Jonathan Kalmakoff's latest research article of 275 Doukhobor-invented surnames has been published in a scholarly European journal specializing in names.
Jon says: "This project has been a 'labour of love' of mine. It was written over the past two years while I have been off-work and housebound, battling kidney failure. However, the research underlying it covers over twenty years of painstaking archival research and countless interviews with Doukhobor elders throughout Canada, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan."
Kalmakoff, Jonathan. "Ulichnye Familii among Doukhobors of the Caucasus and Canada," Onomastica (Vol. 63, 2019), pages 67-114. Onomastics is the study of names.
In Russia, Doukhobors lived together for generations and intermarried so much that many people had the same or similar names. To separate people by name, more names were needed, a nickname, or a surname based on some distinguishing characteristic. Jon lists 275 new family identities, most brought to Canada. This list should help many who are confused trying to research their family tree.
Such made up names in Russian genealogy are called "on the street names" (уличные фамилии : ulichnye familii), to distinguish them from official written names. Learn more at Yandex.ru and Google.com.
The 275 Doukhobor "street names" are alphabetically listed with details on the last 24 pages of the 47-page article. More than 100 references are cited on 4 pages, including 24 from Russian archives. Several of the works cited have not yet appeared as sources in print. I also count 45 people contacted by "correspondence" plus 8 interviews.
Of the 275 names listed, I count 133 (48%) taken from first names (Arina, Denis, etc.); and, 63 (23%) taken from descriptions or adjectives (dove, stubborn, etc.). Local languages provided 11 names from Turkish words, 4 from Armenian, and 2 from Georgian.
Jon first heard of Doukhobor surname changes from Eli A. Popoff's Рассказы из Истории Духоборцев (Rasskazy iz istorii dukhobortsev : Stories from Doukhobor History, 1956). He says “He also heard his great-grandmother Mabel S. Kalmakoff apply similar names to various Doukhobor families from the Good Spirit Lake and Buchanan areas. ... these influences intrigued and motivated me to learn more...”
In November 2000 Jon mentioned the topic on his web page "Guide to Doukhobor Names and Naming Practices" (updated Aug. 2010) in the last section about "Family Nicknames" and how to notate people with two surnames.
Other cultures also created ways for identifying people with such names. French, Italian and Scottish use "dit" names. Germans have "sippe" names. Scots and Irish use "sept" names. Spanish-Catholic cultures avoid confusion during baptism by assigning the family name of both parents plus more if needed.
For Canadian Doukhobors, Jon wrote: "... today ulichnye familii have all but disappeared among Doukhobors, as a result of their assimilation, dispersal and modernization." Positive ID now relies on Social Insurance Numbers (SIN), driver's license photo-ID, cellphone number, finger prints, DNA, etc.
Dmitri (Jim) Popoff, Grand Forks BC, who helped Jon with research, complemented the published article: "Congratulations on having it accepted by such a prestigious and scholarly journal, that specializes in the very genre of your article. ... I'm ... once more struck by the depth and breadth of the encompassed data, and the conscientious attention to all pertinent details. ... (and) ... impressed with the general high level of accuracy and authenticity."
Popoff also corrected two References mistakenly attributed to his father Popoff, E. A. instead of him, by a single letter typo. John apologized. Both historians were so absorbed with the draft article content that neither noticed the changed initials at the end. The References should read:
"Street names" among non-Doukhobor Spiritual Christians
(Dukh-i-zhizniki, Molokane, Pryguny, Subbotniki, etc.)
While Doukhobors changed names before migration, the non-Doukhobor Spiritual Christians changed names after migration to North America.
A team of non-Doukhobor genealogists, led by Nancy Poppin-Umland, has documented only one surname change among non-Doukhobor Spiritual Christians in Russia, but 60 surname changes in America.
Most name changes after migration were to hide their Russian origin in America during times of fear of Bolsheviks, Communists, Reds, and Soviets during the Cold War. My father called himself Conway for a while.
Only a few changed surnames due to unfortunate spelling. A popular oral history example is about the Russian surname Yurin. Most were spelled "Uraine", but whose who got "Urin", pronounced like "urine", changed to "Wren".
In Russia, my wife's grandfather and a few brothers created their own "street name" still in use. He was born Vasili Antonich Samarin, among 9 brothers and 5 sisters. Most all were Molokane in Ol'shanka village, northern Kars province, neighboring Dukhobory. They lived among too many other Samarin clans of mixed faiths. He and a few brothers decided that they should have a different surname. They chose the name of a rich village elder — Sergeev — who had no nearby relatives, and maybe they would prosper with that surname.
