I like Armenian last names because quite often they are easily identifiable. That combined with the fact that there are so few of us around the world makes for a fun game of “Spot the Armenians” in almost any list of names; whether they be movie credits, class attendance sheets, or whatever else.
The following is a brief overview on the composition and history of Armenian last names. It is reprinted from a recent edition of the Gibrahayer (Cypriot-Armenian) Newsletter. The one thing that is a bit odd is that they don’t talk about the Indo-European roots of the “ian” suffix.
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Most Armenian names end in “ian” or “yan,” meaning the “son of,” but some Diaspora Armenians have changed these endings to blend in their host societies. Today in Turkey “oglu” often replaces “ian,” while Russian Armenians may change the endings to “ov”; e.g., Gary Kasparov, Serge Parajanov. A name ending in “ian” is not always exclusively Armenian, since the ending can also be occasionally found in names in Irish, Persian, English, Philippine and some other cultures. Armenian last names generally fall into five specific categories: Aristocracy, Parent, Geography, Occupation or Trait.
Aristocracy
The ancient Armenian aristocracy (”Nakharar” class) was derived from Parthian-Persian stock and many of their names ended in “uni” or “ooni.” Most of these families were destroyed over the centuries but some still survive today; e.g., Sasuni, Rshtuni.
Parent
Many Armenian names are derived from the first names of an ancestor; e.g. Davidian, “son of David,” Stepanian, “son of Stepan,” or Krikorian, “son of Krikor/Grigor.” Until the 19th century, virtually all first names had a religious origin, so most of those last names are also religious.
Geography
Some last names are based on geographic origin and end in “lian” (Turkish) or “tsian” (Armenian). Typical examples are Sivaslian “from Sivas,” Urfalian “from Urfa” and Vanetzian “from Van.” These names were typically given to an immigrant who migrated from a different region of Armenia. Obviously everyone living in Marash would not call himself or herself “Marashlian”.
Occupation
Most last names were taken from the professions of an ancestor. These names frequently originated with the tax collectors who needed to identify all individuals for tax purposes. Typical examples are Najarian “son of a carpenter,” Arabian “son of a wagon/ teamster,” and Vosgarichian “son of a goldsmith.” Many of these occupations are not Armenian, since the tax man (typically a Moslem Turk, Persian, Arab, etc.) would use his own native word for the occupation; e.g., the name Boyajian is based on the Arab/Turkish term “boyaji” “one who dyes.”
Trait
The most confusing and curious names are those based on some trait of an ancestor. Typical examples are Topalian “son of the cripple,” Dilsizian “son of the tongueless one,” or Sinanian “son of the spearpoint.” Many of the origins of these names are unclear unless one understands the original context. As an example, Dilsizian indicates that an ancestor had his tongue cut out by the Turks for using the Armenian language, while the term “Sinan” was a slang term applied to somebody either with a very erect military-like carriage or who was “hung like a horse.” Some of these traits are not physical, but rather reflect personality or social status; e.g., Melikian “son of the king” or Harutunian “son of the resurrection.” The name Harutunian could be based on an ancestor named Harutune (so-named because he was born around Eastertime), or adopted by a convert to Protestantism to show his status as a “born-again Christian.”
Many last names today have been shortened or modified to aid pronunciations by non Armenians; e.g., the name Mugerditchian/ Mkrtichian” becomes “Mugar,” “Husseniglian,” become s “Hewsen,” and Samourkashian” becomes “Samour.” These abbreviated names often drop the ian” ending, and are not immediately identifiable as being Armenian to an outsider. The name categories of Occupation and Trait can differ significantly between Eastern Armenians and Western Armenians, since the eastern names often have Persian, Georgian or Russian roots, while the western names may have Turkish, Arab, or Greek roots. Names with the prefix “Der” or “Ter” show that one of the ancestors was a “Der Hayr” a married parish priest), a position of great social status among Armenians; e.g., DerBedrosian, Ter Petrosian.
The study of Armenian Names is a fascinating exercise, since virtually every aspect of the culture is reflected in names. There have been extensive studies of Armenian names in the Armenian language, but little has appeared in English and many Armenians (born outside of Armenia) do not understand the significance of their own names.
I was researching my last name when I ran into your article….
great post.
best part… ““hung like a horse.” – hahahah. go sinanian/sinanyans!
Ian/Yan in Armenian means “from” not “son of”
The meaning of the suffix ultimately comes from its Indo-European roots and Armenian is an Indo-European language. Giving specific meaning in translating something like a thousands-year old suffix is a bit difficult.
What does it mean for a person to be “from” someone? It means they are the their son or daughter right? They are from that family. I think the distinction is slim at best. Roughly the same meaning is conveyed.
