Surname Grygoryev - Meaning and Origin

Grygoryev: What does the surname Grygoryev mean?

The last name Grygoryev is of Russian origin and was most commonly found among the East Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe. It is derived from the given name Grigoriy, itself derived from the Greek name Gregorios, meaning “the vigilant” or “watchful one”.

In Russia, the surname Grygoryev is often shortened to Grigoriev. It usually has a strong religious connotation, as Grigoriy is a very popular name for boys in the Orthodox Church. During the Soviet Union, the name was officially translated to the Latin-based Gregorièv.

The surname Grygoryev is found in many parts of Russia, with the highest concentration in central Russian provinces like Moscow, Tver, Vladimir, Belgorod, Kostroma and Ivanovo. Others may also be found in Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Lithuania.

Grygoryev is a patronymic surname meaning “son of Grigoriy”. It is thought to have originated in the early 13th century when Russian surnames began to appear in written records.

People with this surname have made considerable contributions throughout Russian and world history. Examples include Georgian-Armenian author and playwright Grigoryev Ohanesian (Grigoryev was his mother’s maiden name), Russian artist and sculptor Nikolai Grigoryev (often called Nikolay Grygoryev); and Soviet literature figure Anatoly Grigoryev, who wrote several popular children’s novels in the 1950s.

Grygoryev: Where does the name Grygoryev come from?

The last name Grygoryev is a fairly common name throughout Russia and the Slavic-speaking countries, particularly in Ukraine. It is estimated that there are around 8 000 people who bear the last name Grygoryev in Russia alone. It is also commonly found in countries like Belarus, Poland, and Bulgaria, as well as some parts of the former Soviet Union.

In the United States, the last name Grygoryev is sparsely distributed but is found in various states like California, New York, Florida, and Texas. Furthermore, a few people bearing the last name are especially concentrated in the Midwest states such as Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, and Iowa. Beyond this, there are some communities of immigrants and descendants of émigrés in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Israel that carry the surname as well.

The origin of the Grygoryev surname is Slavic in nature and is derived from the first name Grigory. It is a patronymic surname that was used to signify someone who was the son or descendant of Grigory or Gregory.

Further, many people who bear the last name Grygoryev today have some sort of connection to the military. In Ukraine, many people with this last name come from Central and Eastern Ukraine, where they were part of the Russian Empire military. In the United States, those who bear the name often have a connection to the Russian or Ukrainian military which they, or one of their ancestors, were part of during the late nineteenth or early twentieth century.

Overall, while the last name Grygoryev is not a common one in the United States, it is fairly prevalent in countries of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, as well as some Western countries.

Variations of the surname Grygoryev

The Grygoryev surname is derived from a Slavic root and can be found in multiple languages in various spellings and variants. It is shared by many branches of the same family, and sometimes the spelling will differ depending on the origin, or the language in which the name is transcribed.

The primary spelling of Grygoryev is Russian, but alternative spellings of the name also exist in the Russian language such as ‘Grigoryev’, ‘Grigorev’, ‘Grigoriev’ and ‘Grigorenko’.

The Ukrainian spelling of the name is ‘Hryhoriiv’, though other variations on this spelling are ‘Grygoriv’, ‘Gryhoriiv’, ‘Grygoriev’, ‘Hrygoriv’, and ‘Hryhoriv’.

The spelling also differs slightly in Belarusian, where it is transcribed as ‘Haradziyev’ and ‘Grygorev’.

In Polish the surname is transcribed as ‘Grzegorzewicz’, and in Slovak it is ‘Grzgorzewic’.

The surname may also be spelled Grykov and Grigorjev in Russian, and Grecu in Romanian.

Surnames which are closely related to the Grygoryev surname include Grebnev, Grebneva, Grebnevina, Grebnevich, Grebnevna, and Grebnevitsky in Russian, Grzgorewicz in Polish, and Hryshkiv in Ukrainian.

In conclusion, there are many variants, alternative spellings and related surnames for the Grygoryev surname, which depend largely on the language in which the name is transcribed, as well as the region of origin.

Famous people with the name Grygoryev

• Roman Grygoryev: a Russian ice hockey player and coach who was a part of the Soviet national ice hockey team in 1989. He was the team's first line center and recorded stop “plus-minus” rating in the 1990 IIHF World Championships.
• Alexander Grygoryev: a Russian chess Grandmaster and tennis player. He won the Russian Chess Federation Open Championship in 2000 and represented Russia in the Chess Olympiads in 2008 and 2010.
• Alexei Grygoryev: a Russian physicist from the Russian Academy of Sciences. He is best known for his work in quantum optics and efficient methods of laser technology.
• Igor Grygoryev: a Belarusian football player, currently playing for FC Isloch Minsk Raion. He has also represented Belarus at the U-21 and U-19 levels.
• Leonid Grygoryev: a Ukrainian classical pianist, composer and pedagogue who received the “People's Artist of Ukraine” award in 2001.
• Vladimir Grygoryev: a Soviet football player who is best remembered for his time with the Soviet National Team during the 1962 FIFA World Cup.
• Oleg Grygoryev: a Soviet military pilot who was a member of the Soviet Air Force during World War II. He was awarded the title of “Hero of the Soviet Union” in 1945 for his bravery and cunning in defending the Soviet border against the Germans.
• Dmitry Grygoryev: a Russian figure skater, former competitor in pair skating, and currently a coach at the Moscow Triumph skating school. He is the current Russian Junior Pairs Champion, and also won the World Junior Silver Medal in Pair Skating.

Other surnames

Grygoryeva