s last names

For those who are not familiar with the language, alphabet and culture of the country, the names of the Armenians do not say anything. However, almost each of them has a certain meaning. If you turn to onomastics, you can learn a lot of interesting things. For example, here are some Armenian surnames for men, which mean something specific:

• Asadyan “(the happiest”);
• Kocharyan (“nomad”);
• Arvandyan (“fast”, “swift”);
• Bashkhiyan (“mentor”, “teacher”);
• Davudyan (“loving”);
• Gevorgyan (“farmer”);
• Zavaryan (“sky”).

Beautiful Armenian last names

There is no such variety of names in Russian as in Armenian. Many modern representatives of the nation still bear ancient names, proud of them, passing on to the rest of the family. Beautiful Armenian surnames preserved after any census, for example, have the following meanings:

• Hambartsumyan (“heavenly radiance”);
• Durinyan (“strong head”);
• Kaputikyan (“dove”);
• Bagdishyan (“happiness in the moon”);
• Adimanyan (“first soul”).