View Full Version : Armenian Family names
hello all.. im new here
armenians are usually known by their family names, which ends in ian. Most of the armenian families end with ian, what about the ones not ending in ian(includes mine).
I've heard many stories about that.. one of them is that because they are old armenians, and that the second name of all old armenians doesn't end with ian(that's what ppl told me).another one is that because people having these family names used to work in turkey and have removed the ian so that they aren't distinguished and bad treated.i don't know if any of these is true or not.
P.S all the families that don't end with ian are armenian catholic.
Please if u know about it, post replies.. cause i need the real true story.
Thx
Fedayeen
08-04-2006, 01:29 PM
Nah I'm YAN...Hakobyan...unlike some people who have Akopian...
Hey at least they kept the Ian or Yan...thats all that matters to me, unlike many people who change their names...
yeah iam minasyan
i know alot of ppl with turkish names like karabullut and karakis and tepeli that had to convert in turkey. my uncle has 4 different surnames on his passport his surname was artinian
i dont know why he didnt change it back once he came back to australia
Կարմիր Բ
08-05-2006, 03:16 AM
The ian suffix find its origins to Iran. It is originally Persian, as far as I know. But after the Arab conquest, most Persians lost it, while we Armenians kept the tradition.
Originally Armenian names ended in uni, like Bagratuni, Artzuni etc.
GixxerGirl
08-05-2006, 09:45 AM
During the genocide, my great great grandfather fled Armenia and joined the Royal Russian Army, but the catch there was that you had to be Russian to be in the RRA, so his name was Barhudarov from there on. We recently changed it to Barhudarian, but not sure what it was before..?
ArmenianKid
08-05-2006, 11:51 AM
Im
Kassabian...
regular old ian...
yeah iam minasyan
i know alot of ppl with turkish names like karabullut and karakis and tepeli that had to convert in turkey. my uncle has 4 different surnames on his passport his surname was artinian
i dont know why he didnt change it back once he came back to australia
my mom is Minassian as well, aren't we relatives?:)
Im
Kassabian...
regular old ian...
there is an english band called Kassabian.
The ian suffix find its origins to Iran. It is originally Persian, as far as I know. But after the Arab conquest, most Persians lost it, while we Armenians kept the tradition.
Originally Armenian names ended in uni, like Bagratuni, Artzuni etc.
yeah u r right it is persian there r a lot of iranians whose familynames end in ian but most of the time it is distinguishable if the route of the word is persian.(for example, they got mansurian, khodabakhshian, manucherian,... just as we do!
ArmenianKid
08-06-2006, 07:55 AM
there is an english band called Kassabian.
yeah, but they spell it with one "S"
yeah, but they spell it with one "S"
i forgot to tell u but u might know that kassab in persian means butcher !that's intersting.
my mom is Minassian as well, aren't we relatives?:)
Another Minassian here...maybe we are all related... :D
Actually Minassian was my grandpa's cousin last name and when they fled Armenia they decided to switch names (no one knows the reason)...my last name should be Ichkhanian, not Minassian, but since we were all family at first place, I don't really mind...
Im
Kassabian...
regular old ian...
Btw my cousins of second degree are Kassabian also...
why am i not minassian ?
lol
TomServo
08-06-2006, 08:54 PM
why am i not minassian ?
lol
Because your parents were from Istanbul. The Turks do not pronounce "ian" like in English or French, and instead they write it as "yan," and that is why your father's surname was written as Minasyan.
Crissy
08-06-2006, 09:12 PM
wel I am HaroutiounIAN, but when my grandfather was born, our surname was Pour-Harutun or Pur-Harutun not sure how they spelled it, somewhere along the line before my grandfather got married had kids he changed our last name to Haroutiounian.
my cousins surname is Arzumani they were born in Kuwait.
karoaper
08-06-2006, 10:08 PM
I'm Khelagarian, not my original last name, I had it changed to better suit my personallity.
karoaper
08-06-2006, 10:11 PM
wel I am HaroutiounIAN, but when my grandfather was born, our surname was Pour-Harutun or Pur-Harutun not sure how they spelled it, somewhere along the line before my grandfather got married had kids he changed our last name to Haroutiounian.
my cousins surname is Arzumani they were born in Kuwait.
