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Re: What's the origin of my surname i.e. Araptchev(a)
in reply to a message by xxx
The info about your grandfather's origin is enough!

Indeed, your surname has to do with Arabs.
Let's see how.

'Arapis' (rather slang) in modern Greek language is used
for a person with dark skin.
The word, according to Greek dictionaries, is coming from
the word 'Arab' (you can easily find out why).
Arabia (the country) is also called 'Arapia'.
Thus, the rare "b" (spelled/pronounced as 'mp') in Greek
was transformed to the simpler (for Greeks) "p".

It is possible that one of your ancestors was prominent for
his dark skin or was of Arab origin.

The surnames 'Arapis' and its derivatives, such as 'Arapakis'
or 'Arapoglou' (both meaning the son of 'Arapis'), are found
among Greeks.

As far as I know, the ending 'tchev' is common in Bulgarian
and you may know its meaning (I don't know).
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Replies

That(m)Arapcheva means descendant of "arapcho," arapcho being the diminutive of arap - a person with dark skin.
Yannis' explanation of the connection between arap and an Arab works (for the better part) for Bulgarian too.
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Oops, I meant "that is correct"
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