PRANAS KNIŪKŠTA

Institute of the Lithuanian Language

SURNAMES OF THE VILLAGE OF BARZDŽIAI IN THE 17TH CENTURY

Several places in Lithuania are known by the name Barzdžiai. The Directory of Administrative-Territorial Divisions (1976: 29) mentions villages called Barzdžiai in the Kretinga, Širvintos, and Telšiai districts, as well as a settlement of the same name in the Jurbarkas district. The Dictionary of Lithuanian Place Names (2008: 394) also indicates that there was once a village of this name in the Jurbarkas district, a settlement in the Raseiniai district, and an estate in Vařniai. In the Rokiškis district there is a place called Barždžiai, stressed on the root. Here I will discuss my native Barzdžiai—the village of Barzdžiai in the Kretinga district and the surnames of its inhabitants.

It is reasonable to assume that the name of the village of Barzdžiai derives from the personal name Barzdys, borne by people who once lived there. The surname Barzdys has survived in Lithuania to the present day. The Dictionary of Lithuanian Surnames (1985: 207) states that during the interwar period there were eighteen families with this surname in Lithuania, mostly in the vicinity of Kretinga, Plungė, and Sedós; it is not recorded in the Salantai area, including Barzdžiai. I have not found it in older sources that mention the village of Barzdžiai.

The oldest recorded information about the inhabitants of Barzdžiai and their surnames is found in the baptismal and marriage registers of Salantai Church, which have been kept since 1631. One baptismal register, covering entries from 1631 to 1640, is held in the manuscript department of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania (Metrica sive registrum baptizatorum ecclesiae Skilandensis; Salanty od r. 1631 do roku 1640). Another such register, covering entries from 1641 to 1659, is held in the archive of Salantai Church (Salantensis Bapt.: Ab Anno 1641 Ad 1659). I have examined the 1641–1659 register more thoroughly, and my discussion here is based essentially on its entries; I will mention entries in the earlier register only in passing, as supplementary information.

The register contains much interesting information about the history of Salantai and its surroundings. Among other things, Barzdžiai and its inhabitants are mentioned frequently. Many children born in Barzdžiai were baptized and recorded, and many of their parents and godparents who lived there are mentioned, but the surname Barzdys does not occur there.

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The explanatory (textual) entries in the register are in Latin, and personal names appear in Latin forms: Bapt. Filium Ioannem; Baptiz. Filiam Marinam. Place names and surnames are written using Polish characters and according to Polish spelling conventions: the sound “w” is written with the letter w, the sound “š” with the letter combination sz, the sound “č” with cz, and so on. The suffixes –aitis, –aitė are written –aytis, –ayte, for example: Twaronaytis, Milda-szaytis, Czepayte. In this article, I give surnames transcribed with Lithuanian characters, according to current Lithuanian spelling conventions: Tvaronaitis, Milašaitis, Čepaitė, and so on. Polonized forms of surnames are likewise transcribed with Lithuanian characters, with the original spelling given in parentheses alongside: Eidukova (Eydukowa), Stefanovič (Stefanowicz).

The register examined is quite worn; a dozen or so pages at the beginning and several at the end have faded and are illegible. There are also pages that are difficult to read in other places, so the register could not be examined uniformly—some parts were read completely and consecutively, while elsewhere only individual facts were extracted. Information about the inhabitants of Barzdžiai was extracted continuously from the entries for 1643–1645. During those three years, 17 children from Barzdžiai were baptized and the surnames of 17 parents were recorded. There are 15 different surnames (Vilkaitis appears in three entries); only two of them are primary surnames—one morphologically regular, Blozeris, and the other lacking an ending, Benik. The other thirteen are patronymic surnames: Ankštakaitis, Čepaitis, Dvaronaitis, Eidukaitis, Jonaitis, Kidikaitis, Milašaitis, Mockaitis, Stasaitis, Tauraitis, Vabalaitis, Vilkaitis, Žutaitis. More precisely, these are patronymic surnames because they are derived not only from parents’ given names, but also from other personal names denoting the father. Most of them were probably patronyms only, rather than hereditary surnames. They can be called surnames because they follow the given name in the entries.

