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This project is dedicated to tracing ancestors in Lithuania, its present territories, and the historical lands of Lithuania Propria. Also, this portal provides a list of online genealogy sources, such as registries and archives of Lithuanian documents.

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Lithuanian Surnames

Lithuanian first and last names have meaning in the Lithuanian language. The oldest known pagan Lithuanian name meanings are associated with personality traits or a life mission assigned to the child. Some are nicknames given to the person during his/her life. In the Lithuanian language, male and female first names and surnames differ in their endings, which is typical for each gender.

800-1413 separate Duchies and Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Lithuanian is the primary spoken language in Lithuanian territories. Documents are recorded in Latin and Ruthenian languages.

During the 9-14 centuries Lithuanian nobility was formed. The nobility used crests, or heraldry symbols, as their family names. The earliest known noble Lithuanian, Curonian, and Old Prussian surnames are runic symbols. They were used to mark property ownership; signs engraved in stones marked the limits of the territory. Later, these family symbols were adapted for military shields, guns, and banners. If brothers of the same descent had strong political or land ownership households, they used different crest symbols. Those sons who inherited lands, heritage, and political status from their father would use their father's crest symbol. Some Lithuanian noble families retained their runic symbols as crests in later centuries, although they were renamed due to their association with various clans in the early 15th century. Examples: Abdank, Boreyko, Odyniec, Columns of Gediminas, Prus, and others. Families descending from Western European nobility used their crests as a last name; one example is a Swan - according to the legend, in the 9 c. a Danish knight with Swan on his shield came to live in Baltic lands; he was nicknamed "Dunczyk" or "Dunin" (Dane), and his descendant was known as Włost.

During the 11th-12th centuries, Lithuanian dukes with dominions in Slavic territories adopted Eastern Orthodox Christianity [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianization_of_Lithuania] and Slavic or Greek Christian names. The influence of Orthodox Christianity on pagan Lithuanian culture is evident in that about one-third of present-day Lithuanian surnames are constructed from baptismal names of Old Church Slavonic origin. During this period, Patronymic name usage became common for males and females, in addition to a family crest.

Noble families from Crimea 1390-1441

Based on the Crimean Karaites history, at approx. 1390-1396 Vytautas the Great played a historic role in resolving the Crimean coup - a conflict among the ruling political forces. Vytautas rescued and gave asylum to the pregnant wife of a Crimean ruler. A boy was raised and educated as Vytautas' true son, and later he became a founder of Giray dynasty. The asylum was also given to approximately 200 Crimean Karaites - political supporters of the future ruler. In 1441, Hacı I Giray ascended to the Crimean throne, and some of his political supporters followed him back to Crimea. However, other families, mostly Crimean Karaites and Qırımçaq Jews, remained in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Some of these families accepted Christianity and received nobility from the GDL. Symbols in their family crests contain a Crescent and a Star or a Star of David. Examples of such Crimean descending Lithuanian noble family coats of arms are: Leliwa coat of arms, Ostrogski coat of arms (it also contains old Lithuanian runic symbol), and many other Lithuanian noble families, who intermarried with Crimean families contain both: Crescent, Star, and parts of Lithuanian runic heraldry symbols.

1413-1795 Lithuania after the Horodlo Union and during the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569-1795)

The first records of spelled surnames in Lithuania date back to the 15th century. Documents are recorded in Latin and Polish.

After 1413 Union of Horodło, the Lithuanian nobility was united into the Polish nobility system. New family crests were assigned to Lithuanian nobles, but only those with political influence retained their old crests. Noble families who delayed their registration with the new system were also able to maintain their old runic family crests. Lithuanian nobles accepted Roman Catholic Christening and new surnames were assigned to them, usually derivatives of their pagan patronymic names. Family crests were named based on Polish nobility standards, per their association with known clans. Large clans were divided, and different crests were assigned to the branching families. During this time, most people had first names that were Catholic or Russian Orthodox.

During the 15th - beginning of the 16th century, some Lithuanian noble dynasties with significant land ownership or strong political positions among several brothers split into branches, adopting new surnames: either a Christian Patronymic name or an estate name was added, in some cases, the previous last name was dropped entirely. Nevertheless, in most cases, the noble crest of the family remained the same.

