Toponymy of the Novgorod region

Over the past 11 centuries, the name of the region has repeatedly changed, but the component “Novgorod”, “Novogorodskaya” has invariably been present in it: from the 8th – 9th centuries –– Novgorod land as part of the Old Russian state , in 1136–1478 –– the Novgorod Republic (the name “Mr. Sovereign” was also used Veliky Novgorod ” ^[2] ), since 1478 - the Novgorod land, subordinate to the Moscow principality, from 1708 - as part of the Ingermanland province , in 1727-1927 - the Novgorod province . On August 1, 1927, the Novgorod province was abolished, and the territory of the region became part of the Novgorod and Borovichi districts and the western part of the Cherepovets district of the Leningrad region , and the territory of the modern Kholmsky district became part of the Velikoluksky district. On July 5, 1944, by a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Novgorod Region was re-formed as part of the RSFSR from the districts formed in the Leningrad and Kalinin Regions , and cities of regional subordination Novgorod , Borovichi and Staraya Russa ^[3] .

Since 1944, the name of the region has not changed.

V.A. Zhuchkevich attributed the entire territory of the Leningrad, Pskov, Novgorod and Tver regions to one toponymic region - the Leningrad-Pskov-Belozersky, in the toponymy of which he distinguished three layers:

1. the oldest (in the west - Finno-Ugric)
2. later Baltic-Finnish (Izhora, Veps, etc.)
3. Russian ^[1] .

At the same time, the Finno-Ugric names of Novgorod land are characterized by a distinctive set of foundations and formants , repeated in different, close and distant territories, usually to the north, northeast and east of Ilmen .

As of September 24, 2018, the State catalog of geographical names in the Novgorod region registered 8869 names of geographical objects ^[4] , including 3,721 names of settlements. Below are lists of the most significant natural sites and the largest settlements of the Novgorod region with the characteristics of their etymology .

Hydronyms

In the hydronymy of the region, as well as toponymy in general, there are Slavic and Finno-Ugric strata. The presence of a reservoir of Baltic origin in hydronymy is also not questioned, however, the question of the specific gravity of the Balticisms is one of the most debated in toponymy. According to the estimates of R. A. Ageeva (1989), on the territory of Shelonskaya and Derevskaya Pyatyn, Baltic type hydronyms make up at least 5% and are not inferior in number to Finno-Ugric names. There are especially many Baltisms south of Ilmen, and north of Ilmen their number is sharply reduced ^[5] .

The region has a large number of lakes, the largest of which is Lake Ilmen , the name of which has become an appellative (common) for small lakes overgrown with reeds and reeds, usually located in the deltas of large rivers (Volga, Ural, etc.) and formed from extended sleeves or estuaries . There are various points of view regarding the origin and significance of the Ilmen hydronym. There is a version dating back to the legend of the princes Slovene and Rus (The Legend of Sloven and Rus and the city of Slovensk ), linking the name of the lake with the name of their sister Ilmer ^[6] . There is a version of the Finno-Ugric origin of the name "Ilmen", "Ilmer" from the Finnish. Ilma-järvi - “lake of (un) weather, heavenly lake” ^[7] , as well as the version proposed by Yu. V. Otkupshchikov about Slavic origin - from the word silt using the suffix -men (by analogy with Sukhmen, ramen , etc. etc.), which thus gives the meaning “silty, silty (lake)” ^[8] .

The largest rivers in the region are the rivers of the Ilmen-Volkhov basin: Volkhov , Msta , Lovat , Polist , Shelon . Regarding the name “Volkhov”, the most common version is from the legend of the princes Slovene and Ruse, which connects the name of the river with the name of the oldest son of Sloven - Volkhov ^[6] .

The name of the river "Msta" is of Finno-Ugric origin, from Fin. musta - “black”, est. must “black” ^[7] .

The name “Lovat” ( dr. Russian. Lovot ), possibly, comes from Fin. alvatti ("alve" - ​​brood) or fin. lavatjoki ^[7] .

“Leaf” is of Slavic origin, from the word “hollow” (related words are “flood”, “hollow water”) ^[7] .

"Shelon" - there are various versions of the origin; according to the Finno-Ugric, comes from Fin. salo ("forest island"). According to A. I. Popov, the word “Sholona” (as it is used in the annals) is equivalent in meaning to the word “Solon” ​​or “Salty” due to the peculiarities of the Pskov dialects , which are distinguished by the distinction of sounds [sh] and [s], since there are many salty springs in the Sheloni area ^[9] .

Oikonyms

The names of the largest settlements in the region have a diverse origin.