Some godparents’ surnames are the same as those of the parents, but others are new. There are six new patronymic surnames: Lekstutaitis, Pikturnaitis, Skaidutaitis, Steponaitis, Urbonaitis, Valutaitis; five other new surnames: three morphologically regular—Alekštutis, Kadys, Milašius, one without an ending—Lazar, and one in a Polonized form—Urbanovič (Urbanowicz). In all, over the three years six primary surnames, one Polonized surname, and 19 patronymic male surnames were recorded from Barzdžiai.

The entries for those years do not give the mothers’ surnames—the fathers are recorded with both given names and surnames, while the mothers are recorded by given name only: Baptized was the son of Jonas, son of Adomas Vilkaitis, and Anetė from Barzdžiai (Bapt. Filium Ioannem Adami Wilkaytis et Anete de Barzdzie). The godmothers’ surnames are recorded throughout; there are 17 in total. There are 15 different surnames, 10 of them maiden names: Bružaitė, Eidukaitė, Kadataitė, Kidikaitė, Lekstutaitė, Milašaitė, Pilkaitė, Pusinaitė, Srutaitė, Urbonaitė. Three of the married women

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surnames with the suffix -ienė: Kidrečienė, Milašienė, Vilkienė; two Polonized forms—Eidukova (Eydukowa) and Raigaisova (Raygaisowa).

The most frequent surname in Barzdžiai village in those years was Vilkaitis. In three instances, a child’s parents were recorded with this surname, and in three others, the godparents. The Milašius surname was also widespread: there is a godfather Milašius, a father Milašaitis, and godmothers Milašaitė and Milašienė. Kidikaitis and Kidikaitė were each recorded twice. There are Eidukaitis, Eidukaitė, and Eidukova (Eydukowa). Surnames derived from Urbonas are also found: Urbonaitis was recorded once, Urbonaitė twice, and a Polonized form of the Urbonas surname, Urbanovič (Urbanowicz), once. The record in which Urbanovič and Urbonaitė are godparents to the same child suggests that they belonged to the same family.

Surnames from the other years of that decade have not been extracted exhaustively, but even a selective look yielded quite a number. Some of the same surnames recur, but there are also different ones. No new non-derived surnames were noted, but seven new male patronymic surnames were found: Kripaitis, Lukošaitis, Mer kaitis, Povilai-tis, Ščep onaitis, Tvarionaitis, Žalimaitis. There are quite a few new unmarried women’s surnames: Bučaitė, Čepaitė, Grigalaitė, Jonaitė, Mickaitė, Stankaitė, Tvarionaitė, Vilkaitė, Zokaitė (these forms occur for both godmothers and children’s mothers). One godmother was recorded with a married woman’s surname: Lekstutienė.

Many new surnames appear in records from the 1650s. There are only a few new non-patronymic male surnames: Gložis, Srutis, Vilkas (one instance is recorded without the ending, as Vilk), Kiaulianis. Two new Polonized godparents’ surnames appeared—Kawalski (Kawalski) and Stefanovič (Stefanowicz); the latter is recorded in as many as four instances. Female surnames with the suffix -ienė had almost disappeared; only one was recorded in this form, Stropienė. Polonized surnames formed with the suffix -ova (-owa): Vilkiova (Wilkiowa), Laiviova (Laiwiowa), Kiaulianova (Kiaulanowa), Vaistkojova (Waistkoiowa), Kadaiciova (Kadayciowa) became more numerous.

As before, forms derived with the patronymic suffixes -aitis, -aitė predominate. There are eleven new male patronymic surnames: Bručaitis, Graužaitis, Kniupštaitis, Lietutaitis, Motiejaitis, Petraitis, Pilypaitis, Romeikaitis, Šeputaitis, Urnikaitis, Vaitiekaitis. There are even more new unmarried women’s surnames: Akstinaitė, Andr utaitė, Butkaitė, Didikaitė, Dikaitė, Kniupštaitė, Kumpikaitė, Mykolaitė, Pემბaitė, Petrikaitė, Pov ilaitė, Rojaitė, Stropaitė, Valantinaitė, Žilaitė, Žutaitė.