During the 15th-16th c., not only noble town residents were documented with surnames. Last names were first acquired by people who owned real estate, participated in trade and craft businesses, worked in city management, and were city employees. During this period, patronymic last names, derivatives of professions, and derivatives of nicknames were assigned to the citizens as their surnames. Also, during this period, peasants and farmers were registered within their parish records. Families who worked in service to nobles often received the same or similar surname as their master (without a crest). Some farmers received the surname of the land owners where they farmed or resided. Some surnames were derived from the name of the settlement or locality.

In 1563, the Catholic Church instructed priests to keep books for birth, marriage, and death registration (metrika - in Lithuania). The first book of baptismal records in the world was found in Kraków in 1578. The oldest church record book found in Lithuania dates back to 1599.

During the early 17th century, the first female surnames based on marital status were recorded in church records (before that, women were typically recorded only by their first and patronymic names). Starting this period, women's surname endings began to indicate their marital status. (In Lithuania, only one 16th-century record is found where a woman carries her marital last name). During this time, more often the Slavic (Russian and Polish) name recording style was applied to Lithuanian names, with the ending -owa added to women's marital surnames; and endings -ewna or -owna are added to women's maiden names. Nevertheless, at the same period, there are records of Lithuanian endings indicating female marital status: -ienė. This shows the woman's marital last name. For maiden surnames and patronymic names, such endings as -aitė, -ytė or -ūtė (-ūčia) are used.

Between 1710 and 1711, the Great Plague epidemics raged in Lithuania. This also affected priests; in many parishes, no church records were kept during this time.

1795-1918 Lithuania under Russian Empire occupation

During this period in Lithuania, documents were recorded in Polish and Russian.

In 1795, the third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth forever destroyed this state. The Russian Empire annexed most of the ethnic Lithuanian lands and the Duchy of Courland. An order to legitimize with the Imperial Russian state was issued to the nobility of the annexed lands. During this legitimization process, some Lithuanian surnames in records are changed to conform to typical Russian pronunciation, and Slavic writing conventions are applied. Descendants from the same family who lived in different parishes might have been registered with varying surname spellings during this time.

1831 and 1863 years mark two significant revolts against Imperial Russian rule. Many noble people were punished by stripping them of their nobility status, confiscating their lands, exiling them, or even executing them. Some fled to Western countries, such as France. Emigrees often received documents with altered surname spelling during this time, based on the pronunciation in the language of their arrival.

At the end of the 19th c.- beginning of the 20th c., many Lithuanians emigrated to Western countries seeking employment, mainly to the USA. Young men were escaping the draft to the Imperial Russian army. Some Lithuanian families were persecuted for their relatives' participation in national resistance (1831 and 1863) and for distributing the forbidden Lithuanian press. Also, better economic possibilities in Western countries influenced emigration. Most Lithuanian immigrants to the US spent close to 20 years working in Pennsylvania coal mines before returning to Lithuania. At that time, many emigrants still planned to return to Lithuania after saving their earnings, purchasing land, building a home, and establishing their future families there. Many emigrants returned to Lithuania after the country declared independence in 1918. Back in their homeland, these Lithuanians were called "Amerikonai."

Litvak names and surnames

(source: http://ldiena.lt/straipsnis/777/)

Lithuanian Jews, like other Mediterranean cultures, up to the 17th century, did not have surnames. In records, they were listed with first names and patronyms. The word "ben" (son) or "bat" (daughter) was added to the patronymic name. However, Jewish tradition requires a respectable person to recite the names of at least seven ancestors from prior generations. This created a reason for Jewish families to record their lineage names.

Since the names within a family's descendants were often repeated, geographical labels were frequently used alongside the first names. Examples: cha Romi - from Rome, Ierusalmi - from Jerusalem. Also, professions were listed next to names: Sandalar, Sandler - shoemaker, Sofer - clerk. Nickname usage was widespread in Jewish culture, and nicknames were often recorded alongside first names: "Shapiro" - decent, "Yoffe" - handsome.