I wonder if Pour was an influence from another language, never seen that before. Kosht r-e er de papuk?
Crissy
08-06-2006, 11:23 PM
what the?? didn't get the last bit of your post!
not sure where pour comes from I'll ask again tonight at home, one of my dad's sisters is still using Pur-Hartun. beats the long way we spell it I suppose.
what the?? didn't get the last bit of your post!
not sure where pour comes from I'll ask again tonight at home, one of my dad's sisters is still using Pur-Hartun. beats the long way we spell it I suppose.
The word pour is Persian and in some Persian family names u can find it at the beginning or at the end of it( sth+pour or pour+sth) and it is pronounced “r” kosht like the Italian r.
karoaper
08-07-2006, 11:26 AM
The word pour is Persian and in some Persian family names u can find it at the beginning or at the end of it( sth+pour or pour+sth) and it is pronounced “r” kosht like the Italian r.
ha, interesting, thanks
Crissy
08-07-2006, 04:05 PM
Damn my name was persian??I had no idea :( yea and forgot to ask my dad last night, didn't get home till late.
Thanks Ark
To those whose family name is Minassian as my mom's, minas is a greek word!
isnt minas also an armo name?
isnt minas also an armo name?
i've read this in an article on the names which r thought to be armenian but r not.we(armenians ) consider every name and everybody armenian!
as my grand dad used to tell me(and still tells me) the root of every word and every person is armenian!(that reminds of that movie, my big fat greek wedding! give me a word and i'll show u the root of that word is greek! we r quite similar!)
dsarkasian
08-09-2006, 07:12 AM
I have some cousins that live in the Midwest USA. Their surname is Jouharian and they don't know where it came from or it's meaning. Anybody got a clue?
I have some cousins that live in the Midwest USA. Their surname is Jouharian and they don't know where it came from or it's meaning. Anybody got a clue?
yes my brother, i know. jouhar is persian which means ink! is'nt that intersting!
dsarkasian
08-09-2006, 01:49 PM
yes my brother, i know. jouhar is persian which means ink! is'nt that intersting!
Yes,very interesting...indeed.
when saying armo name i ment there are armenians who are named minas
Crissy
08-09-2006, 08:42 PM
Ok found out a bit of my history with the family names. As far as my dad remembers. During the WWII my grandfather was a "Fidayee" and while in Tavriz a group of Armenians got cought by the persians, the remaining (inlcuding my grandfather) arranged to have their names changed and by the help of the Armenian priest they got back to Urmiye (not sure if I have spelled it right). He then change the surname back to Haroutiounian.
when saying armo name i ment there are armenians who are named minas
Yep, I have an uncle called Minas Minassian...it actually sounds funny...I think that a lot of the last names are derived from first names...if I'm not wrong, here is another thread explaning it...my other uncle's name is Ichkhan and our cousin's last name is Ichkhanian...by the way, I was told Ichkhan means prince, is that right??? How about Takuhy???
when saying armo name i ment there are armenians who are named minas
sorry i didn't get that! of course there r, my uncle's name is Minas and i guess we have a church in here called surp minas.
Yep, I have an uncle called Minas Minassian...it actually sounds funny...I think that a lot of the last names are derived from first names...if I'm not wrong, here is another thread explaning it...my other uncle's name is Ichkhan and our cousin's last name is Ichkhanian...by the way, I was told Ichkhan means prince, is that right??? How about Takuhy???
Wow! what a coincedence Jen! i have an uncle called Minas Minassian too!
Yep, I have an uncle called Minas Minassian...it actually sounds funny...I think that a lot of the last names are derived from first names...if I'm not wrong, here is another thread explaning it...my other uncle's name is Ichkhan and our cousin's last name is Ichkhanian...by the way, I was told Ichkhan means prince, is that right??? How about Takuhy???
ichkhan means prince or a ruler, takuhi means queen.
