Last names act as an indicator of the history of the family and connect people to their heritage. The Ukrainian diaspora is spread across the world, and family names form the strong thread of connection, especially with the growing population. If you would like to give your little one a Ukrainian surname to celebrate your heritage, here is a list of Ukrainian family names along with their meanings and origin to help you get started.

100 Popular Ukrainian Surnames or Family Names With Meanings

Surnames in Ukraine were traditionally used by the upper-class people and the wealthy. They only became common with the common masses when it was made necessary for taxation under the Austrian empire.

Listed below are common Ukrainian last names that are being used around the world. There are also some rare Ukrainian surnames in the list. Most Ukrainian surnames are patronymic, in that there are derived from a father or an ancestor’s name. The others are names that indicate the occupation of the person or their ancestors, while some others point out specific features or characteristics.

1. Adamovich

An ancestral surname that is derived from the name ‘Adam’.

2. Aksamit

The meaning of this surname is ‘velvet’ and it is of Polish origin.

3. Alekseev

This is a patronymic surname and means ‘the son of Aleksey’. It is derived from the same name.

4. Anastas

This surname means ‘resurrection’ and has a Greek origin.

5. Andrich

A patronymic surname, Andrich is derived from the name ‘Andrij’, which is the Ukrainian form of ‘Andreas’.

6. Antonova

This masculine surname is derived from the male name ‘Anton’. It is of Russian origin.

7. Archaki

Meaning ‘lord or the ruler’, this surname has its origins in the Greek word ‘Archos’.

8. Babich

This matronymic surname means ‘grandmother’ or ‘old woman’. It has Russian, Polish, and Ukrainian origins.

9. Bagan

This name has several meanings such as ‘marsh’ or ‘to destroy’. The origin of the name is uncertain.

10. Balaban

The name means ‘chatterer’ in Ukrainian and ‘hawk’ in Russian. The name could be an occupational name for a falconer.

11. Barno

The name means ‘Son of Nabia’ and has an Italian origin.

12. Barsky

This is a rare Ukrainian surname. The surname is derived from the name of a bar in Ukraine.

13. Bartosh

This is a pet form of the name ‘Bartolomij’, the Ukrainian version of ‘Bartholomew’.

14. Bayuk

The surname means ‘to entertain’ or ‘amuse’ and is derived from the word ‘bayaty’, which means the same.

15. Belaya

Belaya means ‘white’ and the surname is of a Russian origin.

16. Bereza

Bereza means ‘birch tree’ and is of the Ukrainian origin.

17. Bilyk

The word means ‘white’ in Ukrainian, and the surname is of Ukrainian origin.

18. Boiko

This is an ethnic name for the residents of the Western Ukraine region and is derived from ‘boyko’.

19. Bondarenko

An occupational name for a cooper (person trained to make wooden barrels, casks, etc.) The name is suffixed with ‘enko’, which is a patronymic suffix.

20. Bortnick

Meaning beekeeper, this Ukrainian surname is ancient and popular.

21. Borys

This surname means ‘fight’ and has a Russian origin. However, it is also believed to have originated from the Bulgar language.

22. Buchko

Derived from the Ukrainian word ‘bucha’, which means ‘noise’ or ‘outcry’, the surname means ‘a noisy person’.

23. Bula

The name is derived from the Ukrainian word for potato, which is ‘bulya’.

24. Burick

The surname means ‘dark brown’ or ‘gray’ and is a derivative of the Ukrainian word ‘bur’.

25. Cherkasskiy

The name is derived from the Ukrainian word ‘cherkas’, which refers to the ethnic group called ‘Circassians’.

26. Chernenko

This surname is derived from the Ukrainian word ‘chorny’ and Russian word ‘cherniy’, both of which mean ‘black’.

27. Cap

The name means ‘billy goat’ in Ukrainian. It may also be an occupational surname for goat herds.

28. Chaplin

The surname is derived from the word ‘chaplya’ in Ukrainian, which means ‘a stork’ or ‘heron’. It refers to a man with long, thin legs, and one who frightens easy.

