Surname Ivanovs - Meaning and Origin
all surnames with 'I'
Ivanovs: What does the surname Ivanovs mean?
The last name Ivanovs is a patronymic surname derived from the first name Ivan, which is itself derived from the Hebrew name Iohanan and means “God is gracious.” Today it is one of the most popular surnames in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, and it is also common among other Eastern European countries as well.
Ivanovs is a patronymic surname which follows the Slavic naming tradition, where the surname is taken from the father’s first name. The suffix “-ovs” or “-evs”is added to the father’s first name to indicate the genitive case. This essentially means that the father is responsible for the surnames of his children.
Though the patronymic surname is today a common family name, it originally served an important purpose as it would allow families to remain distinguishable from one another if they moved to a different area or village. This is supported by the fact that Ivanovs is more commonly found in parts of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, though the name can be found in other parts of the world, too.
For many people, Ivanovs is an important part of their family history. It is a powerful and meaningful surname that symbolizes a connection to the past, with the person’s ancestors, and serves as a reminder of where they came from.
Order DNA origin analysisIvanovs: Where does the name Ivanovs come from?
Ivanovs is a common last name throughout Eastern and Central Europe today. It is especially common in Russia, where an estimated 93,000 people have the surname. Most Ivanovs in Russia are believed to come from an ancestor who adopted the name Ivanov in the 16th or 17th century. The surname is also very common in Belarus and Ukraine, where between 44,000 and 54,000 people have the last name.
The surname Ivanov is also found in other Slavic countries, like Croatia, Czech Republic, Poland, and even Bulgaria. It is especially popular in Bulgaria, where an estimated 18,500 people have the surname. In the former Soviet republic of Latvia, an estimated 3,600 people have the last name Ivanovs.
Outside of Eastern Europe, it is quite rare to find someone with the last name Ivanov. It can be found in Israel, where a small Jewish population of Ivanovs exists as a result of Jewish immigration to the country during the Soviet period. It can also be found in countries with Bulgarian or Russian diaspora populations, and, to a lesser extent, in countries with a larger population of Eastern Europeans, such as Canada, the United States, and Australia.
Variations of the surname Ivanovs
Ivanovs is a common Russian last name which means Son of Ivan. It is similar to surnames such as Ivanova, Ivanov, and Ivanoff and is found in several Eastern Slavic countries including Ukraine and Belarus. It is sometimes transliterated into other languages due to the Russian language's rich history of borrowing words and influences from other languages as well as tropes such as adding extra vowels to the end of words or names as a way of emphasizing the syllables of a name (e.g. Ivanovska).
Variants and spellings of Ivanovs are Ivanofs, Iwanofs, Ivanovskis, Ivanofski, and Ivanofska. Other surnames of the same origin include Ivanova, Ivanoff, Iwanow, Iwanowski, and Iwanowitsch. Each of the above names generally has the same meaning which is “son of Ivan”, although sometimes they may have slightly different nuances or histories.
Ivanovs is also a relatively common surname in the United States, typically found among individuals with East European heritage. The United States spelling often serves to both simplify the name and also to render it more phonetically similar to other surnames that are more familiar to native English speakers such as Johnson or Wilson (e.g. Ivanovski -> Ivanowski).
In some cases, the surname Ivanovs may also be found in the form of a single name on legal documents or other official records, such as in the pattern of Iva + novs which is not commonly seen elsewhere. This form is often used in the same way as a middle name or a second given name which is added to the traditional fictional pattern of a patronymic given name.
Famous people with the name Ivanovs
- Yuri Ivanovs, former Soviet sprint canoer, Olympic champion
- Juris Ivanovs, Latvian basketball player
- Yevgeniya Ivanovs, Russian rhythmic gymnast
- Viktor Ivanovs, Russian footballer
- Mikhail Ivanovs, former Soviet ice hockey player
- Kaspars Ivanovs,Latvian political party leader
- Arkady Ivanovs, former Soviet sprint freestyle swimmer
- Andrei Ivanovs, Russian football coach
- Marcis Ivanovs, Latvian football defender
- Pavlovs Ivanovs, former Soviet middle-distance runner
- Yuri Ivanovs, Russian ballet dancer and coach
- Nicholas Ivanovs, British landscape and portrait artist
- Andrey Ivanovs, Russian classical composer
- Dzintars Ivanovs, Latvian Middleweight boxer
- Agnis Ivanovs, Latvian sprint canoer, Olympic champion
- World's Strongest Man Mikhail Ivanovs
- Andris Ivanszovs, Latvian Heavyweight boxer
- Kolya Ivanovs, Russian biathlete
- Olegs Ivanovs, Latvian politician
- Sergey Ivanovs, former Russian minister of Defense