Anishchenko, Onishchenko. An interesting question about the" nationality "of this surname was asked by a Muscovite who considers himself Russian:" As far as I understand, the Ukrainian surname sounds different - Onishchenko?" Surnames ending in-1, indeed, are not only Ukrainian. And the familiar Russian name Anisim, from which this surname is formed, is pronounced in Ukrainian dialects as Onisim. But its canonical ecclesiastical spelling is also Onesimus. Folk forms of this name are different: in Ukrainian - Onishko, Onishko; in Belarusian and most Russian - Aniska, Aniskaand Anishka. Therefore, it is not linguists who should speak about the national origin of the surname Anishchenko, but the bearers of the surname themselves (who they consider themselves to be) or archivists (based on genealogical searches, it is quite possible to establish where the ancestor came from). Anishchenka (this is how this surname is inclined in the Ukrainian language) live today in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Only in Belarusian it is written-Anishchenka (Ashchenka), in literary Ukrainian - Onishchenko. In Russian - and Anishchenko, and Onishchenko: the choice of "owners". Britanov, Britan. Owners of such a "British" surname do not necessarily need to search for their ancestors and distant relatives in the UK. Briton is quite a traditional folk form of a rare church name in Britain, meaning "Briton". In modern saints, this name is no longer present, but in the old ones, for example, Britannia Tomsky, who lived in the IV century, was mentioned. However, it is possible that the appearance of their last name is due to its owners not to the church name of the ancestor, but to his personal nickname. The British in Ukraine in the old days called the Great Dane dog, which, as you know, was bred in Britain. Hence the humorous nickname Briton, which was given to a man of great stature. According to the testimony of Ukrainian dialectologists, this nickname existed even in the XIX century. Vistor ... Read more