AbajianArmenian The surname Abjian is a patronymic from Turkish abacι ‘maker or seller of coarse woolen cloth or garments’, from aba ‘coarse woolen cloth’.
AbajyanArmenian From Turkish abacı referring to a maker or seller of woollen homespun cloth or garments, ultimately from aba meaning "coarse woollen cloth".
AbakeliaGeorgian Georgian surname used by sculptor Tamar Abakelia and physician Ioseb Abakelia.
AbkhazavaGeorgian, Mingrelian Most likely from Georgian აფხაზი (apkhazi) meaning "Abkhaz". Alternately, it may be from the Adjaran (Muslim) given name Abkhas, derived from Arabic أب ('ab) meaning "father" and خاص (khas) meaning "special, particular".
AbkhaziGeorgian Means "Abkhaz person" in Georgian, referring to a member of the Abkhaz ethnic group inhabiting the Black Sea coast. This was the name of a Georgian family of princely status descended from the Shervashidze ruling family of Abkhazia.
AdleibaAbkhaz Most likely from the given name Adlei, itself derived from Arabic عَادِل (ʿādil) meaning "fair, just", combined with Abkhaz аҧа (āpā) meaning "son"... [more]
ƏfəndiyevAzerbaijani Means "son of the effendi" from the Ottoman title افندي (efendi) meaning "lord, master".
AgassiArmenian, Persian, Italian The surname Agassi most likely evolved from a nickname for someone resembling a mappie, perhaps jokingly referred to as chattering or nagging person. ... [more]
AgrbaAbkhaz Most likely derived from Abkhaz агыруа (ā́gər-uā) meaning "Mingrelian, farm labourer, serf", historically used to refer to the Mingrelians, an ethic sub-group of the Georgians. Alternatively, it could be from Abkhaz агара (āgārā) meaning "to take" or "to bring"... [more]
Al-ShishaniArabic, Chechen (Expatriate) Means "the Chechen" in Arabic. This was adopted by Chechens who migrated to the Arab world from the Caucasus.
AltounianArmenian Meaning unknown. A famous bearer was Roger Altounyan (1922-1987), Anglo-Armenian physician and the namesake of Roger in the Swallows and Amazons books series.
AndronikashviliGeorgian Means "son of Andronikos". This was the name of a Georgian family of nobility that claimed descent from Andronikos I, the emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 1183-1185.
ArshbaAbkhaz Most likely from a contracted form of Arabic أَرْشَد (ʾaršad) meaning "most sensible, most reasonable" or Persian ارشد (arshad) "senior, superior, eldest" combined with Abkhaz аԥа (āpā) "son".
AushevIngush (Russified) Russified form of an Ingush surname derived from Nakh ауш (aush) or аус (aus) literally meaning "rock, slope", figuratively meaning "strong, solid, confident".
AvidzbaAbkhaz Derived from Georgian ავი (avi) meaning "currish, severe, sullen" combined with ძე (dze) "son" and Abkhaz аԥа (āpā) "son". The name was most likely borne by Georgians under the spelling Avidze, which was modified with the Abkhaz suffix -ba after migration to Abkhazia.
AxundovmAzerbaijani Means "son of the akhund", from Azerbaijani axund referring to a Persian title for an Islamic scholar.
BagrationiGeorgian Means "son of Bagrat" in Georgian. This was the name of a royal dynasty that ruled Georgia from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.
BarchoCircassian Possibly derived from an Adyghe word meaning "band, lace", referring to someone who made ropes or binding tapes, or from a Chechen word referring to a tailor.
BazzatyOssetian Derived from Georgian ბაზი (bazi) meaning "falcon" or from a given name derived from Tatar базу (bazu) meaning "to dare" (given in hopes that a son would become a warrior).
BeriaGeorgian, Mingrelian (?) Beria is a form of Beridze. It was the last name of Lavrentiy Beria, a notable Soviet secret police officer.
BeriyaGeorgian (Russified) Russified form of Beria. This is the way the last name of Lavrentiy Beria, the head of the NKVD from 1938-1946, last name was spelled in the official Soviet language (Russian).
BestautyOssetian Derived from Ossetian бистэ (biste) meaning "village, suburb" or from Persian به (beh) meaning "good, excellent, better". In the case of the former, it would have been used to indicate the place of residence of an ancestor.
BulguchevIngush (Russified) Russified form of an Ingush surname derived from the name of an Ingush teip (clan). The clan's name is derived from the name Bulguch of unknown meaning.