In total, eight Lithuanian primary male surnames were recorded over the two decades: Alekstutis, Blozeris, Gložis, Kadys, Kiaulianis, Milašius, Srutis, Vilkas. Two more were recorded without endings: Benik and Lazar. The first was undoubtedly Benikas; the second may have been Lazaris, Lazaras or simply Lozorius. Both

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of the aforementioned surnames are recorded in the same entry—the father Benik, the godfather Lazar. The example of Vilkas shows that surname endings were dropped arbitrarily: in one place (earlier) it was recorded as Vilkas, and elsewhere (later) as Vilk.

Three male surnames were formed with Polish suffixes: Urbanovič, Stefanovič, Kavalski. Urbanovič derives from Urbonas and is most likely a Polonized form of Urbanaitis; Stefanovič may be a Polonized form of Steponaitis. In fact, Barzdžiai had both Urbanaitis and Steponaitis. A few Polonized male surnames indicate that the Polonization of surnames had begun, but had not yet gained momentum.

In total, five Lithuanian women’s surnames formed with the suffix -ienė were found: Kidrečienė, Lekstutienė, Milašienė, Stropienė, Vilkienė. Four were recorded in the 1640s, while Stropienė was recorded in the 1650s. The women’s surnames make it possible to trace the corresponding male surnames: the records include Vilkas and Vilkienė, Milašius and Milašienė; no corresponding male forms of Stropienė, Kidrečienė and Lekstutienė are recorded, but their husbands in Barzdžiai must have been Stropus, Kidrečis (Kidrečas), Lekstutis (the existence of the latter surname is also indicated by Lekstutaitis and Lekstutaitė).

Seven women’s surnames were Polonized: Eidukova and Raigaiciova were recorded in the 1640s, while Kiaulianova, Laiviova, Kadaiciova, Vilkiova, Vaistkojova were recorded in the 1660s. These forms show, first, that women’s surnames were Polonized more extensively than men’s and, second, that the Polonization of women’s surnames accelerated over the decade. This tendency is also borne out by the fact that Vilkienė was recorded in the 1640s, whereas by the 1650s the form was already Vilkiova. It may be assumed that the other such surnames also had Lithuanian equivalents: Eidukienė, Laivienė, Kiaulianienė, Vaistkojienė, Kadaitienė, Raigaitienė. In the living speech of local people, only such women’s surnames could have existed; they were Polonized by the record writers.

The corresponding Lithuanian male surnames can be reconstructed from the Polonized women’s surnames. Their connection is clearly shown by the recorded pairs: Vilkas and Vilkiova (the form Vilkienė⟧ is also found), Kiaulianis and Kiaulianova. Although the corresponding male surnames are not recorded, it is clear that Eidukova derives from Eidukas (the form Eiduką is attested by Eidukaitis and Eidukaitė), Laiviova from Laivys, Vaistkojova from Vaistkojis (or Vaistkojys). Polonized women’s surnames were also formed from patronymics: Kadaiciova from Kadaitis (the form Kadaičio is not found in the records, but Kadys and Kadaitė are), and Raigaiciova from Raigaitis.

From the male surnames directly attested and those traceable from women’s surnames, we have a total of 16 primary male surnames: Alekstutis, Benikas, Blozeris,

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Eidukas, Glois, Kadys, Kiaulianis, Kidreis, Laiys, Lazaris, Lekstutis, Milaius, Srutis, Stropus, Vaistkojys, Vilkas.

