16th and early 17th C. feminine names from Lithuanian records.

by Rebecca Lucas (ffride wlffsdotter)

© 2013; all rights reserved.
Last updated 18th October 2020.

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Personal Names
3. Anthroponyms
• Titles, Nobility, Ethnicity, and Nicknames
• Occupational bynames (of related men)
• Relationship bynames
4. Bibliography

Anthroponyms: Titles, Nobility, Ethnicity, and Nicknames.

The most common title used in the records is variants of “Lady,” with 176 examples. “Duchess” and “Princess” together appeared 70 times, while “Land-owner” and “Nobility” was recorded twice each. Titles given to women relating to their ethnicity were only recorded for the Tatars, who were occasionally referred to as descendants of the Khan. Tatar women were identified 4 times. Čirūnaitė suggests the Tatar epithet was a way to indicate the religion of those mentioned, Islam, or their soldier social class.

Titles: Nobility

• Princess
  knezhna (кнежна)
• Examples:
  Panī Mīkolaevaia Ostīkovaia Hanna knezhna Liubetskaia
  (Пани Миколаевая Остиковая Ганна кнежна Любецкая)
  Lady Mīkhail Ostīk’s wife Hanna, princess of Lübeck
  
  Panī Petrovaia Khrebtovīchova Nastas’ia knezhna Chortoryĭskaia
  (Пани Петровая Хребтовичова Настасья кнежна Чорторыйская)
  Lady Petr’s wife, Chrebto’s daughter Nastas’ia, princess of Chertoryisk
  
• Duchess
  kniahīnia (княгиня), knehīnia (кнегиня)
• Examples:
  Knehīnia Īvanovoia Poloneia Zhīzhemskaia
  (Кнегиня Ивановоя Полонея Жижемская)
  Duchess Īvan Zhīzhemski’s wife Poloneia
  
  Panī Mīkolaeva Ostīkova knehīnia Lubetskaia Hanna
  (Пани Миколаева Остикова кнегиня Лубецкая Ганна)
  Lady Mīkola Ostīkov’s wife, Duchess of Lübeck, Hanna
  
  Knehīnia Dorota Nīkodymovna knehīnia Īvanovaia Vasīl’evīcha Zhīlīnskaia
  (Кнегиня Дорота Никодымовна кнегиня Ивановая Васильевича Жилинская)
  Duchess Dorota, Nīkodym’s daughter, duchess Īvan Zhīlīnski’s wife, daughter-in-law of Vasīlii.
  
  Kniahīnia Taktamyshovaia
  (Княгиня Тактамышовая)
  Duchess Taktamysh’s wife
  
• Her Grace, Lady
  eĭ mīlost’ panī (ей милость пани), J.M. [jej miłosierdzie] pani.
• Example:
  J. M. pani [Maria z Frąckiewiczów Radzimińskich Adamowa] Talwoszowa, kasztelanowa żmudzka
  Her grace lady [Maria z Frąckiewiczów-Radzimińskich, Adam] Talwoszow’s daughter, castellan of Samogitia.
• Lady
  Panī (пани), Panna (панна)
• Example:
  Panna Zofeia Krup”skaia
  (Панна Зоѳея Крупъская)
  Lady Zofeia Krupski’s daughter.
• Land-owner
  Zemianka (Земянка)
• Example:
  Zemianka Hanna Stanīslavovaia
  (Земянка Ганна Станиславовая)
  Land-owner Hanna, Stanīslav’s wife
• Daughter of a Tsarevich, a descendant of a Tatar Khan.
  Carewiczowa
• Example:
  carewiczowa Puńska
  Daughter of the Tsarevich of Puńsk
• Nobility
  boiarīnia (бояриня), boiarīnia hospodarskaia (бояриня господарская)
No examples given.

Titles: Ethnicity

• Tatar Woman
  Tatarka (татарка)
• Examples:
  Chekhova tatarka
  (Чехова татарка)
  Chekh’s wife, Tartar
  
  Zorka Obdyszoiva, Tatarka
  Zorka Obdyso’s wife, Tatar
  
  Tatarce Murtozinej Obdidicza, dative singular case
  Tatar Murtozo’s wife, Obdil’s daughter-in-law
  
  Tatarka Umna Agiszówna, przeszła carewiczowa Ostryńska
  Tatar Umna, Agis’ wife, daughter of the former Tsarevich of Astryna.

Nicknames

In the army census documents, nicknames are rare, with only six associated with women recorded. The names marked with an asterisk (*) has been reconstructed into the nominative case, but the original grammar has been preserved in the cited examples.

• Little/Small
  *Malaia *(Малая)
• Zelvy Maloe
  (Зелвы Малое) genitive singular.
  Zelva the little
• Muscovite
  Moskovka (Московка)
• Hanna Moskovka Hrīniukovaia
  (Ганна Московка Гринюковая)
  Hanna the Muskovite, Hrīniuk’s wife
• Old
  Staraia (Старая)
• Petrovaia Staraia vdova
  (Петровая Старая вдова)
  Petr’s old widow
• Ruskīkh” Savīts” (town name)
  Ruskīkh” Savīts” (Рускихъ Савицъ) genitive singular
• Savītskeĭ Ruskīkh” Savīts”
  (Савицкей Рускихъ Савицъ)
  ???
• She-goat
  Koza (Коза)
• Katerīna Koza udova
  (Катерина Коза удова)
  Katerīna She-goat, widow.
  
  Katarīna Koza
  (Катарина Коза)
  Katarīna She-goat.
  
• White
  *Belaia *(Белая), Bel’skaia (Бельская)
• Ianovuiu Beluiu
  (Яновую Белую) accusative singular case.
  Ivan’s wife, the white.
  
  Panī Pavlovaia, voĭtovaia Bel’skaia
  (Пани Павловая, войская Бельская)
  Lady Pavl, trooper's wife, the white.