Surname Pawlowitsch - Meaning and Origin

Pawlowitsch: What does the surname Pawlowitsch mean?

The last name Pawlowitsch is a surname of Slavic origin, derived from the given name Pawel, which is of Hebrew origin and roughly translated to mean "small". As such, Pawlowitsch is an uncommon surname which originated in Slavic-speaking countries such as Russia, Ukraine and Poland.

It has been suggested that the surname was originally derived from the Christian name, Paul, though this has not been definitively proved. According to tradition, those bearing this name belonged largely to the nobility or the clergy in the Slavic region.

The word "witsch" is an old-fashioned suffix which was commonly used in Germany and many other Slavic countries, and is often added as an extension to given names. It is believed to be derived from the old-high German word "wicca" which roughly translates to mean "minstrel". As such, the surname Pawlowitsch effectively translates to mean "Paul the minstrel".

Today the surname Pawlowitsch is still relatively uncommon, particularly in the West. Its usage among the nobility and clergy of Eastern Europe seems to have largely dissipated, though it can still be found in certain parts of the world.

Pawlowitsch: Where does the name Pawlowitsch come from?

The last name Pawlowitsch is most commonly found in countries with significant Slavic populations, such as Russia and Poland. It is also common in the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania as well as the Czech Republic, Belarussia, Ukraine, and parts of Scandinavia.

In Russia, the name Pawlowitsch is usually found among the ethnic Cossacks, who trace their ancestry to the southwestern region of the country and are thought to be descendants of East Slavic and Turkic peoples. The name can also be found in Germany, where it is popular among Silesians and other German-speaking people with mixed Slavic background.

In Poland, the surname Pawlowitsch is derived from a root of the same name, Pawel, as names like Pawlik or Pawelczyk. It is a relatively common last name, found among Polish Catholics as well as members of minority religions including Judaism and Eastern Orthodoxy.

In the United States, the last name Pawlowitsch is fairly uncommon, due to its relatively recent origin and the fact that it is almost exclusively associated with the Slavic diaspora. Still, there are a few American citizens who have this last name, and there may even be some Americans who are descended from people who originally held this name in Europe.

Variations of the surname Pawlowitsch

The surname Pawlowitsch is an Eastern Slavic surname of Russian origin. It can also be spelled Pawlowitch, Pawlovitch, Pawlovich, or Pawlovich. Other variants include Pawlovsky, Pawlowski, Pavlovitch, Pavlovich, and Pavlovsky. Variants of the name with other endings, such as the Czech Pavlovic or the Italian Pavlovich, can also be seen.

Pawlowitsch is derived from the given name Pavel (English: Paul). This surname is a patronymic name, meaning “son of Pavel”. Both the given name Pavel and its corresponding surname have remained popular throughout Eastern Europe, Russia, and former Soviet republics. As a result, the surname has multiple alternate roots and spelling variants.

Notably, Tsar Paul I of Russia, the 54th and longest-ruling Emperor of Russia, adopted a version of the Pawlowitsch surname- Pavlovitch. Paul was the first to use the surname, although he is not related to the Pawlowitsch family in any way.

The surname has many spellings with different orthographies depending on the area in which it is used. In countries or regions where Cyrillic is the official script, such as Russia, the surname is more likely to be spelled with the letter щ (shch). In the Belarusian script, the surname Pawlowitsch is раўлевіч (pawlievich).

In other countries that use the Latin alphabet, such as Poland, spelling variants of the Pawlowitsch surname may include Pawlowski or Pawlowsky. Meanwhile, in non-Slavic-speaking countries, variants of the name may include the Czech Pavlovic or the Italian Pavlovich.

Famous people with the name Pawlowitsch

• Kirill Pawlowitsch Gagarin, Russian captain and Imperial Guard.
• Peter Pawlowitsch Menschikov, Russian diplomat and statesman in the late 18th century.
• Jakow Pawlowitsch Stolypin, Russian politician who served as Prime Minister between 1906 and 1911 under Emperor Nicholas II and is widely regarded as one of the most successful and able administrators in pre-Soviet Russia.
• Fiodor Pawlowitsch Uvarov, prominent 19th-century Russian statesman and minister who worked to solidify the power of the autocracy and presided over a number of far-reaching educational reforms.
• Anna Aleksandrovna Pawlowitsch, 19th-century Russian aristocrat and actress, best known for her roles in Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich and Ivan the Terrible.
• Sergei Pawlowitsch Stasov, 19th-century Russian art and music critic and historian, best known for his work on Russian national music.
• Aleksandr Pawlowitsch Turgenev, 19th-century Russian poet and playwright, best known for the play A Month in the Country.
• Evgeni Pawlowitsch Chirikov, 18th-century Russian explorer who explored the northwestern coast of North America.
• Roman Pawlowitsch Adrein, Russian World War II general and Hero of the Soviet Union.
• Ion Pawlowitsch Arhip, Soviet composer, violinist and People’s Artist of the USSR.

Other surnames

Pawlowitz