Expert: Maria Kuruskina - 10/27/2009

Question
Hello! I would like to solve the mystery of our family last name, ZEITZEW. I have traced my great grandparents to Russia in about 1889, but I have no information at all.
We have always heard the old story that we got our spelling of ZEITZEW because someone at US immigration spelled it that way.
Is there a true last name of ZEITZEW in Russia, or is there a close variation? Anything you could tell me about Zeitzew's in Russia would be helpful.
Thank You for your time!

Answer
Hello, Andrea

The surname is not mysterious at all :) It is quite common in Russia and your grandparents used German phonetic rules to transliterate it. It sounds as ['zai-tsev], the root word is zayats [zai-ats] which was used as a proper non-Christian male name in 15-17th centuries. The 'ev" at the end of the surname means "belonging to\the son of" - the son of Zayats. Zayats in Russian also means "a hare"; there's the theory that says this name was given to very energetic and active people, and there are other theories linking the name to Slavic mythology.

As this surname is so widespread, it is really hard to find any information about your other relatives without more information. :)