Armenian name


An Armenian name comprises a given name and a surname.

First names

According to Armenia's National Statistical Service, the most commonly used names for newborn boys in Armenia,, were Davit, Narek, Gor, Hayk, Alex, Erik, Arman, Samvel, Tigran, and Aram. For girls, the most popular names were Nare, Milena, Mane, Ani, Anna, Anahit, Mariam, Elen, and Mary.
Traditionally, Armenians have used Biblical names of Greek, Latin and Hebrew origin, such as Abraham, Hakob, Hovhannes, Petros, Poghos, Madlene, Yeghisabet, Tamar, etc.

Surnames

Typical modern Armenian last names end with the originally patronymic suffix or , transliterated as -yan, -ian, or less often '-jan'. Example: Petrosyan, meaning "issued from Petros", akin to the English name Peterson. Some Armenian last names bear the suffix -նց, transliterated as -nc, -nts or -ntz, or in addition to -yan/-ian, although that is not common.
Some Armenian surnames have a suffix -լի preceding the -յան/-եան suffix. For example, Sivaslian and Vanlian refer to the cities of Sivas and Van, respectively. Other Armenian surnames have a suffix -ճի, transliterated as -ji/dji or -chi/tchi, preceding the -յան/-եան suffix. Names such as Kebabjian and Kahvejian refer to kebab and coffee merchants, respectively. While the -եան suffix already existed in the Classical Armenian period, other suffixes, now rarer, also existed. The suffix had a similar meaning to -եան.
The suffix denoted a geographical provenance, e.g. Movses Khorenatsi and Anania Shirakatsi.
The prefix , which comes from how one addresses a priest, is typically Armenian. It might be followed by a space or attached directly to the root. If someone possesses a surname containing "Der" or "Ter" it usually signifies that this person has a patrilineal ancestor who was a priest.

Roots of names

The roots of names ending with -ian/-yan are typically first names, such as Petrosian "issued from Petros", Simonian "issued from Simon", etc. When the name ends in -lian or -jian, the root is expected to refer to a location or a profession, respectively. Thus, the etymology of Vanlian is literally "issued from the man from Van" and that of Kebabjian is "issued from the kebab merchant". However, an ancestor's occupation will not necessarily contain the suffix -ji, thus Vardapetian/Vartabedian translates as "issued from the vardapet", Bjishkian as "issued from the doctor" and Keshishian as "issued from the priest".
The -ian/-yan suffix may also, but more rarely, attach to an adjective denoting a quality. Thus, Bzdigian/Pztikian translates as "issued from the small ", Medzian/Metsian as "issued from the tall ", Ganantchian/Kanantchian as "issued from the green, i.e. young ".
Some former noble Armenian names, such as Artsruni/Ardzruni are still in use today. When they moved from Armenia or from the Middle East, some changed their last names to adapt better to their new societies. Sometimes the -ian or -yan ending was dropped and the root kept, such as Charles Aznavour, or Andy Serkis. Other times the name was translated, as "Tashjian" becoming "Stone".

Common Armenian surnames