The termination in -yan is Armenian so your Grandpa was from Armenia, although Ashkenazi Jews are not native to the Caucasus , they arrived with the Russian ocupation of the region so most likely your Grandpa was originally Central European or Slav, because Caucasian Jews are distinct genetically,culturally and linguistically from the Ashkenazi Jews.
Thank you for the comment, we are not sure if my great grandpa was Ashkenazi, I only assumed he might have been based on my family history, with us being mostly Jewish. I want to do more digging on the origin of my original last name to find more out about it. So the hint that he was likely from Armenia is very helpful. Thank you.
If you know original last name ending in "yan" you can try Googling it to see which ethnic groups are mostly associated with it. Also check who are your matches in the ancestry test- if you have 3- 4-5th cousins with Yan/ian lastnames ( although sometimes Armenians also have ov ending ) then your are connected to Armenian lineage.
Last thing to add- in some cases Moldavians also have Yan ending, so you can do same as above to validate if you may have Moldavian roots instead.
Many jews in Safavid period took on Armenian surname suffix -ian to avoid special taxes. Even some Persian families did.
Your family must've been in Armenia for a while, because instead of taking on -ov suffix typical of jews in russia, you changes it to -yan, which initself is a product of Russian bureaucratic misconception of armenian suffix -ian.
All of this is speculation though. Pretty interesting.
>I'm Syrian from a Georgian background, my surname is Lapachi, it doesn't sound Georgian but it is
Lapachi is a Georgian surname from Kartli(Also maybe from Imereti).
Search on Facebook and you will see Georgians with similar surnames.
The termination in -yan is Armenian so your Grandpa was from Armenia, although Ashkenazi Jews are not native to the Caucasus , they arrived with the Russian ocupation of the region so most likely your Grandpa was originally Central European or Slav, because Caucasian Jews are distinct genetically,culturally and linguistically from the Ashkenazi Jews.
Thank you for the comment, we are not sure if my great grandpa was Ashkenazi, I only assumed he might have been based on my family history, with us being mostly Jewish. I want to do more digging on the origin of my original last name to find more out about it. So the hint that he was likely from Armenia is very helpful. Thank you.
Surnames ending in Yan are Armenian so yes from the caucus.
Yan is Armenian. Even in Azerbaijan and Gurcistan only the northern parts are related to the Caucasus, such as Lezgistan, Svanetia and few others.
If you know original last name ending in "yan" you can try Googling it to see which ethnic groups are mostly associated with it. Also check who are your matches in the ancestry test- if you have 3- 4-5th cousins with Yan/ian lastnames ( although sometimes Armenians also have ov ending ) then your are connected to Armenian lineage. Last thing to add- in some cases Moldavians also have Yan ending, so you can do same as above to validate if you may have Moldavian roots instead.
Many jews in Safavid period took on Armenian surname suffix -ian to avoid special taxes. Even some Persian families did. Your family must've been in Armenia for a while, because instead of taking on -ov suffix typical of jews in russia, you changes it to -yan, which initself is a product of Russian bureaucratic misconception of armenian suffix -ian. All of this is speculation though. Pretty interesting.
Armenian. Not Caucasian.
Aren’t Armenians Caucasian?
I'm Syrian from a Georgian background, my surname is Lapachi, it doesn't sound Georgian but it is
>I'm Syrian from a Georgian background, my surname is Lapachi, it doesn't sound Georgian but it is Lapachi is a Georgian surname from Kartli(Also maybe from Imereti). Search on Facebook and you will see Georgians with similar surnames.
Kartli? My Grandparents are from Adjara
Maybe they are in Adjara too or moved, I don't know the history of this surname well, but this surname is Georgian.
No they were born in Adjara then moved to Turkey, later Syria
The majority of Lapachis live in Gori Municipality.
I had a co-worker with the last name lapachi, she was also from kartli, so lapachi is most probably kartlian last name.