There may be instances during your Hungarian research where you come upon an ancestor, or an entire family (sometimes even generations), listed with two surnames. This practice was common throughout Hungary, though it rises in prevalence as you near Slavic borders to the north and south.
In larger towns or villages with many individuals sharing the same name, such as a common name like Nagy Mihály, it could quickly become confusing on who was being discussed. When they were alive, it would have become beneficial to use an additional or second surname to help differentiate themselves from the other Nagy Mihály in the same community.
The additional surnames that were chosen depended entirely on the individual. You'll see from the examples below that the additional surname could fall into many of the same categories as typical Hungarian surnames. The additional surname could've reflected a place of origin, a family name, an occupation or even describing their physical appearance. A previous article on the meaning of Hungarian surnames can be found here.
Here are some examples that I could find with explanations on their usage:
Multi-Generational:
- Gombás Mihály was married to Gajdos Sára on 14 Jan 1778 in Tiszavasvári, with Sára from neighboring Tiszadob. After their marriage, Mihály became known as Dobi Gombás Mihály to differentiate himself from the other Gombás Mihály in the village - there were many. Dobi is clearly indicative of his wive's origins. Their two sons, János (1782-1850) and Bálint (1800-1829), also continued to use Dobi Gombás, with János passing the name onto his own son Dobi Gombás Bálint (1822-1884).
- Sometime between 1771-1781, Tóth Mihály was married to Erzsébet Handa in Tiszadob, Szabolcs county. The help differentiate himself from the other Tóth Mihály' in the village, including the below mentioned Tépei Tóth Mihály, he went as Boros Tóth Mihály. Boros is indicative of the family's production of wine in Tiszadob.
Their son, Boros Tóth Mihály (1781-1846) continued to use the name and also passed it on for several generations. All nine of his children between two wives (Tóth Mária from neighboring Kesznyetén and Gorzás Sára from Tiszadob) used Boros Tóth as their surname. Only two of their sons passed the name onto their children: Boros Tóth Károly (1826-?) and Boros Tóth Sándor (1839-?).
All nine of the children of Boros Tóth Károly (1826-?) used Boros Tóth as their surname, however only two sons passed the name on:- Boros Tóth Károly (1852-1913): his four children used Boros Tóth and two sons passed the name on:
- Boros Tóth Sándor (1873-1952): he immigrated to America and became Alex Toth.
- Boros Tóth Károly (1881-?): his three children used Boros Tóth
- Boros Tóth Imre (1854-?): his three children used Boros Tóth, though they all died in infancy.
- Boros Tóth Károly (1852-1913): his four children used Boros Tóth and two sons passed the name on:
Immediate Family:
- An entirely different Gombás Mihály from the one mentioned above was married to Katalin Sziki on 4 Jan 1797 in Tiszavasvári. Mihály himself, as far as I have been able to find, never took on an additional name himself. However, out of the eight children this couple had (three of them male), one daughter took on an additional name: Sziki Gombás Katalin. This may reflect the number of other Gombás Katalin that were in the village at the same time, considering only she chose to and none of her siblings.
- Tóth Mihály was married to Márczin Sára on 7 Jan 1767 in Tépe, Bihar county. Sometime after 1774, when their last child was born in Tépe, they moved to Tiszadob, Szabolcs county. He became known as Tépei Tóth Mihály, with the -i suffix on Tépei meaning 'from'. Only one of their children continued to use the name, Tépei Tóth János (1778-1834), however it did not continue with his own children.
There are instances where abbreviations are used for the additional surname and sometimes all you may find is an abbreviation. There are also instances of the additional surname being used individually, without the proper original surname. A great example provided in our Facebook group today can be found below - Nagy is the proper surname, while Zsiros is the additional surname. These are the variations you may come across:
- Nagy
- Nagy Zsiros
- Zs. Nagy
- Zsiros Nagy
- Zsiros
Unless otherwise mentioned within the records, additional or second surnames do not denote nobility.
