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Browse: Home / Culture and Science

Why was Tchaikovsky’s Family Name Changed?

Question by: Why was Tchaikovsky´s family name changed from Chaika to Tchaikovsky?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Krankor
I found this:

“…the surname Tchaikovsky comes from a type of bird—specifically a gull—which in Russian is “Chaika” [Чайка]. The composer’s great-grandfather was actually called Fedor Chaika, and his descendants turned this noun into an adjective, making Tchaikovskii [Чайковский]

So in short, a more literal translation of the name Tchaikovsky would be “gull-like” (!).”

So I think we have to assume that there were just a lot of bar brawls that started with “I’m NOT an actual gull, I’m just LIKE a gull!” and the family eventually had to change the name to preserve public peace.

Tchaikovsky the descendant of Chaika

Answer by Nathalie
Was it? I had no idea…
The -sky suffix is typically geographical…Noble people had names that ended in -sky: domain name + sky, and priests received their last names after the districts their church was in.

-sky being -ski, or ский.

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Comments ( 5 )

  1. Dr. Musika says

    The family was of Ukrainian ancestry and moved to Russia, so it was natural to Russify it. His great grandfather was the distinguished Ukrainian Cossack Chaika from the Battle of Poltava, so I think it was safer to distance themselves from that.

    Reply
    • Mark says

      He was only partly Ukrainian. His other grandfather was French.

      Reply
  2. Dr. Musika says

    The family was of Ukrainian ancestry and moved to Russia, so it was natural to Russify it. His great grandfather was the great Cossack Chaika from the Battle of Poltava, so I think it was safer to distance themselves from that.

    Reply
    • Dr. Musika says

      Yes, his mother was French, but his name came from his paternal side, so I was talking about his grandfather’s family, where the name came from and was changed.

      Reply
      • Mark says

        Ok

        Reply

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