BeginБегінBelarusian, Jewish Nickname for a runner, derived from Belarusian бегун (begun) meaning "one who walks quickly". A noteworthy bearer was Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin (1913-1992), who is best remembered for signing a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979, for which he and Anwar Sadat were both awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
ChviedarovičХведаровічBelarusian (Rare) Means "son of Chviedar". A notable bearer is Mikalaj Čarnuševič (1904-1981), the Belarusian poet, prose writer and translator better known by his nickname Mikola Chviedarovič.
CressGerman, Jewish, Belarusian A variant of the German surname Kress. From the Middle High German "kresse" meaning "gudgeon" (a type of fish) or the Old High German "krassig", meaning "greedy". Can also be from an altered form of the names Erasmus or Christian, or the Latin spelling of the Cyrillic "КРЕСС".
DrabkinBelarusian, Jewish Jewish (from Belarus): metronymic from Yiddish drabke “loose woman”. Can also be from drabki (Belarusian) 'light cart' (+ the same suffix -in), an occupational name for a coachman (Alexander Beider).... [more]
DropkinJewish, Belarusian Jewish (from Belarus): nickname from Belorussian drobka ‘crumb’+ the eastern Slavic patronymic suffix -in.... [more]
DurkoДуркоRussian, Ukrainian, Belarusian Derived either from Russian дурной (durnoy) or Ukrainian дурний (durnyi) or Belarusian дурны (durny) all meaning "dump, foolish, stupid".
GretzkyГрэцкіRussian, Belarusian Originally derived from an old Russian word that meant "Greek", though in modern times, the word means "Greek nut" (walnut). A notable bearer is Wayne Gretzky, a former Canadian ice hockey player.
HilevichГілевічBelarusian Derived from the Belarusian word гіль (hiĺ) meaning "bullfinch" (a name given to two groups of passerine birds) in Belarusian.
KarabeynikКарабейнікBelarusian Alyaksey Karabeynik is a member of the band Shuma, the band performed at Eurovision in 2018. It means peddler. The Russian form is Korobeynik.
KasperovichКасперовичBelarusian The last name taken literally is Kasper's son with -vich being a common patronymic suffix in Belarus and other slavic countries. The Kasper likey refers to an unknown Kasper in the family. However some stories tie the name to one of the wise men who visited Jesus after his birth - not named in the Bible but later referred to as Gaspar or Caspar/Kaspar in Eastern European traditions.
KotКотBelarusian Derived from Belarusian кот (kot) meaning "tomcat".
KotovmRussian, Belarusian Derived from Russian кот (kot) meaning "cat". It is a Russian surname, but is also present in Belarus.
KovaleskiBelarusian Habitational name for someone from any of several places called Kovali in Belarus, or perhaps Kavoliai in Lithuania, named with a derivative of kavalj meaning "smith".
KulakКулакRussian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish Means "fist". Was also used to describe Ukrainian farmers who went against the Soviet government in the early 30s.
KuzmaUkrainian, Belarusian From the personal name Kuzma, Greek Kosmas, a derivative of kosmos ‘universe’, ‘(ordered) arrangement’. St. Cosmas, martyred with his brother Damian in Cilicia in the early 4th century ad, came to be widely revered in the Eastern Church.
LagójskìЛаго́йскіBelarusian This indicates familial origin within the city of Lagójsk.
LyskinЛыскінBelarusian, Russian, Ukrainian Derived either from Belarusian лысы (lysy) or Russian лысый (lysy) or Ukrainian лисий (lysyi) all meaning "bald, bald-headed, hairless".
MitskevichМіцкевічBelarusian, Russian Derived either from a diminutive form Micek of the Polish given name Mikołaj or from a diminutive form Mitska of Belarusian given names Dzmitry and Zmitser or less likely from other names that begin with mi... [more]
MuzykaМузыкаBelarusian, Russian, Ukrainian Derived either from Belarusian музыка (muzyka) or Ukrainian музика (muzyka), both possibly derived from German Musiker meaning "musician".
PaleyПалейJewish, Yiddish, Belarusian, Ukrainian Occupational name for a distiller, derived from an East Slavic word (Russian палить (palitʹ), Ukrainian палити (palyty)) meaning "to burn". A famous bearer was Princess Olga Valerianovna Paley (1865-1929), the morganatic second wife of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia.
PaliakПалякBelarusian Derived from Belarusian паляк (paliak) meaning "Pole, Polish".
PerskeПерскеBelarusian, Lithuanian, Jewish Variant form of Persky. This was the real surname of American actress Lauren Bacall (1924-2014), who was born Betty Joan Perske.
PerskyПерскіBelarusian, Lithuanian, Jewish Derived from the village of Pershai in the Valozhyn District of Belarus, or the place named Perki in Lithuania.
RybakРыба́кPolish, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Jewish Means "fisherman" in some Slavic languages. Derived from the word ryba "fish". A famous bearer is Byelarusian-Norwegian artist Alexander Rybak (b. 1986) who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009.
ŠeliehШэлегBelarusian Derived from Belarusian шэлег (šelieh), a word used for various medieval small coins, primarily for silver and copper solidi, ultimately from the German word Schilling meaning "shilling".
SerebrennikovСеребренников, СеребрениковRussian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Belarusian Denoted somebody who engaged in silver mining or a silversmith, derived from Russian серебреник (serébrenik) meaning "silver coin". This name is also found in Kazakhstan and Belarus.
ZacharJewish, Hungarian, Russian, Slovak, Belarusian Derived from the Hebrew word זָכַר (zakhar) meaning "to remember". As a surname it can also derive from the given name Zakhar (Zechariah) that shares this etymology.
ŽaŭniarovičЖаўняровічBelarusian Derived from Belarusian жаўнер (žaŭnier) meaning "soldier (of the Polish army)", borrowed from Polish żołnierz via German Söldner.
ZvezdochkaЗвяздачкаRussian, Belarusian Means "little star" or "small star", from Russian "звезда (zvezda)" meaning "star" with the suffix "-очка (-ochka)" meaning "little, small, young". It can also be translated as "starlet". It is a surname in Russia that is also common in Belarus... [more]
ŽydovičЖыдовічBelarusian Derived from Belarusian жыд (žyd) meaning "Jew, Hebrew".
ZykRussian, Belarusian A Russian name now found in Belarus and other areas around "white Russia". Literally translates to the Russian word "beetle". It's pronounced "Z'ook" and has taken on other forms of spelling, such as; Zuck, Tzook, Shyk, etc.