☺️ A DIFFERENT NAMING CONVENTION ☺️
Surnames in Cyprus used to be applied quite differently before the island became a British Colony. A surname was traditionally not viewed as a generic family name, but instead was simply an extension of the patriarch’s first name. This meant that the concept of a Cypriot family name did not exist.
As Cypriots took their father’s first name as their surname, family surnames changed with each generation. This concept arose from the fact that Cyprus followed the convention of ‘the son of’ as opposed to ‘the family of’. The limited supply of first names also meant that there were, as there is now, several common Cypriot surnames in place.
The practice of changing surnames with each generation promptly ceased after the arrival of the British. Almost all Cypriots adopted the British system of family naming conventions. Slowly over time, their surname was kept in place, becoming a family surname in line with British practices. Several Cypriot surnames today, however, still refer to a Cypriot first name.
This also applies to the most common Cypriot surname currently in circulation. The surname of Georgiou etymologically derives from the name Georgio or George. Interestingly, this name also has a deep-rooted meaning that stretches beyond a simple first name. Georgio derives from the words ‘gi’, which translates to ‘land’ or ‘earth’, and ‘ergo’, which translates to ‘work’. This means that Georgio describes a ‘land or earth worker’, which is a descriptive phrase for a farmer! This was perhaps the most widespread profession throughout Cyprus in years gone by.
