Surname Narkevicius - Meaning and Origin
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Narkevicius: What does the surname Narkevicius mean?
The last name Narkevicius is of Lithuanian origin. It is a patronymic surname derived from the personal name Narke, which is a shortened version of the ancient Baltic personal name Markas. The root of the name, markas, means “out of the gods”.
The Narkevicius surname indicates that its original bearer was either the son or descendent of someone named Markas. It is likely that the original bearer of the name was of noble or aristocratic descent, since the gods in Lithuanian mythology were closely tied to the country’s native nobility.
It might have been an exclusive surname for noble families, as the name was not seen outside of Lithuania until well into the twentieth century.
Today, the surname is still common in Lithuania and is found amongst its broader diaspora. It is believed that the Narkevicius surname is most common amongst those in the United States, Canada, and Australia, with smaller concentrations in Brazil, Argentina, and the Baltic nations.
Narkevicius is a unique name that marks someone as part of Lithuania’s nobility in both traditional and modern times. Its holder can proudly trace their heritage back to ancient Baltic traditions and beliefs regarding the gods.
Order DNA origin analysisNarkevicius: Where does the name Narkevicius come from?
The last name Narkevicius is most commonly found in Lithuania and the Baltic states today. The name is derived from a Lithuanian word, meaning "son of Narkus". This surname is part of a larger family of similarly derived names, such as Narkevic, Narkeviciene, and Narkeviciut.
In modern Lithuania, American journalist and author Rytis Narkevicius currently resides, and his grandparents immigrated from Lithuania to the United States in the late 19th century. He founded the Narkevicius Institute to bring awareness of the plight of Lithuanians in occupied Soviet Lithuania, and his work has been invaluable in helping to preserve their cultural identity.
In terms of population, the Narkevicius family remains one of the largest in Lithuania, claiming a diverse background of both Jewish and Lithuanian heritage. Other prominent members of the Narkevicius family have included Lithuanian senator Romualdas Narkevicius, Lithuanian writer Algis Narkevicius, and Lithuanian architect Tomas Narkevicius.
Narkevicius descendants can be found not just in Lithuania, but also in Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Russia. In addition, American citizens with Lithuanian immigrant ancestry are likely to bear the Narkevicius surname.
Variations of the surname Narkevicius
The surname Narkevicius is derived from the Lithuanian word narke which means a codling or roach, which was likely a nickname based on a fish-related profession or characteristic. The variants of the surname are Narkevicz, Narkevich, Narkevichus, Narkevicius, Narkewic and Narkewitsch.
The Lithuanian version of the surname Narkevicius is usually written as Narkevičius, with the Lithuanian diacritic mark. The Polish-Lithuanian spelling is Narkewicz, with the Ząścic or ż spelling to denote the pronunciation of the sound of ź.
The spelling Narkevichus sometimes appears as a Lithuanianized version of the Polish/Lithuanian spelling of Narkewicz.
It is also possible that, centuries ago, some people who used the surname Narkevicius might have actually adopted a version of the name from their Polish or Russian neighbours, in which case they would have used the spelling Narkewitsch.
Some other surnames of the same origin include Narkevičienė, Narkevičiūtė, Narkevičius, Narkevičius, Narkevičev and Narkeviča.
In summary, the different spellings and variants of the same surname Narkevicius include Narkevicius, Narkevicz, Narkevich, Narkevichus, Narkewicz, Narkewitsch, Narkevičienė, Narkevičiūtė, Narkevičius, Narkevičev and Narkeviča.
Famous people with the name Narkevicius
- Antanas Narkevičius: a Lithuanian classical music composer and professor.
- Marius Narkevičius: a Lithuanian football player.
- Kazimieraitis Narkevičius: a Lithuanian writer, playwright, and poet.
- Saulius Narkevičius: a Lithuanian basketball player.
- Karolis Narkevičius: a Lithuanian singer and songwriter.
- Dalius Narkevičius: a Lithuanian athlete and two-time Olympic medalist.
- Jared Narkevicius: an Australian swimmer and Paralympic gold medalist.
- Algirdas Narkevičius: a Lithuanian historian, professor, and statesman.
- Albinas Narkevičius: a Lithuanian mathematician, professor, and researcher.
- Gintaras Narkevičius: a Lithuanian bicycle road racer.