Son is vorti and daughter is dustr. Had there been an intention to explicitly state a son or daughter relationship, these (or some variation of them) would be used as suffixes. You wouldn’t translate Araratian Dasht as “Son of Ararat Plain/Field” but as “Plain/Field of Ararat” instead. Ian is used in the Armenian language (as well as other Indo-European languages) to denote something that derives from or belongs to the object in question. I welcome anyone to cite sources from Armenian language experts which show “son of” as being the explicit meaning of –ian both in its etymology and intended use. Here is a thread from an Armenian forum with others’ thoughts on this subject and article.
http://hyeforum.com/index.php?showtopic=12344
Whoever you are, yes, you are technically correct and I don’t disagree with you. I was merely trying to explain why I thought the original author of the article had defined the term as such. Either way, the purpose of the article I reposted was not to derive the origin of the -ian suffix but to discuss Armenian last names in general.
Thanks for pointing out the difference.
“I was merely trying to explain why I thought the original author of the article had defined the term as such.”
It wasn’t my intention to trash the article as a whole or you blog. It’s just that I’ve been seeing Armenian “son of” popping up all over the place and when I happened upon your entry I saw this as an opportunity to make a correction.
so my last name is Gabrielyan… what exactly does it mean… i got the yan, but what’s the gabriel?
@lilya — I think the most common explanation for your last name would be that you are from the family of Gabriel. Meaning, someone by the name of Gabriel was the head of your family at some point.
Hello
I am looking for ANYTHING that I may find regarding my Grandmaother’s Maiden name ‘Avazon’….so far I am finding NOTHING.
Thanks for any help!
SteveJ.
Actually Armen, it does mean son of, because my last name means son of the Zar. So no it doesn’t mean from.
My adopted daughter’s birth mother had the family name “Chinskya”. We have assumed this is an Armenian name, but I don’t see any mention of it in the family name sites I’ve visited. Is anyone familiar with the name?
I really appreciate the time it took you to write this post, thanks!
My last name is Ouzoonian, got any info on the origin of that? I’m not that well connected to my armenian roots and I’ve been trying to find that out.
TO AMY O:
My last name is Ouzounian, but phonetically, it’s identical to yours. My name (I believe) means “son of a tall man”.
Hope that helps
There is no record of my great grandfather coming to America. We know that he was running for his life. My genealogical search has been roadblocked the whole way. I am now with the last name “Harbian”. I know that before Sarkis came to America, it was Hairabedian. I am trying to find out why one would do this. Does the new “Harb”ian have anything to do with Draul Harb or Draul Islam? Is “Hairabed” a common name? Any stories on how those who ran got here undocumented? I don not expect all those questions to be answered. I just hope someone might be able to answer just one. Thank you for any help.
@sean – Hairabed is (was?) a very common Armenian name. I’m not sure what Draul Harb is but there are many many instances of Armenian (and other) last names being mangled during entry into the US. Either the emigrants themselves did not know how to best spell their names in English or the immigration officials taking down their names were careless and wrote them down incorrectly.
For example, I’ve seen Sinenian become Sinanian. Or my last name Abrahamian become Abramian. Typically there is no deeper meaning than this.
Hey Armen
My last name is Mikaelyan, which would mean Son of Mikael. But obviously we’re not talking about the angel himself
So my true surname would be that Mikael’s surname. Do you know of any Mikael branchpoints in Armenian geneology – some mikael who was so important that his descendents wanted to call themselves as his son? 
Just curious.
heyyy i just want to add something…
” e.g., the name Mugerditchian/ Mkrtichian
dj: Mkrtel means “to baptize” and consequently Mkrtich means a person whe performs the baptize.
10x armen
:D
Does anyone know what Tsaturyan means? It’s my future last name and I’d like to know the meaning.
Thank you!
My last name is Wadopian. Someone told me that this means “Son of a Drunk” Is that true or are they just pulling my leggs?
Does anyone know the meaning of my last name,Apoian?
I’m looking for the origin of the last name: Iskiyan. Is this name Armenian or ………….????????
To “ottawa”,
In fact the name is Dzadourian, it is an Armenian family name, and probably means “Son of Adour” or “Son of Asadour”, where Adour and Asadour are Armenian first names.
To Lewis
I doubt the meaning is so, but I don’t assure you since I haven’t met any Armenian with a family name “Wadopian”!!
To Glen,
Apo is an extension (short-name) of an Armenian-Jewish name Apraham or Abraham, as it is mentioned in the Bible, so the family name probably means “Son of Apraham”, since Aprahamian is a very common Armenian last name.
To “jon irvin”,
I don’t really know its meaning (maybe it means the son of a drunk, because “Ichki” or “Iski” in turkish means alcohol-drink), but it must be an Armenian name.
Hi Everyone! I was searching the web for the ancestry origin of my Last Name “Julfayan”. Would anyone know if there is a web-site available to do an ancestor search of my last name??
Any help would be appriciated.
Jackj_28@yahoo.com