Surname Hryhorenko - Meaning and Origin
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Hryhorenko: What does the surname Hryhorenko mean?
The last name Hryhorenko is derived from the Ukrainian word “hryhorii,” which means “gregarious,” “tidy,” or “orderly.” It is believed to have originated from the Petrov surnames of the ancient Kievan Rus’, Ukraine’s earliest civilization.
Hryhorenko is a patronymic last name, which is a surname derived from the father’s first name. In this case, the family likely descended from a person named Hryhori, most likely the father of the original bearer. This type of surname is especially common among Slavic and East-European families.
The word “hryhorii” itself is derived from the Old East-Slavic words “hrada” and “grada” which mean “fence” and “border.” It is believed to refer to someone who was tidy and organized, most likely implying someone with good organizational and management skills.
The Hryhorenko family played an important role in the formation of the Ukrainian nation, and many members of the family have achieved great fame in the fields of politics, economics, and arts. Notable figures with the last name include Nadiya Hryhorenko, the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, Oleksandr Hryhorenko, a decorated astronaut, and Mykola Hryhorenko, a Ukrainian political scientist and economist.
The name Hryhorenko is not a very common surname in the United States, but it is a proud and unique name that conveys a deep and rich history of the Ukrainian people.
Order DNA origin analysisHryhorenko: Where does the name Hryhorenko come from?
The last name Hryhorenko is primarily associated with Ukraine, and is among the most common spelling variations of the surname. According to the 2001 Ukrainian Census, Hryhorenko is the tenth most common surname in the country, with over 35,000 citizens having it as their family name. The name is also found in other countries of the former Soviet Union, such as Belarus and Moldova.
Outside of Eastern Europe, Hryhorenko is also common among Ukrainian immigrants to the United States. According to the 2000 US Census, an estimated 11,582 people in the US have the last name of Hryhorenko, and it is the 606th most common surname in the country. New Jersey saw the highest population of Hryhorenko residents, with 400 reported in the last census. Illinois was the runner-up, with 384 total Hryhorenko residents. California and New York are the other two states with the next-highest numbers of people bearing the last name.
Migration to the United States of people with the name of Hryhorenko increased from the 1960s onwards, as more people from Ukrainian ancestry emigrated to the US due to political and economic instabilities in their country of origin. Many Ukrainian communities also have associations specifically for people with this last name.
Therefore, it can be concluded that currently the last name Hryhorenko is most common in Ukraine, followed by the United States, Belarus, and Moldova, among other countries of Eastern Europe.
Variations of the surname Hryhorenko
The surname Hryhorenko is a Ukrainian name, derived from root words hryhore-, meaning “dark”, and -enko, categorized as a patronymic suffix. The variants, spellings, and surnames of the same origin for Hryhorenko include:
Hryhorens’kyi, Hryhorenkiv, Hryhorenka, Hryhorenyi, Hryhorenykh, Hryhoriv, Hryhoruk, Hryhoryuk, Grigorenko, Grigorenka, Grigorenyi, Grigorenko, Grigoriev, Gryhorenko, Gryhorenka, Gryhorenyi, Gryhorenykh, Gryhoriv, Gryhoruk, Gryhoryuk, Grigorienko, Grigorienka, Grigorienyi, Grigoriyenko, Grihorienko, Grihorienka, Grihorienyi, Gricorenko, and Grichorenka.
Each of these spellings is derived from the same root words, making them surnames of the same origin. For strong traditional ethnic identity of Ukrainian ancestry, immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries began spelling variations of the Hryhorenko patronymic, which resulted in the array of modern spellings available today.
The Hryhorenko family name can also be found under other spellings, such as Gryhorenko, Grigorenko, Gryhoruk, Gryhoryuk, and Grihorienko. It is likely that many modern to current day Ukrainian families still spell it with these variations as well.
The related patronymics of Hryhorenko also include various surnames which had their origins in Ukraine and other Slavic countries, such as, Grigorienko, Grigorienyi, Grigoriyenko, and Gricorenko.
To this day, some members of the Ukrainian community still proudly carry the Hryhorenko surname, and it can be found on various historical documents relating to Ukrainian ancestry.
Famous people with the name Hryhorenko
- Mykhailo Hryhorenko: a former Captain Reconnaissance along with Major-General of the Ukrainian Army.
- Myroslava Hryhorenko: a media researcher from the Odeon Criterion at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
- Viktor Hryhorenko: a Ukrainian chess Grandmaster.
- Andriy Hryhorenko: a Ukrainian 300m hurdler.
- Olga Hryhorenko: a former professional volleyball player for Ukraine.
- Serhiy Hryhorenko: a former professional football player for Ukraine.
- Ruslan Hryhorenko: a Ukrainian professional footballer.
- Oleksandr Hryhorenko: a Ukrainian professional racing cyclist.
- Yevhen Hryhorenko: a Ukrainian fencer.
- Wladimir Hryhorenko: a UEFA pro-licence coach from Ukraine.
- Svitlana Hryhorenko: a former Ukrainian soloist for the National Opera of Ukraine.