At school literature lessons, schoolchildren study heroes who have very "speaking" surnames, one way or another characterizing their owners. So why do authors resort to such a technique and how important is it to emphasize certain features of their characters with the help of a surname?
Last name history
Surnames in Russia appeared only in the 19th century - earlier the majority of the population did well without them. The first surnames began to be used by feudal lords, who took hereditary names according to their hereditary landholdings - so, most of the feudal surnames indicated the lands belonging to them. This is how the names Vyazemsky, Shuisky, Yeletsky and so on arose.
Despite the fact that the first Russian surnames can be found in the documents of the 15th century, the bulk of the people of Russia did not have them.
After the fall of serfdom, the government began to give former serfs the full or changed surnames of their former masters. Some of the surnames were altered from patronymics, some from nicknames. However, this process was rather slow, and people continued to live without a surname until 1888. It was then that a decree was issued on the compulsory receipt of a surname by all full-fledged persons at the request of the law.
Literary speaking surnames
Many writers and artists knew that surnames were associated with the peculiarities of life or character among readers and viewers. So, Alexey Maksimovich Peshkov, who lived a difficult childhood and youth, chose a speaking surname for himself and became Maxim Gorky. Vladimir Dal, who was born in Lugansk, signed himself with the pseudonym Kazak Lugansky, and Dmitry Mamin, who lived in the Urals, was published under the name Tomsky and Sibiryak.
Writers often changed their surnames depending on the nature of their literary works.
Denis Fonvizin often signed with Pravdin and Durykin, Saltykov - Shchedrin, Mastodontov and Zmeev-Infantsev, and Chekhov - Kislyaev, Champagne and Tarantulov. Nekrasov was known under the pseudonyms of Borodavkin, Gribovnikov and Bukhalov, and Gilyarovsky signed his stories with Izhitsyn, Verevkin and Voldemar Velespecovym.
The speaking surnames were also reflected in the famous characters of Russian classics - who does not know the police officers Derzhimorda, Svistunov and Pugovitsyn, the district doctor Gibner, the private bailiff Ukhovertov, retired officials Korobkin, Rastakovsky and Lyulyukov? Literature lovers know the city landowners Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, the judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin, the mayor Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky and the sponsor of charitable institutions Strawberry. Thus, the writers brought to the fore some traits or elements of the life of their heroes, giving the reader a deeper understanding of their ins and outs.
