The most common surnames in the world. The meaning and origin of the surname Smith The most famous surnames

Many people are very interested in knowing the origin of their surname. Some people manage to do this without much difficulty, while others have to seek help from professionals who are knowledgeable in such matters.

The origin of the Kuznetsov surname

Many old Russian patronymics were formed by the name of the main occupation of the head of the family, be he a plowman or a baker. So the surname Kuznetsov came from one of the most important and revered occupations in Russia - blacksmithing.

Knowing the traditions of the old times, it is safe to say that the first person named so, was in, and since his blacksmith had to be in every settlement - the prevalence of this surname is understandable.

This surname has other derivatives. For example, the patronymic of Kuznechikhin, which comes from the word "blacksmith", that is, the wife of a blacksmith, or Kuznichenkov, Kuznetskaya or Kuznetsovskaya.

In Russia there is only one surname, formed from a profession that can boast of more popularity - Popova (derived from "pop" or "wife of a priest"). But, in fact, the name of Kuznetsov is known not only in Russia. So, analogues of this patronymic are popular all over the world.

The Ukrainian surname Koval and its derivatives (Kovalchuk, Kovalskaya, Kovalevich, Kovalchik) are distributed to varying degrees in Russia, Belarus and Poland. The American surname has the same origin as the Kuznetsov surname and is the most common among the population of all English-speaking countries from Canada to New Zealand. The German counterpart also originally belonged to those people who were engaged in blacksmithing. Of course, in the modern world this tradition no longer works, but if you live under this name, it means that one of your ancestors was a blacksmith's master.

Historical reference

One of the earliest mentions of this surname dates back to 1466. It was received by the Pskov blacksmith Klementy Sestorikov. It is this version of the origin of the Kuznetsov surname that is considered the most reliable.

In 1585, in the basin of the Sysola River, people lived under the name Kuznetsovs, who belonged to the Komi group of peoples. Whether the origin of the Kuznetsov surname is directly related to this region is unknown, but some scientists believe that it was from this territory that the Kuznetsovs began to settle throughout Russia. The resettlement began approximately in 1646-1647, as evidenced by the increase in the number of references to this surname in historical sources after this year.

Later, in honor of people with this surname, villages and villages, streets and driveways began to be called. In December 1967, a monument to Nikolai Ivanovich Kuznetsov, and a saboteur who died in battle on the territory of Ukraine, appeared in the courtyard of the agricultural college. And in September 2009, a monument to another bearer of the Kuznetsov surname, the writer Anatoly Vasilyevich, appeared in Kiev.

The prevalence of the Kuznetsov surname

In 1917, Kuznetsova was herself in 17 volosts. In total, about 69 thousand people lived in that region, and more than 1000 families bore this surname. It was also distributed over a vast territory south and east of Moscow. So, in the Tula region, for example, for every thousand inhabitants there were up to forty Kuznetsovs. Only two other families - the Ivanovs and the Popovs - could boast of greater popularity at that time.

According to data for 1964, 78 thousand people with this surname lived in Moscow alone, which makes it the second most popular. Only the Ivanovs, who at that time numbered more than 90 thousand people, were able to overtake the Kuznetsovs.

Today, the Kuznetsovs are in fifth place in the list of the most popular surnames in Russia, from where they have risen from twenty-third (after the population census in 2002).

Famous people

Knowing the origin and meaning of the Kuznetsov surname (as well as how popular it is), it is easy to guess that many famous people wear it. Among them are athletes, actors, scientists and businessmen. The most famous bearer of the Kuznetsov surname can be considered the Russian tennis player and Honored Master of Sports Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova. Also, the famous Ukrainian football player Oleg Vladimirovich Kuznetsov and his daughter Ekaterina Olegovna (actress of Russian and Ukrainian theater and cinema) bear this surname.

So, in the list of carriers of this surname there is a Soviet prose writer, children's writer and writer Kuznetsova Agniya Aleksandrovna, Soviet artist Kuznetsova Anna Dmitrievna and even the new martyr Kuznetsova Nina Alekseevna.

They say "as you name the boat, so it will float." Does this mean that a popular surname can make a person popular too?

Among the most popular surnames are not only Chinese or English, but also Russian, Spanish, African and even Greek.

Here are the most common surnames in the world:

The most famous surnames

25. Smith

This surname appeared in England and gradually spread throughout the English-speaking countries. Smith is by far the most common surname in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Scotland, Australia, and New Zealand.

24. Garcia

It is easy to guess that this surname is the most popular in Spain. However, it is also the second most popular in Cuba and third in Mexico. Due to the fact that many Latin American people come to the United States to work, here the Garcia surname is in 8th place in popularity.

23. Martin

In France, this surname is used by more than 235,000 people, which makes it the most popular in the country. It is also worth noting that in many languages ​​there are other versions of this surname, which are used as first names rather than surnames, for example, names such as Martinus or Martin, derived from the Latin language.

22. Rossi

In Italian, the plural of this surname is Rosso, which means "red." In Italy, this is the most common surname. However, it is also very popular in countries such as Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Mexico, Peru, USA and Uruguay.

21. Novak

This surname translates as "new person", "newbie" or "foreigner". This is a very popular Slavic name or surname. Most of the bearers of this surname live in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia, but it is also very popular in Croatia, Serbia and Romania.

The most common surnames

20. Fernandez

This surname is translated as "son of Fernando". It is a very popular surname in Spain (8th place), 4th most popular in Argentina, 10th in Paraguay and 13th in Mexico. In Portugal, this surname is also quite common.

19. Smirnov

Researchers from the Medical Genetic Center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences decided to deeply study the question of the most popular surname. They divided the Russian Federation into hypothetical regions, each of which was studied in detail.