In the baptismal records under discussion, there are many more surnames with the patronymic suffixes -aitis, -ait, if such patronyms can be called surnames. A total of 37 masculine surnames with the patronymic suffix -aitis were found in the baptismal register: Ank1takatis, Bruaitis, epaitis, Dvaronaitis, Eidukaitis, Grauaitis, Jonaitis, Kidikaitis, Kniup1taitis, Kripaitis, Lekstutaitis, Lietutaitis, Luko1aitis, Merkaitis, Mila1aitis, Mockaitis, Motiejaitis, Petraitis, Pikturnaitis, Pilypaitis, Povilaitis, Romeikaitis, Skaidutaitis, Stasaitis, Steponaitis, ep9onaitis, putaitis, Tauraitis, Tvaronaitis, Urbonaitis, Urnikaitis, Vabalaitis, Vaitiekaitis, Valutaitis, Vilkaitis, alimaitis, utaitis.

There were 35 maiden surnames with the suffix -ait: Akstinait, Andrutaite, Bruait, Buait, Butkait, epait, Didikait, Dikkait, Eidukait, Grigalait, Jonait, Kadait, Kidikait, Kniup1tait, Kumpikait, Lekstutait, Mickait, Mila1ait, Mykolait, Pembait, Petrikait, Pilkait, Povilait, Pusinait, Rojait, Srutait, Stankait, Stropait, Tvaronait, Urbonait, Valantinait, Vilkait, Zokait, ilait, utait.

A dozen or so of the patronyms found were formed from the father's name. These are genuine patronyms of men: Petraitis, Stasaitis, Luko1aitis, Motiejaitis, Pilypaitis, Steponaitis, Vaitiekaitis; masculine and feminine personal names: Jonaitis and Jonait, Poviliatis and Povilait, Urbonaitis and Urbonait; maiden surnames: Grigalait, Mykolait, Valantinait.

However, the great majority of patronymic surnames can be linked to personal names that may be considered original surnames. Surnames traced from masculine patronyms: Ank1takeys, Bruas, Dvaronas, Grauas, Kripas, Lietutis, Merkys, Mockus, Pikturnis, Romeika, Skaidutis, eponas, putis, Tauras, Urnikis, Vabalas, Valutis, alimas; from masculine and feminine patronyms: epas, Eidukas, Kidikas, Kniup1ta, Lekstutis, Mila1ius, Tvaronas, Vilkas, utas; from feminine patronyms: Akstinas, Andrutis, Bruas, Buas, Butkus, Didikas, Dikis, Kadys, Kumpikas, Mickus, Pemba (or Pembas), Petrikas, Pilkis (or Pilka), Pusinas, Rojus, Srutis, Stankus, Stropus, Zokas, ilys (or ilius).

It may be supposed that such surnames could have existed in the seventeenth-century village of Barzdžiai. Only four of them are recorded in the baptismal registers: Kadys, Mila1ius, Srutis and Vilkas; another three—Eidukas, Lekstutis, Stropus—can be traced to the surnames of women who had married into the village. That leaves 40 surnames not actually recorded.

The women who came to Barzdžiai from other places and the men who arrived there may have brought patronymic surnames with them. Such surnames, formed

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From primary surnames originating in other places, which were written in marriage records and, based on them, in baptismal records—the marriage record stated the place from which the person came, while the baptismal record identified them as a resident of Barzdžiai. For example, Albertas Vilkaitis from Barzdžiai married Apolonija Akstinaitė from Pesčiai, and the baptismal records of their son Jonas state that he is the son of Alberto Vilkaičio and Apolonijos Akstinaitės from Barzdžiai. Akstinaitė ended up in Barzdžiai, while the surname allows us to infer that Akstinas lived elsewhere. Thus, the list of surnames traceable from patronymics does not mean that all such surnames were present in the village of Barzdžiai.

On the other hand, the seventeenth-century village of Barzdžiai also had surnames that did not appear in the records from the period under discussion. For instance, a cursory look through the baptismal register from the fourth decade also revealed the surname Balandis, the woman's surname Zabitienė, from which Zabitis can be traced, the patronymics Kasparaitis and Martinaitis, and the patronymics Baltrimaitis, Jauraitis, Kusaitis, Lapaitis, Mekšaitis, Šeporaitis, Tautgalvaitis, which point to the original surnames Baltrimas, Jaura, Kusa (or Kusas), Lapė (or Lapas), Mekšys, Šeporas, Tautgalvis.

