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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.
