This week’s category: Personal Attributes and Characteristics, that either one has, aspires to, or wants their descendants to aspire to. These [...]]]> Following along from my post two weeks ago, I am currently posting surnames that were approved and suggested by the government of Livland in the 1820s for peasants if they needed some ideas and inspiration.

This week’s category: Personal Attributes and Characteristics, that either one has, aspires to, or wants their descendants to aspire to. These names are not very common, but I have seen some in old records. As before, modern renditions in brackets. If I am not familiar with a name, I’ve made my best guess as to how it would be rendered in modern spelling.

Today we’re going to look at Latvian surnames beginning with the prefix “aiz-”. This is a prefix that can mean various things depending on the context, but most commonly it means “beyond”, “behind” or “across”.

All of these names are from surname lists found in the book “Kas jāzina [...]]]> Welcome to Surname Saturday on Discovering Latvian Roots!

Today we’re going to look at Latvian surnames beginning with the prefix “aiz-”. This is a prefix that can mean various things depending on the context, but most commonly it means “beyond”, “behind” or “across”.

All of these names are from surname lists found in the book “Kas jāzina uzvārdu mainītājiem” (“What to know if you want to change your surname”), by Alberts Kalniņš (produced by the author in Jelgava, 1940).

In the National Printing House supplement that suggests names that could be taken by Latvians changing their surnames, there are a number of “aiz-” names: Aizkalns (beyond the hill), Aizlīcis (beyond the bay), Aizpurviņš (diminutive of Aizpurvis, “beyond the swamp”, Aizsils (beyond the pine forest), Aizupietis (one from across the river) and Aizvalks (beyond the portage point). There are two more “aiz-” names in this list which are outside of the typical context, Aizkrauklis (related to the town name Aizkraukle which is from the German Ascheraden) and Aizsalnieks (possible occupational name related to “aizsalt”, meaning “to freeze”).

The “new Latvian surnames” list provided by Kalniņš adds even more “aiz-” names, such as Aizāre (possibly beyond the open space”), Aizbars (beyond the crowd), Aizgalietis (one from beyond the edge), Aizietis (one who went away), Aizlaidnis (one who has been let go), Aizleja (beyond the valley), Aizlinājs (beyond the flax field), Aizmežs (beyond the forest), Aizpliens (beyond the hardened clay) and Aizstrauts (beyond the stream). Outside of the “beyond/behind/across” context we have Aiza (ravine), Aizdars (liaison), Aizdeglis (wick), Aizkurs (kindling), Aiztece (related to “aiztecēt”, meaning “to flow away”) and Aizvars (gate/seal).

From my Latvian Surname Project, we have even more “aiz-” names (with an attested location), some related to ones mentioned above: Aizgals (one from beyond the corner; Plāņi), Aizpurvis (one from beyond the swamp; Meirāni), Aizupe (beyond the river; Sinole) and Aizvakars (day before yesterday; Skaņkalne).

Do you have more “aiz-” surnames to add to the list? Let me know in comments!

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 [...]]]> 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.

Ābele means “apple tree”. So far in my research I have found this name in the parishes of Lāde, Lēdurga, 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 “Ābele” – “Ābeļzieds”, meaning “apple tree blossom”. In the listing of “new Latvian surnames” in the Kalniņš book, there is one more related name – “Ābelnieks”, which is an occupational surname relating to apple trees.

Ābols means “apple”. Thus far I have seen it in the parishes of Lēdurga, Limbaži, Skrudaliena, Vidriži and Vijciems. The National Printing House supplement provides two related names – “Ābolkalns”, meaning “apple hill”, and “Ābolnieks”, an occupational surname relating to apples. The “new Latvian surnames” list also adds “Ābolītis”, which is a diminutive form.

Āboliņš 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”. “Āboliņš” has been found in Durbe, Kastrāne, Krimulda, Mazsalaca, Stalbe, Suntaži and Turaida parishes. A related name from the “new Latvian surnames” list is “Ābolājs”, which means “clover field”.

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

There’s [...]]]> Sorry for the lack of posting the past couple of weeks – I was making my way home from Latvia, and then, just four days after getting home, moved across the province. I’m mostly settled in now, and starting to process everything I learned and found while I was researching in the archives in Latvia.

There’s just so much that I learned, so much that I could share, that I don’t know where to start!

What do you, my readers, want to read about? Is it surnames and the history of them that you’re interested in? 20th century census records? 19th century revision lists? Military records? Land records? I’ll talk about them all eventually, but if there’s something specific that you want to hear about, do let me know, and I’ll get to it as soon as I can!

But not all Latvians were peasants. Some were merchants, craftsmen and traders, and [...]]]> As I’ve mentioned before, most Latvians didn’t have surnames prior to the early 19th century. They were peasants, and until serfdom was abolished, surnames were not a necessity since they were tied to the land. It was only afterwards that surnames became necessary.

But not all Latvians were peasants. Some were merchants, craftsmen and traders, and lived in the cities. They acquired surnames much earlier. While many who aspired to greater social status assimilated to Baltic German culture and took on German names, some Latvian-language surnames do survive from this earlier time period, dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries.

These names are known to us through guild records, as mentioned by Kristaps Upelnieks in his 1936 book Uzvārdu došana Vidzemes un Kurzemes zemniekiem (The giving of surnames to peasants in Vidzeme and Kurzeme).

Among these early Latvian surnames (German renderings in brackets) are: Kāpostgalviņa (Kapustgallyn, “cabbage head”), Platkājis (Platkays, “the one with the wide leg/foot”), Kažokpoga (Kasockepoge, “(fur) coat button”), Kunkuls (Kunkull, “lump”) and Podkāja (Podekaje, “pot leg/foot”).

None of these names appear particularly flattering, and could reflect the societal biases of the time. Some of them are still in use today, though if it is unknown if their bearers are descended from the early bearers of these names, or whether their names were acquired separately at the time of emancipation from serfdom.

There are, however, worse names to have than “cabbage head” – but that’s for another week! Stay tuned!