Baptismal records provide only a partial picture of surnames. Even a complete list of all the surnames would not reveal their exact number. Nor can the records tell us which of the people mentioned as being from Barzdžiai were genuine, permanent residents of the village, and which had come there temporarily or by chance. Separate register books covering a short period tell us nothing about the subsequent history of the village's surnames. We can only imagine their fate by comparing the surnames of that time with those in use today.

As can be seen from the lists of parishioners of the Salantai parish compiled in 1853 and 1896, and from various sources from the twentieth century, from the mid-nineteenth century onward not one of the surnames directly recorded in seventeenth-century registers was found in Barzdžiai. Only a few surnames can be linked to patronyms from that century. Kripas remained exactly the same; Stonkus had a slightly altered form (cf. Stankaitė), as did Dvarijonas (cf. Dvaronaitis); Kniūkšta probably also connects with Kniupštaitis; one can discern a consonant metathesis and suspect a relationship between Meškys and Mekšaitis—and that is all. Patronymic surnames themselves were almost entirely absent from twentieth-century Barzdžiai; only Banaitis, Markaitis and Simaitis appeared briefly.

The fate of Barzdžiai surnames is more clearly seen by comparing them with surnames in general use today. Many surnames directly recorded in the registers and traced from women's surnames (Balandis, Benikas, Eidukas, Kadys, Lai-

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vys, Lekstutis, Milašius, Stropus, Vilkas, Zabitis) are now well known; they are also included in the Dictionary of Lithuanian Surnames, although there the forms are not Gložiš, Srutis, but Gložys, Srutys; not Lazaris, but Lazaras; not Kiaulianis, but Kiaulėnas. These four are entirely absent: Alekstutis, Blozeris, Kidrečis, Vaistkojys.

The seventeenth-century records differ much more from present-day patronymic surnames. The records contain many more patronymic personal names: 11 directly attested primary surnames have been found, compared with 46 patronyms containing the suffix -aitis (a ratio of 1:4.5). In the Dictionary of Lithuanian Surnames, for every surname containing the suffix -aitis there are approximately twenty surnames of other types (a ratio of 20:1). This suggests that the patronyms in those records were personal names coined to identify a particular individual, but did not become hereditary surnames. This, however, does not apply to all patronyms.

Only true patronymics—that is, patronyms derived from given names—became hereditary surnames and established themselves in current usage. The Dictionary of Lithuanian Surnames lists as surnames all the patronymics of Barzdžiai village attested in seventeenth-century records: Jonaitis, Kasparaitis, Lukošaitis, Martinaitis, Motiejaitis, Petraitis, Pilypaitis, Povilaitis, Stasaitis, Steponaitis, Urbonaitis, Vaitiekaitis.

Of the 34 patronyms formed from something other than given names, only fifteen are listed as independent surnames in the Dictionary of Lithuanian Surnames (the dictionary also gives their frequency figures). Only five of these surnames are more common: Čepaitis (138), Mockaitis (90), Vilkaitis (71), Kripaitis (48), and Eidukaitis. Three were recorded only a few times each—Dvaronaitis (4), Kusaitis (3), Tauraitis (3)—and five others—Me kšaitis, Vabalaitis, Merkaitis, Romeikaitis, Šeputaitis—only once each (the last three are reconstructions from Germanized forms Merkeit, Romeikat, Scheputtat).

The following patronyms did not become present-day surnames either and are not listed in the Dictionary of Lithuanian Surnames: Ankštakaitis, Baltrimaitis, Bručaitis, Graužaitis, Jauraitis, Kidikaitis, Kniupštaitis, Lekstutaitis, Lietutaitis, Milašaitis, Pikturnaitis, Skaidutaitis, Ščėponaitis, Tautgalbaitis, Tvaronaitis, Urnikaitis, Valutaitis, Žutaitis, Žalimaitis. They were displaced by corresponding primary surnames: Baltrimas, Bručas, Graužas (Grauža), Jaura, Kidikas, and so on; however, the primary personal names Ankštakys, Lietutis, Skaidutis do not appear in the aforementioned surname dictionary. Some Lithuanian patronyms may have been pushed out of use by Slavicized forms: Lekstutaitį – Lekstutavičius, Ščėponaitį – Ščėponavičius, Tvaronaitį – Tvaronavičius; Milašaitis had as many as three rivals—Milašiūną, Milašauską and Milaševičių.

