Ancestors were the Ukrainian elite: this is how these surnames sound today

Linguist Yulian Redko writes about such family names in his book Modern Ukrainian Surnames. For example, as he notes, it is quite difficult to trace the origin of the surname Medyk. SSPDaily tells about it.

Although Redko suggests that only people with a medical education who were not involved in witchcraft or folk medicine could receive such a patrimonial name. At the same time, the Latin word "medicus" was not widespread in the Ukrainian lands of that time.

But among people who were engaged in education, there were quite rare and special surnames. For example, our ancestors could give the family name Philosopher, Logician, Scribe.

However, for the most part, teachers and educators received quite clear family names. For example, Shkilnyuk, Shkilnyk, Shkolyar, Shkolyk, Shkolun.

Most often, people who were engaged in art and earned their living by doing so were given the surnames Malyaryk, Maliarenko, and Malyar. But artists who were not blessed with a special talent were often called Bohomazy or Bohomaziuks. Later, these nicknames became family names.

If a person's profession was related to music, he or she received the surname Spivak or Pivets. The latter option was most likely connected with the deacons-psalmists, who were church singers. The surname Reent and its derivative Regenchuk indicate the formation of a choir. They come from the word "regent", that is, "conductor".