ANTROPONYMICS OF PEREYASLAV CRAFTSMEN IN THE 1760s

Abstract

The article deals with the surnames and names of the Pereyaslav craftsmen. The analysis of personal names was made on the basis of the General Description of Left-bank Ukraine or Rumyantsev Register, conducted in 1766. The masters of 19 professions lived at that days in the city. Surnames of Ukrainian burghers were only fixed in the second half of the 18th century. All names of persons in Rumiantsev Register from Pereyaslav were two-lettered.According to the lexical-semantic basis, the surnames caт be divided into six groups:- surnames by occupation type (25,6 %);- anroponymic surnames by Christian name (24 %);- surnames on individual signs of a person (21,8%);- surnames formed on the basis of different household names (12,8%);- surnames formed on the basis of animals, fish, insects (8,5%);- surnames by toponyms or ethnonyms (4,5%).The first group was dominating. The surnames of craftsmen more depended on the profession, than surnames of other urban residents. In addition to cases where the first principle is interpreted unambiguously, the explanation of some surnames origin can only be hypothetical. In most cases, they directly pointed out the artistic occupation of the carrier or represented the professional appellatives fixed in the second generation. A group of masters, who bared a professional surname, but not of their specialty, was outlined. Most of them were butchers and tailors, and the least among this group were fullers and bonders. The surname, which at first glance is directly related to the production activity, could be fixed to the owner for other reasons. For example, a person did not produce goods, but traded in them.The names of all the Pereyaslav craftsmen were based on the Christian calendar name. The most common name is Ivan (12.7%). The prevalence of the names Kuzma and Demyan, who, by some ethnographers, could be holy patrons of shoemaker’s guild, was also considered. In 1766 foreigners were not registered among the Pereyaslav craftsmen.