It is possible to understand why seventeenth-century patronymics became established as surnames, while many patronyms disappeared from use. A person's first

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personal name is a given name: a child was entered in the baptismal record by given name alone, without a surname. A second, additional personal name was needed when a person moved from the family into society. This name was a patronymic or another kind of patronym, identifying the person through their relationship to their father: Petraitis—son of Petras; Milašaitis—son of Milašius. These patronyms were needed in marriage records, since the bride and groom married as the sons and daughters of their parents. Their patronyms were then transferred from the marriage records to their children's baptismal records as well.

When a person becomes independent, takes over the father's farm, and has children of their own, who in turn need patronyms, the patronym of the person who has become a father is no longer convenient. A patronym formed from an adult's surname can easily be replaced by the surname itself (the son of Milašius, Milašaitis, on reaching adulthood and becoming independent, becomes Milašius). A person thus acquires two surnames: a patronymic and the primary surname recoverable from it. Vitalija Maciejauskienė (1991: 151–157) has described such surname variants, although she discusses different surnames among members of the same family. Her study suggests that there must also have been a transitional period when one person had both surname variants. Naturally, when variants competed, the primary surnames generally prevailed.

However, patronyms derived from given names—true patronymics—do not have such variants. The father's given name cannot replace the patronymic, and a person cannot revert from a patronymic to the father's given name; once named in this way, the person retains that name for life: Petro sūnus Petraitis does not become Petru upon reaching adulthood or old age—he remains simply Petraitis. That is why patronymics readily become surnames.

It is reasonable to suppose that the conclusions suggested by the fate of the surnames of Barzdžiai village also apply to other Lithuanian surnames.

LITERATŪRA

Lietuvos TSR administracinio-teritorinio suskirstymo žinynas, 2 dalis. Parengė Z. Noreika, V. Stravinskas, Vilnius: Mintis, 1976.

Lietuvių pavardžių žodynas. Rengėjai A. Vanagas (ats. red.), V. Maciejauskienė, M. Razmukaitė, Vilnius: Mokslas, 1 dalis (A–K), 1985; 2 dalis (L–Ž), 1989.

Lietuvos vietovardžių žodynas, 1 tomas (A–B), Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas, 2008.

M a c i e j a u s k i e n ė V. 1991: Lietuvių pavardžių susidarymas, Vilnius: Mokslas.

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SURNAMES IN THE VILLAGE OF BARZDŽIAI IN THE 17^TH CENTURY

Summary

The surnames of residents of the village of Barzdžiai were collected from the church records of the 17^th century of Salantai Church. The following primary surnames have been established: nine male surnames include Alekstutis, Balandis, Blozeris, Gložis, Kadys, Kiaulianis, Milašius, Srutis, Vilkas; two surnames have no gender flections, namely, Benik and Lazar; three surnames are Slavonicized, namely, Kavalski, Stefanovič, Urbanovič.

Six female surnames with the suffix -ienė include the following: Kidrečienė, Lekstutienė, Milašienė, Stropienė, Vilkienė, Zabitienė. Another six female surnames are Slavonicized forms, namely, Eidukova, Kiaulianova, Laiviova etc. Patronymic names with the suffixes –aitis and –aitė constitute the largest group of names in the church records – more than 40 such names were found. The total number of different primary surnames, reconstructed from female and patronymic surnames, exceed 50 items.

The surnames of the village residents had completely changed before the beginning of the 20^th century. None of the primary surnames of the 17^th century was preserved while many of the male patronyms disappeared from use both in Barzdžiai and elsewhere. The newly inherited surnames originate from patronymic first names, e. g. Jonaitis, Petraitis etc.

PRANAS KNIŪKŠTA

Lietuvių kalbos institutas

P. Vileišio g. 5, LT-10308 Vilnius

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