^^I'm telling you...we are related...we even share the same uncle! >:)
^^I'm telling you...we are related...we even share the same uncle! >:)
Nice to meet u! you are my overseas cousin!:wave:
dani87
08-11-2006, 03:13 PM
i still have a repulsive turkish surname....demir which means iron...prior to that my familys surname is unknown...don't know why....i'm going to change my surname soon to something armo....just not sure on what:S
i still have a repulsive turkish surname....demir which means iron...prior to that my familys surname is unknown...don't know why....i'm going to change my surname soon to something armo....just not sure on what:S
Is Demirchian also turkish?
TomServo
08-12-2006, 05:13 PM
Is Demirchian also turkish?
Yes.
ArmenianKid
08-13-2006, 07:54 AM
Btw my cousins of second degree are Kassabian also...
there was a nancy kasabian in the manson family....
creepy no?
dani87
08-13-2006, 02:33 PM
Is Demirchian also turkish? it sure still is turkish but whith an armenian touch to it...
Nice to meet u! you are my overseas cousin!:wave:
There you go...now we can visit each other and have a place to stay for free!!! :laugh: j/k
But seriously, we could be related...maybe way back at the Genocide time, our family split up...some fled to South America and some to Australia...who knows? It could be possible...
there was a nancy kasabian in the manson family....
creepy no?
I had never heard of the Manson family until now...I just read some about them and it's more than creepy...
http://crime.about.com/od/murder/p/kasabian.htm
There you go...now we can visit each other and have a place to stay for free!!! :laugh: j/k
But seriously, we could be related...maybe way back at the Genocide time, our family split up...some fled to South America and some to Australia...who knows? It could be possible...
Actually my ancestors left western Armenia 400 years ago for Iran and then some of them left Iran for the states and other countries and some stayed.
But since my mom is putting up every Minassian u r surely welcome! :wave:
it sure still is turkish but whith an armenian touch to it...
thank u dani!
Actually my ancestors left western Armenia 400 years ago for Iran and then some of them left Iran for the states and other countries and some stayed.
But since my mom is putting up every Minassian u r surely welcome! :wave:
Silly me...for some reason I thought you were Australian...I recently started working on my Family Tree but haven't gone as far as 400 years yet, and don't think I will... :( I have no info on my grandfather's ancestor so I'm pretty much stuck...all I know is that he fled Armenia in 1916 and came to Brazil and that's it...so I don't really think we are related...
Silly me...for some reason I thought you were Australian...I recently started working on my Family Tree but haven't gone as far as 400 years yet, and don't think I will... :( I have no info on my grandfather's ancestor so I'm pretty much stuck...all I know is that he fled Armenia in 1916 and came to Brazil and that's it...so I don't really think we are related...
we don't seem to be related but we still might be, who knowes! anyway all armenians are related to each other in a way.
Unfortunately we are spread all over the word, recentely i heard even in Ethiopia there are some armenians!
Guys, back to the topic. Why few armenian family names don't end with ian ? :confused:
Crissy
10-03-2006, 01:27 AM
I guess some Armenian names were shortened at some time or another depending on where they lived, reasons would vary.
Like I said before, my last name was Pour-Hartun or Harutun not sure when my grandfather lived in Iran and that was changed so he couldn't get captured as he was a Fidayeen.
thats the short of it anyway.
Interesting explanation! Does anyone know what Bilemjian (Պիլեմճեան) means or represents? :)
Artandsky
03-01-2008, 08:02 PM
Hi
My forefathers lived in Georgia for couple of centuries. My great grandpa changed his name for some reason from Panians to Paniev. (I could read his original name on old photo pictures from 19 century)
My brother managed change again to original few years ago.
By the way can anyone tell me what in core my family name mean? I don’t think Pani really mean anything in Armenian? :confused:
You can also trace you familiy origins with you last name. For example, if you last name ends in "lian" then that means your ancestors came from Turkey.
I am Musaelian.
"Musa" in Arabic means "Moses" (my first name is acutally Movses).
graham
03-17-2008, 02:24 PM
Hello everyone.