29. Chaika

Meaning seagull, this surname comes from the Slavic term for the bird.

30. Chura

This is the Ukrainian word for ‘cossak servant’. ‘Chura’ or ‘Dzhura’ is an occupational name.

31. Chumak

This word is derived from the traditional Ukrainian wagon-based trading occupation, which included the delivery of salt, fish, etc.

32. Choma

The surname is derived from the male name ‘Choma’, which is a Slavic version of ‘Thomas’.

33. Chornovil

This surname comes from the Ukrainian word for ‘black ox’.

34. Dacko

Dacko is the pet form of the Ukrainian name ‘Danylo’.

35. Datsyuk

Datsyuk is the Ukrainian term for a service provider.

36. Davidovich

This is a patronymic surname and is derived from the name ‘David’.

37. Demchak

This surname is a pet form of the Ukrainian name ‘Demjan’.

38. Diduch

This Ukrainian surname means ‘the spirit of the ancestors’.

39. Domitrovich

This is a patronymic surname that derived from the Ukrainian personal name ‘Domitry’. It is mainly of Greek origin and comes from the name ‘Demetrios’.

40. Dobroshtan

The surname comes from the Ukrainian word for ‘good pants’.

41. Dobryivechir

This Ukrainian surname comes from the Ukrainian word for ‘good evening’.

42. Dovzhenko

The meaning of this Ukrainian surname is derived from the Ukrainian word for ‘long’.

43. Evanko

Derived from the personal Ukrainian name ‘Ivan’, it has its origin in the Hebrew name ‘Yehochanan’, which means ‘graced by Yahweh’ or ‘God is gracious’.

44. Fedora

This surname is derived from the female Ukrainian name ‘Fedora’, which is the Ukrainian version of ‘Theodora’.

45. Franko

Primarily of Latin origin, this name comes from the personal name ‘Franko’ or ‘Franciscus’ in Latin.

46. Galey

This is a nickname for ‘hurry’ or ‘hasten’ and originates from the Proto-Slavic term for ‘to shout’.

47. Gogol

Gogol means ‘a Common Goldeneye’, which is a type of duck in Ukrainian.

48. Gleba

Derived from the eastern Slavic personal name, it refers to the son of Prince Vladimir of Kiev, named ‘Gleb’. Gleba also means ‘soil’ in Ukrainian and Polish.

49. Honchar

This is the Ukrainian name for ‘potter’ or ‘ceramist’ and is occupation-based.

50. Hopko

A term of endearment, this Ukrainian nickname means ‘child’.

51. Horbanenko

This surname means ‘hunchback’. It is similar to the Russian surname ‘Gorbachev’.

52. Hresko

This is derived from the Ukrainian version of the Latin name ‘Gregorius’, which is ‘Hrehor’.

53. Hudzik

Meaning ‘button’ or ‘a small man’, this surname could be an occupational name for button makers.

54. Iwanicki

This is a name for a person from ‘Iwaniec’, ‘Iwanki’, ‘Iwanovice’.

55. Jangula

This surname is derived from the Ukrainian nickname for angel, ‘Yangyola’.

56. Kachur

This is derived from the Ukrainian nickname ‘kachur’, meaning ‘drake’. It also refers to ‘a fowler’.

57. Kalashnik

The meaning of this surname is ‘Kalaches maker’, which is a traditional form of bread.

58. Kalzuny

The surname means ‘muddy’ and indicates a person who lives in a muddy spot.

59. Kandyba

This Ukrainian surname means ‘horse’.

60. Kapinos

This directly translates to the phrase ‘run, nose’ in Ukrainian.

61. Karmazin

The surname means ‘dark red cloth’ and is possibly derived from the Arabic word for ‘crimson’.

62. Kazan

Meaning ‘kettle’, ‘furnace’, or ‘boiler’, this surname is derived from the Turkish word ‘kazan’.

63. Kishka

Kishka means ‘cat’ in the Ukrainian language.

64. Kitko

This surname is derived from the Ukrainian word ‘kit’, meaning ‘tomcat’.

