History of the origin of the name Stepanov

Until the end of the XV century in Russia was not acceptedto use surnames. The first owners of the names were people of noble origin - the princes and boyars, a little later - the nobility. The peasants were given the right to have their own surname only in the XIX century, after the abolition of serfdom. The very word "last name" comes from the Latin word familia, which means "family". It is customary to use this word not only for the family, but for the whole family. The surname is given to a person at birth.

Where did the name Stepanov come from?

The mechanism for the emergence of surnames was as follows:

• at the baptism all the Slavs received names from the clergyman;
• The surname was supposed to be something unique for a whole family;
• sometimes baptized names were taken for her education, which is the basis for the origin of the names Stepanov, Ivanov, Petrov (from the names Stepan, Ivan and Peter, respectively);
• often used some distinctive features of a person or the whole family;
• it happened that the name of the territory on which the family lived at that time was taken as the basis of the surname.

Of course, by the name you can learn a lot abouthistory of the family. The origin of the name Stepanov has its roots deep into the history of Russia and occupies an important place in the rich Russian history. The bearers of this name took an active part in the formation of the Russian Federation, which is embodied in a variety of documents of great historical value.

Origin and meaning of the name Stepanov

In the second half of the 16th century, the names of the Russianorigin were formed mainly with the use of the suffixes -ev, -ov and -in. This feature explains the origin of the name Stepanov. Later, this method of education began to be used by representatives of other nationalities living on the territory of the Russian Empire.

Someone might assume that the given surnameoriginates from the word "steppe", but this is a false proposition. In fact, it comes from the name given at the baptism - Stepan. In part, the origin of the name Stepanov is due to the peculiarities of the Russian language in Ancient Rus. The sound of "f" at that time was not typical for pronunciation. Thus, the Holy Apostle Stefan became Stepan in Russia. The history of the origin of the name Stefan originates in the Greek language from "stephane" and in Russian means "wreath". The apostle Stefan was the first archdeacon, who in his speech at the Sanhedrin accused the priests of the murder of Christ. Stefan suffered from the raging crowd that threw stones at him. So the apostle Stefan became the first martyr.

Prevalence of the name Stepanov

There were representatives of the Stepanov family andnoblemen. The ancient coat of arms of the Stepanovs is a shield divided in two. Part of the shield is silver, part red. In the center of the shield is a lion, which stands on its hind legs, and in the front holds two strips. It is necessary to have three more parallel stripes of blue color in the lion. The shield is decorated with ostrich feathers, as well as the noble helmet and crown.

The ancestors and the most famous representatives of the Stepanovs among the nobles:

• the court counselor and the mayor of Kozelsk, the prime minister Pyotr Stepanov, who lived at the end of the eighteenth century;
• writer and governor of the Yenisei and Saratov provinces Alexander Petrovich Stepanov, who lived at the end of the 18th century at the beginning of the 19th century.

Stepan's name is the basis for more than a dozen names

Thanks to numerousdiminutive-caressing forms (Stenya, Stets, Stepash, Stesha, Stepa, etc.) named Stepan, owe their origin a lot of names, and not one. Stenin, Stepurin, Stepanenko, Stepaniuc, Stepanishev, Stepuk - all occur in the name of Stepan, in various variations and with different suffixes, characteristic for the formation of family names in a certain territory (for example, Eastern and Western Ukraine). It is not surprising that the name Stepanov, whose history is multifaceted and surprising - is the fifteenth most popular surname in Russia.