What surnames were given to musicians in Ukraine: common ones nowadays

Modern Ukrainian surnames traditionally originated from nicknames derived from names, place of residence, profession, appearance or character. Surnames can tell us a lot about the role of ancestors in society.

Linguist Yurii Redko said in his study Modern Ukrainian Surnames that surnames often reflected professional activities. Some surnames indicate that there may have been musicians among the ancestors.

Let's start with the most obvious one: the surnames Spivak and Pivets directly hint that one of the ancestors had a good voice. Pivets, by the way, comes from the sexton-psalmist, popularly known as the "church singer."

The surnames Regenchuk and Reent (and all their derivatives) are associated with singing in a choir, based on the word "regent," or conductor.

The old Ukrainian surname Skomorok (or Skomorokha) comes from the name of the artists of Kievan Rus known as skomorokhs. However, according to another version, it may indicate a person from the village of Skomorokhiv.

All the derivatives of the surname Muzyka - Muzychenko, Muzychuk, Muzychka, Muzenko, Muziuk, etc. are, of course, related to the art of music.

Many surnames originated from musical instruments - perhaps some ancestor played the violin: Skrypchenko, Skrypachenko, Skrypnyk, Skrypets, Skrypka, Skrypchuk, Skrypiuk, or other musical instruments:

• Cymbalist,
• Cymbalisty,
• Bandura,
• Sopivnyk,
• Dudar,
• Sopilchenko,
• Kozbar,
• Bassisty.

The surname Hudak also has musical origins and originated from the Lemko dialect.

There are also humorous "musical" surnames: Darmogra or Likhogra.

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