65. Kolesnik

This surname comes from the Ukrainian word for ‘wheelwright’.

66. Koroliuk

The word means ‘king’ and is derived from the Ukrainian word for king, ‘korol’.

67. Kosmen

This is an occupational name for glassmakers and is of Jewish origin.

68. Koval

This is an occupational name for a blacksmith.

69. Kozak

This popular Ukrainian surname means ‘free man’ and is derived from the Turkish word ‘kazak’.

70. Kozar

The meaning of this Ukrainian surname is ‘goat herd’.

71. Krasinski

A name for people from places in Ukraine and Belarus such as Krasnaya, Krasna, or Krasnoe.

72. Krivoshapka

This surname comes from the Ukrainian word for crooked headwear.

73. Kryvonis

Kryvonis means ‘curved nose’ in Ukrainian.

74. Kushnir

This is an occupation-based Ukrainian surname and refers to a furrier.

75. Lipka

Named after someone who lived next to a lime tree. This surname comes from the word ‘lipa’, meaning ‘lime tree’.

76. Lisko

This comes from the nickname ‘lysyj’, which means ‘a bald man’ or from ‘lis’, meaning ‘a fox’ or ‘cunning person’.

77. Litvinchuk

Of Russian origin, this surname comes from the word ‘litvin’ used to refer to people of Belarusian or Lithuanian descent.

78. Lomachenko

This surname comes from the word ‘lom’, which means ‘scrap’ in Ukrainian.

79. Lubarsky

Refers to people from the Lyubar region in Volhynia, Ukraine or from Lubarka in Lithuania.

80. Lyashenko

This surname derived from the Ukrainian word ‘lyakh’, meaning ‘pole’. This is actually used as a disrespectful word.

81. Malinski

Refers to a person from Malin, a place in Ukraine.

82. Markovich

A patronymic name for the male name ‘Mark’ or ‘Marko’.

83. Molchan

A soft-spoken person. The surname is derived from the Russian word for ‘silent’.

84. Mucha

Used as a nickname for important people, this surname means ‘fly’.

85. Navarykasha

This surname refers to the phrase ‘boil the porridge’.

86. Novosel

Newcomer to a place. This is a Ukrainian nickname.

87. Olensky

This surname indicates people from the region of Olewsk in Ukraine.

88. Oliynyk

This occupational surname refers to vegetable oil manufacturers.

89. Pachenko

This is a Ukrainian surname for a ‘fisher’.

90. Panko

Derived from the word ‘pan’, meaning ‘lord’ or ‘landlord’. It is also a pet name for people with names starting from ‘pa’.

91. Pribula

Comes from the word ‘prybylyj’ and is a nickname for a newcomer.

92. Rachman

Of Hebrew origin, this name means ‘merciful’.

93. Reznikov

A profession-based name for ritual slaughterers.

94. Ruschak

This is an ethnic name for a Ruthenian person.

95. Stolyarchuk

This surname means the ‘son of a carpenter’.

96. Shevchenko

The name originates from the Ukrainian word for ‘cobbler’ or ‘shoemaker’.

97. Truchan

This surname comes from the Ukrainian name for turkey.

98. Valentyn

This word is of Latin origin and means ‘strong and healthy’.

99. Warhola

This rare Ukrainian surname means ‘quarrel’.

100. Zelinski

A person from Zelenki in Ukraine. The surname has its origin in the Slavic word for green.

These are only a few of the Ukrainian surnames out of the many that are being used around the world. These last names are mostly occupational, regional, or feature-based, with a few rare ones mixed in.

Most Ukrainian surnames have the suffix -ko. This indicates that the names have a reference to the ancestors, such as father or grandfather and are patronymic in nature. This serves the purpose of carrying the ancestral name forward and forms a direct connection to the history of the family. Suffixes such as -chuk, -vich, -yuk, -yak, -enko, -yshyn are also considered to be patronymic.

Ukrainian surnames, like most other surnames, show a rich history and indicate the ancestry of the person, allowing every individual to connect well with their legacy.