Ukrainian Last Names
You can often spot a Ukrainian surname by its ending. -enko (Shevchenko, Kovalenko) and -chuk (Kovalchuk, Tkachuk) both mean “son of,” while -skyi points to a place or estate. Underneath those endings lie the trades of village life — miller, smith, weaver, beekeeper — and colorful nicknames like Moroz (frost) or Kryvonis (crooked nose). Here are 91 Ukrainian last names with meanings, grouped by pattern.
Unlike Russian surnames, most Ukrainian surnames ending in -enko, -uk or -ko do not change for women: Oksana Kovalenko and Taras Kovalenko share the same form. Pair these with Ukrainian boy names and Ukrainian girl names, read the wider Ukrainian names guide, or compare Russian last names.
-enko surnames: the classic Ukrainian ending
The suffix -enko originally meant “son of” or “little one of,” and it is the surest sign a surname is Ukrainian. It attaches to trades, nicknames and fathers’ first names.
| Surname | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Shevchenko | Son of the shoemaker (shvets) | National poet Taras Shevchenko |
| Kovalenko | Son of the blacksmith (koval) | Among Ukraine’s most common surnames |
| Bondarenko | Son of the cooper (bondar) | Barrel maker |
| Tkachenko | Son of the weaver (tkach) | Very common |
| Kravchenko | Son of the tailor (kravets) | Very common |
| Lysenko | Son of the fox, or of a bald man | Composer Mykola Lysenko |
| Marchenko | Son of Mark | Patronymic |
| Savchenko | Son of Sava | Patronymic |
| Rudenko | Son of the red-haired one | From rudyi, red-haired |
| Petrenko | Son of Petro | Patronymic |
| Pavlenko | Son of Pavlo | Patronymic |
| Klymenko | Son of Klym (Clement) | Patronymic |
| Kuzmenko | Son of Kuzma | Patronymic |
| Levchenko | Son of Lev | Patronymic |
| Yurchenko | Son of Yuriy | Patronymic |
| Symonenko | Son of Symon | Patronymic |
| Hrytsenko | Son of Hryts (Hryhoriy) | Patronymic |
| Tymoshenko | Son of Tymish (Tymofiy) | Former PM Yulia Tymoshenko |
| Zinchenko | Son of Zinoviy | Footballer Oleksandr Zinchenko |
| Kostenko | Son of Kost (Kostiantyn) | Poet Lina Kostenko |
| Dovzhenko | Son of the tall one | Film director Oleksandr Dovzhenko |
| Nazarenko | Son of Nazar | Patronymic |
| Didenko | Grandson, from did, “grandfather” | Common in central Ukraine |
| Kyrylenko | Son of Kyrylo | Patronymic |
-uk, -chuk and -yuk surnames
These endings also mean “son of” and are especially common in western and northwestern Ukraine (Volhynia, Podillia, Bukovyna).
| Surname | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Kovalchuk | Son of the blacksmith | One of the most common Ukrainian surnames |
| Tkachuk | Son of the weaver | Western form of Tkachenko |
| Shevchuk | Son of the shoemaker | Western form of Shevchenko |
| Kravchuk | Son of the tailor | Leonid Kravchuk, first president of Ukraine |
| Melnychuk | Son of the miller | Very common |
| Polishchuk | From Polissia, the northern forest region | Geographic |
| Romaniuk | Son of Roman | Patronymic |
| Savchuk | Son of Sava | Patronymic |
| Martyniuk | Son of Martyn | Patronymic |
| Stepaniuk | Son of Stepan | Patronymic |
| Vasyliuk | Son of Vasyl | Patronymic |
| Hnatiuk | Son of Hnat | Ethnographer Volodymyr Hnatiuk |
| Dmytruk | Son of Dmytro | Patronymic |
| Levchuk | Son of Lev | Patronymic |
Occupational Ukrainian surnames
Village trades gave Ukraine many of its most familiar surnames. Compare with trade surnames in Polish last names.
| Surname | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Melnyk | Miller | One of the most common surnames in Ukraine |
| Koval | Blacksmith | Root of Kovalenko and Kovalchuk |
| Oliynyk | Oil presser | Pressed sunflower and hemp oil |
| Bondar | Cooper | Barrel maker |
| Kravets | Tailor | Also Kravtsiv |
| Shvets | Shoemaker | Short and old |
| Tkach | Weaver | Root of Tkachenko |
| Honchar | Potter | Oles Honchar, novelist |
| Kushnir | Furrier | Also Kushnirenko |
| Rybak | Fisherman | Common along the Dnipro |
| Pasichnyk | Beekeeper | From pasika, apiary |
| Chumak | Salt trader and ox-cart driver | Iconic figure of Ukrainian folk songs |
| Kozak | Cossack | Proud historic surname |
| Kolesnyk | Wheelwright | From koleso, wheel |
| Shynkar | Innkeeper | From shynok, tavern |
| Kotliar | Kettle and cauldron maker | From kotel, cauldron |
Ukrainian surnames from nature and nicknames
Many surnames started as nicknames for a person’s looks or character, or borrowed an animal or tree.
