SHAPED BY GREEK SPEAKING PEOPLE
Although Cypriot surnames today are shaped by the island’s prominent Greek Cypriot language, sustained Latin rule, a brief yet poignant Ottoman history, and then the arrival of British administrators, all have had a lasting impact on Cypriot naming conventions. In light of this, Cypriot naming conventions, in their own way, tell a rich story of a unique mix of cultures that took place at a Mediterranean crossroads of cultures over the centuries.
AN EXTENSION OF THE PATRIARCH'S NAME
The most poignant of the differing factors that impacted Cypriot surnames is perhaps the unique local tradition of using a father’s or grandfather’s first name as a permanent family identifier. This concept arose from the fact that Cyprus followed the naming convention of ‘the son of’ as opposed to ‘the family of’. As a result, traditional Cypriot names frequently use a Patronymic name, with an ‘ou’ or ‘ous’ ending. This specifically indicates the ‘son of’ patronymic prefixes. This also applies to the much rarer Cypriot ‘oglou’ reference. This Ottoman ‘son of’ reference was mainly used by Turkish Cypriots who also followed the accepted traditional Cypriot naming convention. This meant that the concept of a Cypriot family name did not exist until the British administrators took control of the island in 1878, and this centuries-old practice promptly ceased after their rule took hold.
A GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Cypriot surnames in Cyprus were applied quite differently before the island became a British Colony. Each Cypriot surname was traditionally not viewed as a generic family name, in a conventional sense, but instead was simply an extension of the patriarch’s first name. Changing with each generation, this meant that Cypriots traditionally took their father’s first name as their family surname. The limited supply of first names also means that there were, as there are now, several common Cypriot surnames in place.
THE UNIQUE NAMING CONVENTION
British administrators, at the time, required fixed name entries for official public registers and tax documents. This meant that Cypriots had no option but to adopt the more conventional British system of a family naming convention. Keeping in line with British practices, flexible patronymic surnames began to solidify into permanent, hereditary family surnames. The majority of Cypriot surnames today, as a result, still refer to a Cypriot first name.
SURNAMES DERIVING FROM DESCRIPTIVE FEATS
Some Cypriot surnames also derive from descriptive feats or a specific profession. Names that start with ‘Hadji ‘, for example, indicate that an ancestor completed a sacred pilgrimage to Jerusalem. This is also true of the most common Cypriot surname in circulation. Georgiou, whicch etymologically derives from the name Giorgio or George.
SURNAMES DERIVING FROM PROFESSIONS
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.
