Origin/Meaning of Surnames

[Mr. Dustin]

Alright, since my placenames thread has slowed to a stop, I figured I'd post my various family surnames and see what information people may have on their origins/meanings, if any.

In alphabetical order:
Demkiw
Doskoch
Goran
Hryhoryshyn/Hryhoryzyn
Koroway
Kuzenko
Obshyra
Pushka
Skomorowski
Trush
Yaremchuk

The only things I know about any of this names is that a) Puska likely comes from "Puskar" which means artillery gunner, and therfore whoever was given the name "Pushka" must have been a good shot, b) that Skomorowski is Polish and the "-ski" suffix in Polish name denotes nobility and usually what precedes it is the area they were the nobility of and c) that the suffix "-chuk" means "son of".

[Mr. Dustin]

You can also add Nicolai to the list, although I do know Nikolai is a Slavic variant of Nicholas.

[Mr. Dustin]

Alright, since no one has replied I'll post some more information to hopefully yield some results.

I'll put the names in a time and place and try to organize them in some sort of chronological/genealogical order:
(You can skip down through the explanation to a list of all this information at the bottom)

As far as I know all the people these names belong to were Galician, or descended from Galicians.

My paternal grandfather was born Hyrhoryshyn, but in Canada in 1913, and no one seems to know for sure where his family came from, but they were Ukrainian and when his father (Hryhoryshyn) came to Canada he was considered an Austrian subject, so I assume they're from Galicia.I known the name Hryhoryshyn has also been spelt as Hryhorzyn and Hryhoryszyn.

My paternal grandfather's mother's name is Trush.

My paternal grandmother was born in Zhydachiv in 1925 with the name Doskoch.

Her father (Doskoch) was listed as being born in "Yaroslaw, Husiatyn" in 1898, so I assume he was born in Гусятин or somewhere in that Raion.

My paternal grandmother's father's parents were both born in "Celo Mushinetz", which is most likely Мшанець in Теребовлянський район in Tернопільська область with the names Doskoch and Goran. I know the husband was born in 1867.

My paternal grandmother's mother was also born in Zhydachiv, but in 1907 as a Demkiw.

My paternal grandmother's mother's parents names were Demkiw and Skomorowski. I don't know when and where they were born, but I do know that the wife(Skomorowski) was "nobility" but because she married outside "nobility" she was disowned by her family.

On the other side of the family, my maternal grandfather's father was also born Skomorowski, but in 1871 in "Austria"(again, assumed to be Galicia).As far as we know they were peasants, not "nobility", and not related to the Skomorowski's from the other side of my family.

My maternal grandfather's mother was born Kuzenko in Strygantsi, Тлумацький район, Івано-Франківська область in 1879.

My maternal grandfather's mother's parents surnames were Kuzenko and Nicolai. No information about where or when they were born.

My maternal grandmother's father was born Koroway in 1888 in "Pidvershee", most likely Підвербці, Тлумацький район, Івано-Франківська область.

My maternal grandmother's mother was born Pushka in 1894 in "Siletz", most likely Сілець, Тисменицький район, Івано-Франківська область. I know Pushka is likely a derivative of Pushkar.

My maternal grandmother's mother's parents were Pushka and Obshyra. The husband (Pushka) was also born in "Siletz" but in 1868.

The wife's parents (maternal grandmother's mother's mother's parents) were Obshyra and Yaremchuk.

And since that was such a convoluted explanation I'll put the information in point form.

Hryhoryshyn/Hryhoryszyn/Hryhoryzyn:
Paternal grandfather's father - No date or place - Ukrainian, but when came to Canada was Austrian subject, so most likely from Galicia.
Trush:
Paternal grandfather's mother - No date or place
Doskoch:
Paternal grandmother - Жидачів, Львівська область, 1925
Paternal grandmother's father - "Yaroslaw,Hustiatyn" 1898
Paternal grandmother's father's father - "Celo Mushinetz" 1867
Goran:
Paternal grandmother's father's mother - "Celo Mushinetz" no date
Demkiw:
Paternal grandmother's mother - Жидачів, Львівська область, 1907
Paternal grandmother's mother's father - No date or place
Skomorowski:
Paternal grandmother's mother's mother - No date or place - "Nobility"
Maternal grandfather's father - 1871 - "Austria" - No relation to other paternal Skomorowski's; not nobility.
Kuzenko:
Maternal grandfather's mother - 1879, Strygantsi, Тлумацький район, Івано-Франківська область.
Maternal grandfather's mother's father - No date or place
Nicolai:
Maternal grandfather's mother's mother - No date or place
Koroway:
Maternal grandmother's father - "Pidvershee", 1888
Pushka:
Maternal grandmother's mother - "Siletz", 1894
Maternal grandmother's mother's father - "Siletz", 1868
Obshyra:
Maternal grandmother's mother's mother - No date or place
Maternal grandmother's mother's mother's father - No date or place
Yaremchuk:
Maternal grandmother's mother's mother's mother - No date or place

Yaroslaw, Husiatyn: Most likely Гусятин, Тернопільська область or somewhere close to Гусятин.
Celo Mushinetz: Most likely Мшанець, Теребовлянський район, Tернопільська область.
Pidvershee: Most likely Підвербці, Тлумацький район, Івано-Франківська область.
Siletz: Most likely Сілець, Тисменицький район, Івано-Франківська область.

