Comments on: All About Armenian Last Names

By: Arabian Stallions

Arabian Stallions — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:17:52 +0000

I really appreciate the time it took you to write this post, thanks!

By: Tony Woods

Tony Woods — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:55:39 +0000

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?

By: Kizerian

Kizerian — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:38:05 +0000

Actually Armen, it does mean son of, because my last name means son of the Zar. So no it doesn’t mean from.

By: Steven Jefairjian

Steven Jefairjian — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:03:26 +0000

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.

By: Armen

Armen — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 02:17:22 +0000

@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.

By: lilya

lilya — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 01:27:47 +0000

so my last name is Gabrielyan… what exactly does it mean… i got the yan, but what’s the gabriel?

By: Anon

Anon — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 00:31:31 +0000

“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.

By: Armen

Armen — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 23:58:01 +0000

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.

By: Anon

Anon — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 23:47:19 +0000

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 â€“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

By: Armen

Armen — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 18:03:06 +0000

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.

By: Anon

Anon — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 10:03:22 +0000

Ian/Yan in Armenian means “from” not “son of”

By: Alina

Alina — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 13:58:13 +0000

great post.

best part… “â€œhung like a horse.â€ - hahahah. go sinanian/sinanyans!

By: samourkachian

samourkachian — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 05:42:42 +0000

I was researching my last name when I ran into your article….