Jon says: "This project has been a 'labour of love' of mine. It was written over the past two years while I have been off-work and housebound, battling kidney failure. However, the research underlying it covers over twenty years of painstaking archival research and countless interviews with Doukhobor elders throughout Canada, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan."
Kalmakoff, Jonathan. "Ulichnye Familii among Doukhobors of the Caucasus and Canada," Onomastica (Vol. 63, 2019), pages 67-114. Onomastics is the study of names.
In Russia, Doukhobors lived together for generations and intermarried so much that many people had the same or similar names. To separate people by name, more names were needed, a nickname, or a surname based on some distinguishing characteristic. Jon lists 275 new family identities, most brought to Canada. This list should help many who are confused trying to research their family tree.
Such made up names in Russian genealogy are called "on the street names" (уличные фамилии : ulichnye familii), to distinguish them from official written names. Learn more at Yandex.ru and Google.com.
The 275 Doukhobor "street names" are alphabetically listed with details on the last 24 pages of the 47-page article. More than 100 references are cited on 4 pages, including 24 from Russian archives. Several of the works cited have not yet appeared as sources in print. I also count 45 people contacted by "correspondence" plus 8 interviews.
Of the 275 names listed, I count 133 (48%) taken from first names (Arina, Denis, etc.); and, 63 (23%) taken from descriptions or adjectives (dove, stubborn, etc.). Local languages provided 11 names from Turkish words, 4 from Armenian, and 2 from Georgian.
Jon first heard of Doukhobor surname changes from Eli A. Popoff's Рассказы из Истории Духоборцев (Rasskazy iz istorii dukhobortsev : Stories from Doukhobor History, 1956). He says “He also heard his great-grandmother Mabel S. Kalmakoff apply similar names to various Doukhobor families from the Good Spirit Lake and Buchanan areas. ... these influences intrigued and motivated me to learn more...”
In November 2000 Jon mentioned the topic on his web page "Guide to Doukhobor Names and Naming Practices" (updated Aug. 2010) in the last section about "Family Nicknames" and how to notate people with two surnames.
Other cultures also created ways for identifying people with such names. French, Italian and Scottish use "dit" names. Germans have "sippe" names. Scots and Irish use "sept" names. Spanish-Catholic cultures avoid confusion during baptism by assigning the family name of both parents plus more if needed.
For Canadian Doukhobors, Jon wrote: "... today ulichnye familii have all but disappeared among Doukhobors, as a result of their assimilation, dispersal and modernization." Positive ID now relies on Social Insurance Numbers (SIN), driver's license photo-ID, cellphone number, finger prints, DNA, etc.
Dmitri (Jim) Popoff, Grand Forks BC, who helped Jon with research, complemented the published article: "Congratulations on having it accepted by such a prestigious and scholarly journal, that specializes in the very genre of your article. ... I'm ... once more struck by the depth and breadth of the encompassed data, and the conscientious attention to all pertinent details. ... (and) ... impressed with the general high level of accuracy and authenticity."
Popoff also corrected two References mistakenly attributed to his father Popoff, E. A. instead of him, by a single letter typo. John apologized. Both historians were so absorbed with the draft article content that neither noticed the changed initials at the end. The References should read:
- Popoff, D. E. (14.01.2018). Interview with the author re: Doukhobor ulichnye familii. Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada.
- Popoff, D. E. (2008). A Turbulent Century of Transition. USCC Youth Festival Booklet (Brilliant, Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ)
"Street names" among non-Doukhobor Spiritual Christians
(Dukh-i-zhizniki, Molokane, Pryguny, Subbotniki, etc.)
While Doukhobors changed names before migration, the non-Doukhobor Spiritual Christians changed names after migration to North America.
A team of non-Doukhobor genealogists, led by Nancy Poppin-Umland, has documented only one surname change among non-Doukhobor Spiritual Christians in Russia, but 60 surname changes in America.
Most name changes after migration were to hide their Russian origin in America during times of fear of Bolsheviks, Communists, Reds, and Soviets during the Cold War. My father called himself Conway for a while.
Only a few changed surnames due to unfortunate spelling. A popular oral history example is about the Russian surname Yurin. Most were spelled "Uraine", but whose who got "Urin", pronounced like "urine", changed to "Wren".
In Russia, my wife's grandfather and a few brothers created their own "street name" still in use. He was born Vasili Antonich Samarin, among 9 brothers and 5 sisters. Most all were Molokane in Ol'shanka village, northern Kars province, neighboring Dukhobory. They lived among too many other Samarin clans of mixed faiths. He and a few brothers decided that they should have a different surname. They chose the name of a rich village elder — Sergeev — who had no nearby relatives, and maybe they would prosper with that surname.
— Andrei Conovaloff
