Levin is the surname of Jewish or, more rarely, Russian origin. The Jewish surname is related to the variants of Levy , Levinson , Levinson and many others.
Content
Etymology
The Russian surname Levin is formed from the middle name from the baptismal name Leo and its derivative form Lev . This name, though not often, was used among peasants, given by priests. The surname Levin could also be formed from the surname Lyovin (similarly derived from the colloquial forms of the same name Lyov and Lyov ) as a result of the non-placement of points above the letter ё [1] .
Other derivative surnames on behalf of Leo: Levkov, Levishchev (from the Levishche form, similar forms in the old days have a diminutive value), Levichev (Levich - “son of Leo”, Levichev - son of Levich).
The names Lion, Lvovsky and a certain number of surnames Lions are created artificially in a seminary environment and do not go back to the name Leo, but directly to the common noun (in the Christian religion, the lion is a symbol of St. Mark the Evangelist), and the names of animals not known in Russia were not used in as nicknames.
Noble family
Levins - a noble family of the Russian Empire, are included in the genealogy books of the Voronezh, Kostroma, Olonets, Oryol and Penza provinces. In the General coat of arms of the noble families of the Russian Empire, the coat of arms of the Levin family has the following description [2] :
| The shield is cut into two unequal parts. In the right, smaller scarlet part there are vertically three silver hexagonal stars. In the left gold, part standing on its hind legs is a black lion with scarlet eyes and tongue. The shield is crowned with a noble crowned helmet. Crest: three ostrich feathers: the middle one is golden, the bee is of natural color on it, the right one is black, the left one is scarlet. Namet: black with gold on the right, scarlet with gold on the left. |
Surname prevalence
As reported in an article published on the website Jewish.ru (Global Jewish on-line center), the surname Levin is found among Jews much more often than among Russians and Ukrainians. This ratio was especially pronounced before the revolution in the cities of the Pale of Settlement - for example, the Kiev address book for 1915 lists 59 Jews and 1 Christian under the name Levin, in Odessa in 1914 - 58 Jews and 3 Christians, in Krakow - 25 Jews and not a single Christian.
According to the same article, the surname Levin was the most common Jewish surname in the USSR. So, in the list of Jewish surnames, compiled on the basis of telephone directories of the 70s in six cities with the highest Jewish population, this surname is the first in the number of carriers in Moscow, Leningrad, Dnepropetrovsk and Kharkov, the third in Odessa and the sixth in Kiev [3] .
Notes
- ↑ Superanskaya A.V. Cheverda - Chever - Beautiful // Science and Life . - 2009. - No. 2 . - S. 79 .
The Russian surname Levin is formed from the folk forms of the Orthodox name Leo - Leva, Leva . This short name also had the colloquial form of Leo . Due to the fact that it was too short, the final -a was added to it. Thus, from the name of Lev, the surname Levin was obtained, and from Lev - Levin . But since we do not like to dot the e , and this surname gradually turned into Levin .
- ↑ The general arm of the noble clans of the All-Russian Empire, part 19, p. 86 . Date of treatment March 8, 2013. Archived March 9, 2013.
- ↑ Levin, Fridman, Rabinovich ... (inaccessible link) . Jewish.ru (April 12, 2001). Date of treatment April 9, 2013. Archived April 17, 2013.
See also
- Levy (name)