• Veliky Novgorod is the name of Slavic origin, although there are numerous discussions about the time and circumstances of the city's origin. So, according to the “ Tale of Bygone Years ” ( Lavrentievsky List ), the city already existed by the time Rurik arrived in 862 and was founded by Ilmen Slovens during their resettlement after resettlement from the Danube. According to the Ipatiev Chronicle : “Slovene was a gray-haired man by the side of Lake Ilmer and nicknamed himself by his name and made a city and a wicker and Novgorod” ^[10] .
• Borovichi - in the census enumeration book of Derevskaya Pyatina around 1495, the Borovichi churchyard was first mentioned. The village received its name in connection with the fact that it was built on a “hog” - hills covered with pine trees ^[11] .
• Staraya Russa - the name of the city was first mentioned in 1167, in the Novgorod annals. According to M.Fasmer, the name "Rusa" is etymologically associated with the name " Rus ." According to V. Neroznak, the composition of the toponym ("Old" + "Rusa") indicates a more ancient time of the foundation of the settlement in relation to the new one of the same name - "New Russia" in the Novgorod province. former Shelonsky pyatina (from the 16th century) ^[12] . There is also a version linking the name of the city with one of the heroes of the Tale of Slovenia and Rus by the name of Rus, who settled on this place. According to experts, this story is a late medieval book toponymic legend ^[13] .
• Pestovo - the name comes from the personal name Pest ^[14] .
• Valdai - the name comes from the hydronym Valdai , whose origin remains unclear. According to A. I. Popov, the name goes back to the Baltic and Finnish “vald” and “valda”, translated as “oblast, okrug, possession, unit of administrative division”. At the same time, in the Baltic and Finnish languages ​​the word “Valdai” has another meaning - “light, bright, white”, as indicated by A. G. Manakov ^[15] .
• Miraculously - there are several versions of the origin of oikonym. According to one, the name comes from the nickname Miracle (recorded in the scribe books of the Vodskaya Pyatina of the Novgorod land of the 16th century ), from which the suffix forms the name in the form of a possessive adjective . According to another version, the name comes from the ethnonym of the Finno-Ugric tribe Chud , the territory of the alleged settlement of which in the pre-Mongol period covered the territory of this settlement ^[16] .
• Malaya Vishera - the name comes from the hydronym Malaya Vishera - the river on which the city stands. The origin of this hydronym has not been precisely determined to date, it has been hypothesized that it can come from the Old Russian “twist” - swamp grass, the Indo-European “veis” - spill, or the ethnonym of the Finno-Ugric tribe the whole - “waterway” ^[17] .
• Okulovka - first mentioned in the scribe book of the Village Five of Novgorod land around 1495. The origin of oikonym is not exactly established, there is a version that comes from the Slavic basis of “kul” (in Russian, “kul-kul” is a large bag, an impressive package, hence “curcule”, “fist” is a prosperous host, the Russian “coolers” - schismatics). Thus, Okulovka is the penultimate collection point of the quit , okul (that is, about) ^[18] .
• Pankovka - the exact origin of oikonym has not been established. There is a toponymic legend in the city itself, according to which once General V. Adamovich, who was called “pan” in the city, acquired a manor in Mostishchi, later called Panchikha, because people from his attendants were known as “punk”. Only 8 people lived in it; after October, Panchikha became Pankovka ^[19] .
• Soltsy - the name goes back to the numerous salty keys along the left bank of Sheloni ^[20] .
• Sacra - the name probably came from the intersection of roads from Novgorod to Moscow and from Pskov to Vologda at this place ^[21] . Later, the settlement was called "Khresttsovsky graveyard", then - "settlement Krestetsky Yam." In 1776, by the decree of Empress Catherine II, the village of Krestetsky Yam was transformed into the city of Kresttsy, which became the county center of the newly formed Krestetsky district of Novgorod governorate ^[22] .
• Parfino - first mentioned in 1495 as the village of Parfeyevo. The origin of the toponym is not established.
• Coniferous - the village appeared in 1918 together with the Khvoynaya railway station of the same name, which lies on the Petrograd - Mga - Rybinsk railway built in 1916-1918. The choice of station and village names was due to the fact that the station was located in a dense pine forest ^[23] .

• History of Novgorod
• Toponymy of the Leningrad Region
• Toponymy of the Pskov region

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• Manakov A.G. Geocultural space of the North-West of the Russian Plain: dynamics, structure, hierarchy . - Pskov: Center “Renaissance” with the assistance of OCST, 2002. - 300 p. - ISBN 5-902166-02-0 .
• Manakov A.G. Pskov-Novgorod toponymy in the light of the theory of formants // Pskov Regional Journal. - 2006. - No. 9 . - S. 115-135 .
• Murzaev E.M. Dictionary of popular geographic terms. - M .: Thought, 1984. - 653 p.
• Neroznak V.P. Names of ancient Russian cities. - Moscow: Nauka, 1983 .-- 208 p.
• A. Popov. Traces of times past: From the history of geographical names of the Leningrad, Pskov and Novgorod regions. - Leningrad: Science, 1981. - 206 p.
• Pospelov E. M. Geographical names of the world. Toponymic dictionary / resp. ed. R. A. Ageeva. - 2nd ed., Stereotype. - M .: Russian dictionaries, Astrel, AST, 2002. - 512 p. - 3,000 copies. - ISBN 5-17-001389-2 .
• Strogova V.P., Secretary L.A. Ancient toponyms of Veliky Novgorod and its environs. - Veliky Novgorod: LLC Pechatny Dvor, 2011.
• M.Fasmer . An etymological dictionary of the Russian language. Translation from German and additions by corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences O. N. Trubachev. Edited and foreword by prof. B.A. Larina. Second edition, stereotyped. In four volumes. M .: "Progress", 1986. Volume I – IV. - M .: Progress, 1986.