Just reading through this thread, it seemed a good idea if I could provide a little input re the family names that have come up so far. Here are the Turkish versions of the names, without the -ian/-yan, with translations:
Kassabian (kasap) - butcher
Demirchian (demirci) - iron worker/blacksmith
Hakobyan (yakup) - could be: Jacob
Bilemjian (bilemci) - knife-grinder
Khelagarian (kel aga) - bald squire
Musaelian (musa eli) - Moses' hand
Ichkhanian (ic khan) - khan of the inner region
Occupations and personal names are usually easy to identify, but some of the others I'm afraid I couldn't even hazard a guess at. Hope this helps.
ArmSurvival
04-08-2008, 01:06 PM
Hakobyan (yakup) - could be: Jacob
You're right, Hakobyan just comes from the Armenian version of Jacob, Hakob or Hagop. It is not Turkish.
Ichkhanian (ic khan) - khan of the inner region
I think it is just the Turkified version of the Armenian name Ishkhanian.
UrMistake
11-09-2008, 03:48 PM
My Father name is Hambardzumyan my mothers Nalbandzyan.Eny relative that may u know?My Father side is origin from Van and my Mother from Koxp.
Can u track where is Koxp ?i cant find it in the maps.That come that my GrandGrandFather servaved during Vans resistans,but my mothErs side where in bad luck cuse my grandgradnfather where a whealty man merchant i think he had people working under him, at the genocide my grand father gived them the name Nalbanzyan,he hade camels and so he where somthing like ruler or mayor of his community,so during the turk came he came home to take his wife(very beutiful woman said)he give his son to his brother to take care, so he save his wife and then come fast to leave, at port ,he never came so his brother get in the boat and left with the only son and a presius stone,his brother that envy his brothers wealth wonthed to keep the money for him self so he gived the only son at the orfany later he founded in orfany in armenia,the brither gone russia where he live a wheathy life,whene the kid got 18 he tracked his unkel and traveled hapily to see his only relatives,whel whene he found him they make him clear that no money of his father where used bay him and thay own nothing that my grandafather had to poses(presuce stone).he didnt wont eny money so he worked there and lived in there house where they trithed him like a servand.finaly he andertsand that they didnt wonted him with them so he left fot armenia. There he make family and borned my grandfather Moris Nalbandzyan ,he worked at the secret weapon factoy as a master at weapon making .he daid from cancer 2007.Hes my mentor and i like to find my relaives in russia only to say that all are forgiven.
UrMistake
11-09-2008, 03:56 PM
actualy my grandgrandfather ended at orfany bay a man that found him at the water that he saw the brother leaving him there.he knew the Nalbandzyan family he where one of the servants.
AR MENIA
11-12-2008, 05:02 AM
we don't seem to be related but we still might be, who knowes! anyway all armenians are related to each other in a way.
Unfortunately we are spread all over the word, recentely i heard even in Ethiopia there are some armenians!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgP0qRpX8Xc
Look at the link i'm giving you and see that a handfull of Armenians have influenced Ethiopia.
Anoush
11-12-2008, 06:54 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgP0qRpX8Xc
Look at the link i'm giving you and see that a handfull of Armenians have influenced Ethiopia.
AR_MENIA; thanks for the link. I am also born in northern africa; but I never knew of the Ethiopian Armenian community. Although I am not surprised to see them thrive, for wherever Armenians end up going they create beauty and abundance around them.
Armanen
11-12-2008, 07:05 AM
Where in north africa were you born Anoush?
Federate
11-12-2008, 07:32 AM
Where in north africa were you born Anoush?
My money's on Egypt :cool:
Armanen
11-12-2008, 12:34 PM
My money's on Egypt :cool:
Me too, but I don't want to presume :P
Anoush
11-12-2008, 02:35 PM
My money's on Egypt :cool:
How much money Federate? Maybe $1,000? :p
Yeah you're both right! :)
vasbourakan1
11-12-2008, 10:46 PM
well I've heard about two families having their origin ethiopia and who are generous benevolents, ouzounian and kassarjian
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