Surname Nowikow - Meaning and Origin
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Nowikow: What does the surname Nowikow mean?
The last name Nowikow is a Slavic name of Polish origin. The literal translation of the name is “nowy kowal” which means “new blacksmith” or “blacksmith of the new age”. Blacksmithing was a well-respected occupation in the era when the name Nowikow was established, so the name implicates that the family descends from a long line of blacksmiths.
The Nowikow surname is most commonly found in Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, and the United States. Depending on the region, the name may also be spelled in a variety of ways such as Nowikov, Novikov, Nowikowa and Novikowa. In some cases, the name may have been shortened or changed over time.
To this day, many Nowikow descendants still practice blacksmithing, albeit in modern forms. The family continues to honor its origins by adopting the surname as a sign of respect to their family’s past. Consequently, the name has become a badge of pride to be proudly displayed as a reminder of one’s lineage and legacy.
Beyond the blacksmithing connection, the Nowikow name invites a celebration of history. Even if blacksmithing is no longer a practice, the Nowikow name signifies respect to ancestors and to a time when it was a revered profession. Those with the Nowikow surname carry with them not only a sense of connectedness to their families, but also to the history of the world.
Order DNA origin analysisNowikow: Where does the name Nowikow come from?
The last name Nowikow is an uncommon name primarily found in Russia and some other Eastern European countries, such as Poland and Belarus. In Russia, there are 166 people who have this last name and it is found primarily in the North Caucasus region and in the Krasnodar province. In Belarus, an estimated 1,098 people have this surname and it is distributed in the western and central parts of the country. In Poland, there are around only 37 people with this last name, spread out over the whole country.
Nowikow can also be seen in Germany, with 6 people having it as a surname. The name is more common in the western part of the country in localities such as Kleve, Recklinghausen, and Minden.
Nowikow is a patronymic, derived from the male given name Nikita, which is derived from the Greek word “nike” meaning “victory”. It is thought that the name first appeared in Russian records in 1638. It is believed that during this time, the surname referred to a loyal servant of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the ruler of Muscovy from 1645 to 1676.
The rarity of the surname Nowikow means that it has not spread significantly outside of its Eastern European countries of origin. It appears to be mainly of Russian and Belarusian origin and is not found in larger numbers elsewhere.
Variations of the surname Nowikow
Nowikow is a Polish surname of toponymic origin, meaning descended from inhabitants of Nowików, a village in the Garwolin County, Masovian Voivodeship. It is found mainly in Poland, Belarus, and the Russian Federation.
Variants of Nowikow include Nowikova, Nowikowiec, Nowikowiak, Nowikowski, Nowikowska, Nowikowska-Rudicki, Nowicke, Nowicki, Nowicko, Nowickowski, and Nowikavič.
People with either of these surnames can be of mixed origin, with changing spellings depending on the language or culture. For instance, in the United States, Nowikow can be spelled as Nowickow and Nowikowiec as Noweckowec. Similarly, Nowicki is often used interchangeably with Nowickow.
The presence of other surnames such as Nowick, Nowak, and Nowokowsk can also be attributed to the Nowikow surname, but these surnames are unrelated to about 90% of Nowikow surnames which originated with the village of Nowików.
The Nowikow surname is also found as a cognate last name in different parts of the world such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, where it often appears as Nowak.
In some cases, the surname has been distorted over the years. For example, in the United States, the Polish surnames of Nowicki/Nowak/Nowick may have been transformed over time into Jeziorski, Nowicki, Novak, Nowicke, or Novick as well as other surnames of similar sounding origins.
Moreover, the various Nowikow surnames may have been distorted over time due to natural shifts in language, making it difficult to trace one common origin of the surname.
Famous people with the name Nowikow
- Michael Nowikow: Retired high jumper and former silver medalist in the 1964 Olympics
- Nikolay Nowikow: Composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist from Russia
- Oleg Nowikow: Russian table tennis player and six-time world champion
- Yuri Nowikow: Russian theatre and film actor
- Vladimir Nowikow: Russian Lieutenant-General and Hero of the Soviet Union
- Dmitry Nowikow: a Russian journalist and media personality
- Oksana Nowikowa: Ukrainian handball player
- Władysław Nowikow: Polish soldier of the Polish Air Force in World War II
- Pawel Nowikow: Polish ice hockey player
- Elena Nowikowa: Ukrainian Olympic diver