Origin of Armenian Surnames

[Sako]

Re: Origin of Armenian Surnames

I think ya'll have something going here. We can somehow understand where certain last names mentioned in this thread stemmed from at the moment but can you please tell me where last names like Terkunyan came from, lol? I'm sorry, I just can't seem to digest this. I can't believe how any Armenian would willingly live with this.

[Lucin]

Re: Origin of Armenian Surnames

I think ya'll have something going here. We can somehow understand where certain last names mentioned in this thread stemmed from at the moment but can you please tell me where last names like Terkunyan came from, lol? I'm sorry, I just can't seem to digest this. I can't believe how any Armenian would willingly live with this.

It is indeed ridiculous… My guess is 'Terkunyan' is actually the terkhun in Armenian ("tarkhun" in Farsi) which is the name of a vegetable as you know. It seems that the "kh" (խ) has been transformed into "k" (ք) to facilitate the pronunciation in English. So it should have been Terkhun+yan (ian).

[KanadaHye]

Re: Origin of Armenian Surnames

It is indeed ridiculous… My guess is 'Terkunyan' is actually the terkhun in Armenian ("tarkhun" in Farsi) which is the name of a vegetable as you know. It seems that the "kh" (խ) has been transformed into "k" (ք) to facilitate the pronunciation in English. So it should have been Terkhun+yan (ian).

Or Terchunyan(bird in armenian).... became Tercunyan(turkish) then Terkunyan(english)...

[seruven]

Re: Origin of Armenian Surnames

May I ask what is wrong with the name Terkunyan?
Kanada, I don't think we have such a word like Tercun in Turkish.

[KanadaHye]

Re: Origin of Armenian Surnames

May I ask what is wrong with the name Terkunyan?
Kanada, I don't think we have such a word like Tercun in Turkish.

Yes but the "ch" would be replaced with a "ç" in turkish making it Terçun (Terchun)

Apparently, terkun is also a combination of a Indo-English word, dokter, with the Javo-Indonesian term dukun that is used for the Javanese shaman. dokter-dukun---> terkun

[jgk3]

Re: Origin of Armenian Surnames

Are you sure "ker" would be equal to 'writing'? To write is actually "grel" or "krel" (in western Armenian) so I'm guessing it is closer to "nkar" meaning photo in Armenian, and "nkarel" which means to paint or to take a picture depending on the context... With that said it would be something like Wall-painting in Armenian and Paint-thing in English... if the latter is true, then they would be actually related etymologically.

good point, yeah I would rank nkar above ker/krel too ("n" could easily drop/dissolve in a form like Patnker). So now we have "Wall-Picture" in Armenian, but no "Wall" element to be seen in the English word "picture", in fact, the element of painting is in the same slot as "Wall" (Pict- vs Pat). This means the words Picture and Patker don't have a common root.

[ara87]

Re: Origin of Armenian Surnames

I think ya'll have something going here. We can somehow understand where certain last names mentioned in this thread stemmed from at the moment but can you please tell me where last names like Terkunyan came from, lol? I'm sorry, I just can't seem to digest this. I can't believe how any Armenian would willingly live with this.

I don't doubt it coud be derived from "Turk" after all there are plenty of "Arabyans." And how is that hard to digest? Many armo's last names are turkish words with an "-ian/yan" tacked on, and many armos have "-oglu" instead of "-ian/yan." Maybe it just means that there was an intermarriage way back in the day between an armo and a turk, and thus the kids are armos of turkish stock.

Then again, "Terkun" seems to be a georgian word. I typed into google, and came across a georgian web page with many "terkun - ს ვიდეოები" links

http://www.tvali.ge/index.php?action=profile&u=4130#

[Sako]

Re: Origin of Armenian Surnames

It's hard to digest because it's not terkun ... it's terKKUN! Hard to believe, eh? Well, seeing is believing, lol.

How about Բոզոյան Պայքար, GOMESHyan, Բռնադատվածային Սոխակ, Թխկլչյան Ծծաշատ, Տանուտերյան Սկյուռիկ, etc.

I love my people but they've done some things that are far from understanding, lol. How can you explain these surnames? I have lists of these kinds of names. Some of them are more of a curse word then a surname. It's simply embarrasing and most of them are downright hilarious.

[Lucin]

Re: Origin of Armenian Surnames

It's hard to digest because it's not terkun ... it's terKKUN! Hard to believe, eh? Well, seeing is believing, lol.

How about Բոզոյան Պայքար, GOMESHyan, Բռնադատվածային Սոխակ, Թխկլչյան Ծծաշատ, Տանուտերյան Սկյուռիկ, etc.

This is unbelievable. Have you encountered these people in real life or you've probably read it in some newspaper's comics/ caricatures section or in a cartoon?

[Sako]

Re: Origin of Armenian Surnames

Almost Everything I talk about comes from experience Lucin so you might not want to read my posts at times ... like in this case ! This is seriously unbelievable ... too bad it's real, lol. Should I give you more names or shall I stop here?

I experienced some of the most hilarious moments when typing out the namse of the Armenians that died during the AG. No disrespect intended of course but seriously, some of the names there simply made me laugh my head off, lol. I was trying REALLY hard to stop myself from doing so but I mean, come on ... Պզպզյան Գելիմ! Forgive me for my language but What the F! were some of our people thinking? I feel sorry for the people that carried these names around their whole lives. That's one heavy load, lol. They must've been teased and pointed at all their lives. I laughed when reading these names but inside, I felt ashamed and really disgusted. I mean seriously, till now I can't seem to digest all this.

The saddest part is that there are more ... LOT'S MORE ... where these came from. I've got pages and I'll be putting them up in CA. We have a massive page for Armenian names and I'm building a page for FUNNY Armenian names although I must say, some of these names are more offensive then funny. May God have mercy on the people continuing to carry these names today. Seriously!