Welcome back to Surname Saturday on Discovering Latvian Roots! Sorry I’ve been quite busy recently, but now I’m starting to be able to get back to genealogy and genealogy blogging.

Today we’re going to look at names relating to three similar-sounding Latvian names and names derived from them. All three appear on the list of common Latvian surnames that I provided in my last post. All source references are described therein.

Ä€bele means “apple tree”. So far in my research I have found this name in the parishes of Lāde, LÄ“durga, Sidgunda, Stiene and Suntaži, though it certainly appears in more. In the list of names recommended by the National Printing House for people changing their name, there is one name related to “Ä€bele” – “Ä€beļzieds”, meaning “apple tree blossom”. In the listing of “new Latvian surnames” in the Kalniņš book, there is one more related name – “Ä€belnieks”, which is an occupational surname relating to apple trees.

Ä€bols means “apple”. Thus far I have seen it in the parishes of LÄ“durga, Limbaži, Skrudaliena, Vidriži and Vijciems. The National Printing House supplement provides two related names – “Ä€bolkalns”, meaning “apple hill”, and “Ä€bolnieks”, an occupational surname relating to apples. The “new Latvian surnames” list also adds “Ä€bolÄ«tis”, which is a diminutive form.

Ä€boliņš means “clover” – a departure from apples, but it looks like a potential diminutive of “ābols”, which is why I have included it here. It is a separate word from “ābols”. “Ä€boliņš” has been found in Durbe, Kastrāne, Krimulda, Mazsalaca, Stalbe, Suntaži and Turaida parishes. A related name from the “new Latvian surnames” list is “Ä€bolājs”, which means “clover field”.

Do you have more parishes of origin to add for these surnames? Let me know in comments!

Surname Saturday – “Ä€bele/Ä€bols/Ä€boliņš”
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2 thoughts on “Surname Saturday – “Ä€bele/Ä€bols/Ä€boliņš”

  • October 31, 2010 at 5:00 pm
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    i did not see anything with the last name of Abeltins Do you have any information They lived in Vecpiebalga.

  • November 26, 2010 at 11:43 pm
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    Dace,

    It is possible that the name “Ä€beltiņš” is also related to the Ä€bele/Ä€bols/Ä€boliņš names. But these names were quite common all over Latvia. To research your specific family, you should start with consulting the religious records for Vecpiebalga on Raduraksti (http://www.lvva-raduraksti.lv).

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