What do the Georgian surname endings -shvili and -dze mean?
What the two best-known endings mean.
Short answer
The ending -shvili means 'child' and -dze means 'son', both pointing to descent from an ancestor. A surname with such an ending names the ancestor the family descends from.
Why
- The ending -dze means 'son' and works as a patronymic marker: the ancestor's name stands before it.
- The ending -shvili means 'child' and also stands for a descendant.
- The word shvili also appears on its own, for example in dedashvili, 'mother and child'.
Details
For example, Ilia Chavchavadze, who with his colleagues removed five archaic letters from the Georgian alphabet, bore the surname Chavchavadze.
Tip
A surname ending in -dze reads as 'son of so-and-so', and one in -shvili as 'descendant of so-and-so'.
What may differ
Common misconception
The -dze ending means 'lord' or 'prince'.
What actually happens
-dze means 'son' and -shvili means 'child'.
People also ask
- What does -shvili mean in Georgian surnames?
Sources
Every surname has its own history, and its meaning depends on the root.
Georgian Surnames: List of Beautiful, Rare and PopularRelated questions
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