Zhukov: the origin of the name and its meaning

In the list of the hundred most common Russian family names, Zhukov takes an honorable 61st place. Studies of scientists working in the field of anthroponomy as a science that studies the evolution of names, patronymics and surnames, showed the true origin of the name Zhukov.

The tradition of the formation of surnames in Russia

The historical background testifies to the late appearance of the surname in Rus. In the anthroponymy, the thirteenth century is considered to be the moment when the custom of the hereditary transfer of the name originated in the Slavic medieval society. The patronymic system was based on patronymics or the names of fathers and grandfathers, since the patriarchal system demanded respect for the heroes and defenders of the family, the brave fighters fallen in battles.

However, there was another form of the appearance of surnames - a derivative of the nickname, which was given to the progenitor for the quality of appearance or character, profession. The descendants of the person who received the nominal nickname took as their last name the name of the father in a possessive form: they took for the basis the cliquish name of the ancestor and, answering the question "whose?", "Whose?" Or "whose?", Added the suffixes -o / -ev / -in, and for the formation of a female variant of the surname-inflexion -a. Thus, a person with the nickname Beetle marked the beginning of the development of the Zhukov family.

Zhukov: the origin of the name

The origins of the origin of the name of interest to us originate in medieval Rus. In the XVI-XVII centuries, there was a tradition to form secular names from the names of representatives of the animal and plant world.

Nicknames were given on the fact of "similarity" of a person with an animal or plant in its appearance or behavior. In other words, the names served as a mythological code, preserving information about the character of the person. So, at the moment there are several theories of the origin of the name Zhukov, as well as other derivatives from the nickname Zhuk - Zhukevich, Zhukovsky.

One last name - three theories

The first position of the scientists studying the anthroponomy concerning the name of Zhukov is that the nickname Zhuk was most often given to people on the basis of an expressive external sign - black hair. Another concept of the origin of the surname says that the beetle was called clever, cunning and sly persons.

Assumptions of researchers about how the name Zhukov came about also include the theory of dependence on geographical location. So, people from the village of Zhukovka could take such a name.

About representatives of the Zhukov family from historical information

Despite the fact that the second theory about where the name "Zhukov" originated has a negative connotation, Zhukov's representatives are enterprising and quirky people. For example, the Zhukovs - the oldest noble family of Rus - received such a nickname as a legacy from their ancestor - the Greek John of Smolvina. There is a legend that when he arrived from Byzantium on the Russian lands, he received from the Grand Duke Vladimir the nickname Zhuk for his dark skin and characteristic cunning. Generations of descendants proudly bear the name of Zhukov, being on the royal service as Moscow archers, stooges and solicitors. Historical documents contain evidence of the presence in the XVI century of several noble families with a name that came from the nickname Beetle.

In the pages of the glorious history of the Zhukov family, the landowners Vasyuk and Levshin, peasants Ivashko, Prikhozhy and Prokop were noted. Noteworthy is the contribution to the development of the Russian Empire of the Zhukov family, who lived in the Caucasus territories in the 18th century. Kolesnikov devoted his life to studying this family branch. Based on his investigations, it was under the leadership of the Zhukovs in 1707-1709. The Bulavin Cossack uprising was raised. Glorified his family and marshal George Zhukov, whose name is written in gold letters in the history of the modern Russian state.

What is he - the bearer of the glorious name Zhukov? The origin of the surname indicates that the representatives of the clan always differed in rebellious spirit, freedom-loving, rigid civil position. They possessed a powerful creative potential, they were the driving force of the country. Is it possible to give a general answer to the question, what is behind the name of Zhukov? The origin of the family name of a particular family is determined only by restoring the history of the family. The knowledge of the true secret of the formation of one's own name requires the availability of information about previous generations, as well as information about the residence and activities of the first carrier of the nickname.