[Surname] Re: Dzhuzha (ukr: Джужа)
in reply to a message by Anya Mel’nik or Mel’nyk
I can't find any authoritative sources on it, but the initial consonant cluster is unusual in native Slavic words and in most cases comes as a dialectal shift from a palatalised 'd'.
My own theory is that this name may be related to the word 'дужий' (duzhyi, "powerful, strong"), as its form in Old East Slavic was дюжь (dyuzhi).
Source: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/dužь#Descendants
My own theory is that this name may be related to the word 'дужий' (duzhyi, "powerful, strong"), as its form in Old East Slavic was дюжь (dyuzhi).
Source: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/dužь#Descendants
Replies
I also have found surname Dzhuhan (Джуган) which I wonder if it is related to Dzhuzha?
Dzhuhan is most likely a cognate of Polish Dżugan and both a geographically close (compare https://nazwiska.ijp.pan.pl/haslo/print/name/DŻUGAN and https://ridni.org/karta/Джуга%D0%BD). The source of the Polish surname according to ISNP is the dialectal verb 'dziugać' meaning "to nudge; to hit; to slide". Dzhuha (Джуга) probably has the same origin as well.