Only at the end of the 18th century were surnames assigned to Jews in Europe. In 1787, Austrian Emperor Joseph II issued a law requiring all Jews to receive hereditary surnames. This process was instantly consumed by corruption: in order to have a nice, nobly sounding surname, Jews were required to contribute large payments, and those who refused were given the most unpleasant surnames. For example, Krautkopf - cabbage head, or Ochsenschwanz - oxtail.

In Imperial Russia, Gavrila Derzhavin suggested the system of surnames for Jews. The proposed system required that Jewish surnames be created in the "Ruthenian Style" and reflect the person's character and the government's attitude towards them. Introverted people received the surnames "Zamyslowaty" or "Zamysliuk", while perky and bright people were called "Shwydkiy". The "Jewish Law," which obliged Jews to receive surnames, was approved in 1804. In 1850, Jews were banned from changing their surnames, even after converting to another faith.

The first known and most widespread Jewish surnames today are "Kohen" and "Levi". Kohen is a cast of Jewish clergy, and Levi is a helper of a clergyman. The Jews inherited these statuses according to the father's lineage, which made the other nations gradually consider them as surnames.

While Jews settled in different countries, various surnames were created from Kohen and Levi, including Kogan, Kona, Kana, Kaganovich, Levin, Levitan, and Levia. In addition, even if a surname is not similar to the original "Koen," it may be derivative of it. For example, Katz is an abbreviation of kohen-cedek - a true Kohen.

Many Jewish surnames have toponymic origins, and this is not surprising given the fact that the Jews are widely spread around the world. Suppose someone came from Austria to receive the name Oistrach (in Yiddish, meaning "Austria"). Coming from Lithuania - Litvin, Litvak, Litvinov. There are surnames derived from the names of cities, such as Liwschitz, Landau, Vilenski, and Berliner.

There are also ethnonymic Jewish surnames, such as Deutsch and Nemtsov (German), Polak and Polansky (Polish), and others.

Many Jewish surnames originated from the names of professions. For example, Portnov, Chayat, Schneider, or Schnädermann is derived from the profession of "tailor." Shuster, Sandler, and Schwechat derived from the shoemaker profession. The surname of the Melamed is translated as "the teacher of religion." Mogel is "the master of circumcision," and Shadchan is "a host."

Jewish surnames originating from first names are less common than those related to professions. The simplest way to generate a surname like this is to use a personal name. Examples include David, Israel, Adam, and Aron.

Many Jewish surnames are derived from the so-called "kin"—household names. For example, Marx or Marks's surname is the German form of the name Markus, a household variant of the Mordecai name. The name Lobroz is a household variant of Uriah's name.

In addition, surnames can be formed based on the names of close relatives from the father or mother, and also according to the wife's name. The addition of the ending could have formed the patronymic surnames "-stam" (strain) or "-bein" (bone)—for example, names such as Mandelshtam or Fishbein.

As far as the purely Jewish traditions of surnames are concerned, the abbreviations should be distinguished. They have a particular principle of encrypting information about surname owners.

For example, the surname Zak is deciphered as "zera kadoshim," which means a holy family. Marshall's surname is an abbreviation of "Morena Rabbi Schlomo Kluger," which can be translated as "our teacher, our lord Solomon the Wise." The surname Roshal is an abbreviation of "Rabbi Schlomo Luria."

Not all Jewish surnames are related to a person's place of residence, profession, or kinship. There are many so-called decorative Jewish surnames. Usually, they are formed from German or Yiddish roots. Many Jewish surnames contain the word "gold" - Goldbaum (meaning "golden tree"), Goldstein (meaning "golden stone"), and the like. From the word "rose" - Rosenbaum (rose tree), Rosenblum (rose flower).

Many Jewish surnames originated from the names of precious stones and jewelry materials. Finkelstein is a luminous stone, while Bernstein is amber. Perelstein is a pearl, and Edelstein is a precious stone.

Not everyone could afford such a prominent-sounding surname; in most cases, beautiful surnames were obtained for large sums of money.

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Census, parish registers and lists of parishioners online:

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NEW -> * Interactive Lithuanian church and records search map, created by GENI Curator R. Ivanauskas

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