THE SPECIFICITY OF THE LOCAL SURNAME SYSTEM IN BIELSK IN PODLASIE REGION AT THE TURN OF THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURIES IN CONDITIONS OF CONFESSIONAL (ORTHODOX-CATHOLIC) DIVERSITY

Abstract

This paper presents surnames, excerpted from the metrical records of the Orthodox and Catholic parishes of Bielsk (Podlasie region) from the years 1895-1904. Attention is focused on the differences, resulting from confessional belonging of the residents. The most significant divergences include: the popularity of individual surname-forming suffixes and different ways of adaptaing anthroponyms to the standards of the Russian language.