| Surname | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Moroz | Frost | Very common |
| Boyko | From the Boyko highlanders; or “fighter” | Carpathian roots |
| Bilyk | White, fair-haired | From bilyi, white |
| Chornyi | Black, dark-haired | Also Chorny |
| Sokil | Falcon | Also Sokolenko |
| Horobets | Sparrow | Cheerful nickname |
| Vovk | Wolf | Short and strong |
| Zayets | Hare | Common nickname-surname |
| Holub | Dove, pigeon | Very common |
| Soroka | Magpie | A chatterbox nickname |
| Voron | Raven | Dark and dramatic |
| Bereza | Birch tree | Nature surname |
| Dub | Oak | Strong, one syllable |
| Kit | Cat | Short nickname surname |
| Rudyi | Red-haired | Also Rudyk |
| Kryvonis | Crooked nose | Cossack colonel Maksym Kryvonis |
| Sirko | Grey-haired; greyish | Legendary Cossack ataman Ivan Sirko |
-skyi and -tskyi surnames
The -skyi ending means “of” or “from” and often points to a place or estate. Many belong to old noble families; in English they are often spelled -sky or -skiy.
| Surname | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Khmelnytskyi | From khmil, hops | Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytskyi |
| Hrushevskyi | From hrusha, pear tree | Historian and statesman Mykhailo Hrushevskyi |
| Kotsiubynskyi | From a place name | Writer Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi |
| Zelenskyi | From zelenyi, green | President Volodymyr Zelenskyy |
| Vyshnevetskyi | From the town of Vyshnivets | Cossack leader Dmytro “Baida” Vyshnevetskyi |
| Ostrozkyi | From the town of Ostroh | Princely family of Volhynia |
| Kovalskyi | Of the smith | Shared with Poland |
| Kalynovskyi | From kalyna, the guelder-rose | A national symbol of Ukraine |
| Sosnovskyi | From sosna, pine | Nature place name |
| Dubrovskyi | From dubrova, oak grove | Nature place name |
| Lisovskyi | From lis, forest | Nature place name |
| Sikorskyi | From a place name | Kyiv-born aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky |
Other famous Ukrainian surnames
Some Ukrainian surnames follow no common pattern but are instantly recognizable.
| Surname | Meaning | Famous bearer |
|---|---|---|
| Franko | From Frank | Writer Ivan Franko |
| Mazepa | Possibly “clumsy person” | Hetman Ivan Mazepa |
| Klychko | Possibly from klych, “call” | Boxers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko |
| Bubka | Nickname surname | Pole-vault legend Serhiy Bubka |
| Skovoroda | Frying pan | Philosopher Hryhoriy Skovoroda |
| Stus | Nickname surname | Poet and dissident Vasyl Stus |
| Sahaidachnyi | From sahaidak, a quiver | Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi |
| Ukrainka | “Ukrainian woman” (a pen name) | Poet Lesya Ukrainka, born Larysa Kosach |
Tips for reading Ukrainian surnames
- Decode the ending first. -enko, -uk, -chuk and -yuk mean “son of”; -skyi and -tskyi mean “from”; -ych can be a patronymic too.
- Know which endings change for women. -skyi becomes -ska (Zelenskyi → Zelenska), but -enko, -uk and -ko stay the same.
- Expect multiple spellings. Zelenskyy, Zelensky and Zelenskyi are all romanizations of Зеленський. Ukraine’s official system gives -skyi.
- Look for the trade. Koval, Melnyk, Tkach and Bondar hide inside dozens of surnames — just like Smith, Miller, Weaver and Cooper in English (see most common last names).
- Region matters. -enko names cluster in central and eastern Ukraine, while -uk and -chuk names are more typical of the west and northwest.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common Ukrainian last name?
Melnyk, Shevchenko, Kovalenko, Bondarenko, Boyko, Tkachenko and Kovalchuk are consistently cited as among the most common surnames in Ukraine.
What does -enko mean in a Ukrainian surname?
It is a diminutive and patronymic suffix meaning “son of” or “descendant of.” Shevchenko is the son of a shoemaker; Petrenko is the son of Petro.
Do Ukrainian surnames change for women?
Only some. Surnames ending in -skyi/-tskyi take a feminine form (-ska/-tska), and some adjective-like names change too, but names ending in -enko, -uk, -chuk and -ko stay the same for men and women.
Is Kovalenko Ukrainian or Russian?
Kovalenko is Ukrainian. It comes from koval, the Ukrainian word for blacksmith, plus -enko. The Russian equivalent is Kuznetsov.
How can I tell if a surname is Ukrainian?
Endings such as -enko, -chuk, -uk, -yuk and -ko are strong clues, as are roots from Ukrainian words like koval (smith) and melnyk (miller).