Latvia Naming Customs

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Latvia

Personal Names

Understanding customs used in surnames and given names can help you identify your ancestors in records. Learn to recognize name variations and see clues in names.

Online Tools

• Behind the Name: Latvian Surnames
• Behind the Name: Latvian Given Names
• Behind the Name: Russian Surnames
• Behind the Name: Russian Given Names

Surnames

• Latvian names, like in most European cultures, consist of two main elements: the given name (vārds) followed by family name (uzvārds).
• During the Soviet occupation (1940–1941;1944–1991) the practice of giving a middle name (otrais vārds) was discouraged, but since the restoration of Independence Latvian legislation again allows giving of up to two given names and it has become more common to give a middle name to children.
• There are normally different endings to family names for men and women:

• e.g. (male) KALNINŠ, (feminine) KALNINA.

• Male Latvian personal and family names typically end in -s (-š). Some may be derived from Russian names, with an -s ending:

• e.g. Vladislavs KAZANOVS.

• Female Latvian personal and family names typically end in -a or -e.

• e.g. Jelena GALANTE.

• Married women typically take their husband’s family name with the feminine ending:

• e.g. the wife of Janis KALNINŠ would be Ilga KALNINA

• Most Latvian peasants received their surnames in 1826 (in Vidzeme), in 1835 (in Courland), and in 1866 (in Latgale). *Diminutives were the most common form of family names. Examples: Kalniņš/Kalniņa (small hill), Bērziņš/Bērziņa (small birch).
• During the times when Latvia was part of the Russian Empire and Soviet Union, in official usage Latvian names were commonly Russified. In particular, it followed the three-part pattern of Russian names: given name, patronymic, family name. Also, the masculine endings of first names were often truncated. For example, poet Imants Ziedonis was officially called Imant Yanovich Ziedonis (Имант Янович Зиедонис)

Given Names

• Latvia is among the European countries that celebrate name days (vārda dienas), a celebration almost comparable in importance to that of a birthday.
• Most of them are related to the Saints' days in the Church calendar, but in recent decades new names have been added to the calendar by a special commission.
• Some names and their name days bear a connection with important holidays, for example, arguably one of the most important holidays, summer solstice, referred to as Jāņi starts on June 23 with Līgo diena (name day for females named Līga) and continues through June 24 or Jāņi – name day for males named Jānis.

For Further Reading

• A GUIDE TO NAMES AND NAMING PRACTICES, UK Names Guide
• Name day: Latvia in Wikipedia
• Latvia Personal Names (CIA)

FamilySearch Library

Additional sources are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog:

• [COUNTRY - Names, Personal]