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Origin of Morozov name

A study of the history of the origin of the surname Morozov opens up forgotten pages of the life and culture of our ancestors and can tell a lot of curious about the distant past.

The surname Morozov belongs to the ancient type of Russian surnames formed from a worldly name. The tradition of giving a person, in addition to the baptismal name received at birth, a second, so-called 'worldly' name, developed in Russia immediately after the adoption of Christianity and continued until the 17th century. A large group of ancient names were names related to the circumstances of the birth of a child, including various natural phenomena that accompanied the birth of a baby.

One of the most common and popular 'weather' names was in the old days a worldly name - the nickname Moroz, which was most likely given to children born on especially cold winter days. It was worn by representatives of different classes, for example, the Novgorod peasant Ofonask Moroz Gridin son (1500), the Kremenets tradesman Moroz Kalika (1563), the owner of the saltworks Semyon Moroz Fedorov son Basin (1583), the Odoevsky Pushkar Pankrat Moroz (1651) and many other residents of Moscow Russia.However, it cannot be ruled out that the nickname Frost could have been given to a person in adulthood for his cold, unflappable character.

In the XV – XVI centuries in Russia, primarily among the representatives of privileged classes, the first Russian surnames began to appear as special inherited clan names. By the beginning of the XVII century, the most common model of their formation was the addition of the typical family suffixes -s / -ev and -in to the base. Such family names were possessive adjectives in their origin, and their father's name or nickname usually became their basis. So the descendants of a man whom in ancient times was called the worldly name Moroz began to bear the name Morozovs.

When and where exactly this surname first appeared, it is currently impossible to establish without special genealogical research. But it is known that, since the ancient Russian name Moroz was especially popular among Russian nobles, the surname Morozov appeared among the first Russian surnames. So, the founder of the oldest noble family Morozov was Ivan Semenovich Moroz, who lived in the middle of the XIV century. In the XV century, this name was carried by the boyars Grigory Vasilyevich Popleva Morozov, from whom the clan Morozov-Poplevins, Semyon Ivanovich Brukho Morozov, who gave rise to the surname Brukhov-Morozov and many others.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, surnames began to appear among other, mainly wealthy, estates. Probably, it was during this period that family names took shape at the Belozersky zemstvo clerk Pronka Morozov (1613), the Sevsk clerk Fomka Morozov (1699), the Perm peasant Vasily Morozov (1668) and others.

Thus, the surname Morozov, one of the most common today in Russia, is at the same time one of the oldest Russian surnames.

Morozova is one of the most common Russian surnames and surnames from the same root,moroz, are common throughout the Slavic world.

It was initially used as a way to distinguish people before the advent of surnames. In this case it appears the feature that distinguished the bearer was that they were born on a frosty day. Such a person may have been known as Ivan Vladmirovich Moroz.As surnames were adopted in Russia, the distinguishing part of the name was given to children with the possessive suffix,-ov, meaning 'of' - essentially son or daughter of.

Moroz means 'frost' and may have pre-Christian connotations. Ded Moroz (or Grandfather Frost) is a Russian pre-Christian winter spirit who has subsequently been repackaged as a Russian Saint Nicholas (Father Christmas or Santa Claus).