As a result of the study, it turned out that the most popular surname in Russia is Smirnov. It will be interesting to note that one of the versions of the origin of the surname says that the basis of the surname was the word "Smirnaya", which denoted a character trait ("meek" = "obedient").

• Kuznetsov

18. Silva

More than 10% of all Brazilians carry this surname, which makes it the most common in this country. This surname comes from the Latin word "silva", which means "forest" or "woodland". It is also popular in Portugal and the former Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa and Asia (including India and Sri Lanka).

17. Mohamed

This name translates as "Praised", "Praiseworthy" and is the most popular name and surname in the Islamic world. There are several versions of this name, including Mohammed (Magomed), Mohammed and Muhammad.

16. Kumar

The roots of this surname can be found at the beginning of the development of Hinduism. This is not only the most popular name in India, but also a surname and even a middle name. Kumar is also the 8th most popular surname in the world.

15. Gonzales

It is a very popular Spanish name and the second most popular surname. In addition, it is very common in Latin America, including countries such as Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay and Venezuela.

What are the most common surnames

14. Muller

The German word "muller" (also spelled "mueller" or "miller") translates to "miller". This is the most popular surname in Germany, Switzerland and parts of France. In Austria, she ranks 5th in the list of the most common surnames in the country.

13. Cohen

Originally, the word "cohen" in Hebrew was used to refer to a priest. It is also a very popular Jewish surname and can be heard frequently in countries with large Jewish communities. There are several variants of this surname: Coen, Cohn, Kahn, Kohn and others.

12. Nguyen

Beyond any competition, this surname is the most popular in Vietnam, where about 40% of residents are its carriers. But this surname is also popular outside the country, thanks to the many immigrants from Vietnam.

11. Khan

This surname and title is of Mongolian origin. Initially, Khan was the title of the leader of the tribe, and in the states that appeared after the collapse of the Mongol Empire, this was the title of sovereign. In the Ottoman Empire, the sultan was called khan. Today it is the most popular surname in the countries of Central and South Asia. It is one of the most common surnames in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Oman and Turkey.

10. Rodriguez

A very popular surname in Spain, USA and Latin America. Rodriguez means "descendant of Rodrigo" and is the most common surname in Colombia, second most popular in Argentina and 9th most popular in Brazil, where it is often spelled "Rodrigues".

Top surnames

9. Wang

This is the most popular surname in China. In total, about 100,000 residents of the country are its owners. The second most popular Chinese surname is Lee, and the third is Zhang.

8. Anderson

This surname comes from a word indicating origin and means "descendant of Anders / Andrew". The surname appeared in parallel in the British Isles and in the countries of northern Europe. Anderson is a popular surname in Sweden, Norway and Denmark (where she is spelled "Andersen").

7. Yilmaz

This surname is translated as "brave" or "invincible". She is very popular in Turkey. There were no surnames in Turkey until 1934, and after the adoption of the Law on Surnames, the most popular surnames were Kaya, Demir and Sahin, but the most popular and by a large margin was the surname Yilmaz.

6. Traore

This surname has roots in the Manden languages. Traore is a very popular surname in several West African countries, including Mali, Senegal, and Guinea.

The most common surname in Russia

5. Ivanov

It is worth noting that many attempts have been made to find out which surname is still the most popular in Russia.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the philologist of the University of Oxford Ottokar Genrikhovich Unbegaun, who was a native of Russia, was one of the first who tried to find out the most popular surname. He began in St. Petersburg, where, in his opinion, the most common surname for 1910 was Ivanov, which comes from one of the most popular Russian names - Ivan.

• Kuznetsov

  Vasiliev.

The second attempt took place in modern Russia. Anatoly Fedorovich Zhuravlev, trying to find out which surname is the most popular in his homeland, came to the same result - the surname Ivanov.

Vasiliev

• Mikhailov.

4. Ahmed

The very popular Arabic name Ahmed also boasts a large number of different spellings - Ahmad, Ahmet, Akhmat. The most popular options in the world are Ahmet and Ahmad. A lot of people named Ahmed can be found in Sudan, Egypt, Syria, Bangladesh and other countries.

The most common surnames in the world

3. Lopez

This surname comes from the Latin word "lupus", which means "wolf". Lopez is a popular Spanish name. In Portugal it sounds like Lopes, in Italy - Lupo, in France - Loup, in Romania - Lupu or Lupescu. In Latin America, the name Lopez is also very popular.

2. Kim

Sometimes this surname is spelled as Gim. It is very common on the Korean Peninsula (both South and North Korea). About 22% of the inhabitants of the peninsula bear the surname Kim, which can be translated as "metal", "iron" or "gold".

1. Papadopulos

The meaning of this surname is "the son of a priest". Papadopoulos is the most popular surname in Greece and Cyprus, as well as in countries with a Greek diaspora such as the USA, UK, Australia and the Scandinavian countries.

What is the most common Russian surname

If we take into account all three studies, then we can say that Ivanov and Smirnov are the most common surnames in Russia. However, it should be noted that one of the most popular surnames today is also the surname Kuznetsov (Kuznetsova). And if we take into account that in English the blacksmith is smith, then there are several million carriers of this surname on Earth.

Smith- may refer to: * Smith (metalwork), a person involved in the shaping of metal objects * Smith (surname), an English name ** People with the surname Smith * Smith (TV series) (2006), an American television series * Smith (band), a 1960s American rock ... ... Wikipedia

smith- / smith /, n. 1.a worker in metal. 2.a blacksmith. v.t. 3. to forge on an anvil; form by heating and pounding: to smith armor. )