Your surname can tell you much more than just your origins. In the Ukrainian tradition, names were often born from life — from everyday life, status, and living conditions. And among them — a special category of surnames that testified to extreme need. These “names of poverty” were not a joke or an insult — they were a reality recorded in documents and the memory of generations.
The Telegraph newspaper, together with the Vasyl Maslov Society “Kraeznavets” in Pryluky, collected a selection of surnames that directly indicate the poverty of their bearers. Many of them are still found in Ukraine.
Surnames without shoes and a roof over their heads
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Bosii, Bosak, Bosenko — from the word "bosii," meaning a person without shoes. Such a name could have appeared in someone who walked barefoot on the ground not out of faith, but out of poverty.
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Burlaka - a nomad, a homeless person, a hired hand. A surname for those who had neither land nor a home.
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Geta, Getalo, Getenko — “geta” meant an old horse. Perhaps it was the only property of the family or their only “luxury.”.
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Holyk, Golysh, Golyak — all these surnames come from “naked,” meaning not just without clothes, but without any possessions, without everything.
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Turf is a surname that probably came from a person who lived in a hut covered with turf. This was the most primitive form of housing - in fact, a dugout.
Surnames of swampy yards and empty pockets
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Kalyuzhny - according to local historians, the surname indicates a poorly equipped dwelling, where there were always puddles. This is a sign of poverty and lack of amenities.
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Kapara — from the verb “kaparity” — to live in poverty, to live on a pittance. The word is almost forgotten, but the surname has remained.
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Kubrak, Kubrakov — a folk name for the poor, people with a difficult fate and a difficult life.
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Netyaga — literally “one who does not drag life.” A surname for a needy traveler, often from the circle of the Cossack poor.
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Nechvolod is a tragic surname that could have arisen after the loss of property, land, or social status. A person who once “owned,” but no longer does.
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Nuzhdenko is a symbol of total poverty. This surname directly speaks of a life in constant deprivation.
A surname is not a shame, but a memory
In a time when people didn't have passports, resumes, or social media, a surname was a biography. A family's history was often encapsulated in a single word. Today, these surnames are no longer surprising, but they are a testament to the past.
If your family has a similar surname, it is not a reason to be ashamed, but a reason to be proud of the endurance of your ancestors. They survived what few would have endured, and left behind a name - simple, honest, and true.