Even if anyone knows if these areas were particularily Hutsul, or Lemko, or whatever, or if there's still loads of families with the name still living in the area, that would be helpful!

[Mr. Dustin]

Also, I decided to try transliterating all these names back into Ukrainian (it should help with reserach), tell me if you think they're correct!

Hryhoryshyn - Григоришин
Trush - Труш
Doskoch - Даскич
Goran - Ґоран
Demkiw - Демку
Skomorowski - Скоморовскі
Kuzenko - Кузенко
Nicolai - Ніколай
Koroway - Коровай
Pushka - Пушка
Obshyra - Обшра
Yaremchuk - Япемчук

[Hannia]

Mr. D, you did an excellent job for someone just learning Ukrainian. The transition to Cyrillic is not so easy.

After you learn Ukrainian, you'll have no trouble learning Greek.
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Hryhoryshyn - Григоришин - equivalent to Georgeson in English. SZYN/SHYN suffix is matronymic in nature. Means BELONGING TO THE DAUGHTER OF HRYHORIJ/GREGORY.

Trush - Труш - old Kievan Rus name. Dating back to 9/10th century.
Root word, might mean COWARD?

Doskoch - Даскич? - more likely Доскоч? Means a PERSON, WHO JUMPS FAR ENOUGH.

Goran - Ґоран - Горан in Ukrainian. Means HILL DWELLER.

Demkiw - Демку - Демків

Skomorowski - Скоморовскі - in Ukrainian the second C becomes soft = Скоморовські

Kuzenko - Кузенко

Nicolai - Ніколай - if coming from Western Ukraine, name would be Микола = Mykola/Mykolaj. Greek rooted. Means PEOPLE'S VICTORY.

Koroway - Коровай - special holiday/wedding bread that is braided.

Pushka - Пушка. My father called a METAL CAN, PUSHKA ???

Obshyra - Обшра - Обшура ??? Have never encountered this name.

Y(J)aremchuk - Япемчук - Яремчук. Root, Ярема - equivalent to Jerome in English.
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The suffix SKI is Polish and denotes that nobility was purchased, as opposed to
born to. In heraldry you will frequently find the SKI surname attached to a source
noble name. The Polish King and the source name nobleman were paid in gold by
the SKI hopeful. In return they received a title and a little property in the other reaches
of the Polish Kingdom. In time it was the struggle between the lesser nobility and the
magnates (source name guys) that eroded Poland's power to the point where it disappeared
as a geopolitical entity for appx 125 yrs.

[Mr. Dustin]

Thank you Hannia! You truly do have a tremendous amount of knowledge, I'm very excited that you were able to provide me with this information!

Just a few notes:

I had always thought the SZYN/SHYN suffix was one of those patronymic/matronymic suffixes, but for some reason I never made the connection between Hryhoryshyn and "son/daughter of Hryhory", so thanks for that.

Trush being such an old name really interests me. Since it is such an old name, does that mean it has been a significant name over the course of the history of Kievan Rus and the countries that have spawned from KR? Has there been many influential Trush's over time?

I wrote Doskoch as Даскич because in my family we tend to say the name more like "Daw-skitch", but I have been informed that when we do that it's not the proper pronunciation and that you're correct in spelling it as Доскоч.

With Goran, I started it with Ґ instead of Г because in my Ukrainian class we tend to use Ґ for the "G" sound. Our professor told us that with the Ukrainian language since the fall of the Soviet Union there has been a push to try and re-incorporate Ґ into the language as the "G" sound instead of using Г as both the "G" and "H" sounds as was the norm in the Soviet era.

I was having trouble deciding if Demkiw was going to be Демку or Демків, so thanks for that!

Thanks for reminding be about the softening of the second "C" sound in Скоморовські, it's something I already knew but had forgotten.

I'm glad that I was able to transliterate Kuzenko correctly.

I had figured that "Nicolai" was just a Latinized version of a more ethnic name, so thanks for the tip about it being Микола.

I had never heard of Pushka as a metal can, so thanks for that.

Obshyra is as equally a mystery to me as it is to you.

Me putting Япемчук instead of Яремчук was just a typo on my part so I agree with your correction 100%.

Is "-чук" also one of those patronymic/matronymic suffixes? I had always thought it was because of all the different names that end with it, but when I asked my Ukrainian instructor about it he said it wasn't, but the root of Яремчук being a proper name is making me wonder again...

Also, thanks for the explanation on the "-ski" suffix. I had read various explanations on it being a name of nobility/bought nobility, but no one had put it so succinctly as you just did!

[Hannia]

Обшира = Obshyra does show up in Ivano-Frankivska oblast. Means around/on the perimeter/border.
There's humor attached to this surname, leading me to believe the surname might be Cossack???

Jaremchuk - Jarema (Jerome). CHUK is the suffix. This is the
most common form surname in Ukrainian. It is based on masculine given name.
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The Труш clan has produced (contemporary) politicians, philosophers, writers and the very famous
Ivan Trush (dob 1869), illustrious painter and artistic colleague of Lesia Ukrainka and Ivan Franko.

You can Google Труш by adding Ukrainian to English as research languages.