Astahovskis is my actual surname. In this post, I will break it down and give you the actual meaning of this word.
Even though I was born a Latvian, my surname is not of Latvian origin. Meaning, it has no literal meaning in the Latvian language.
Note: typical Latvian origin surnames have a literal meaning (name of a profession, plant name, tree name, animal name, etc.). Often, the same is true in German and English-speaking countries: Baker, Clarkson, Miller, etc.
However, the surname “Astahovskis” does have a meaning. Like, every name has a meaning (including my first name).
The meaning of “Astahovskis” roughly translates to “with traits of coming from love“. (<––TLDR)
Here is the breakdown.
Ast – means “love” in Old Norse (Nordid, Viking origin)
Asta – is a female name in Nordic, and means “love“, “the beloved one”
hov – in Slavic means “son of”, “descendant of”, therefore can be interpreted as “coming from”; note: hov in Norse also means “temple”;
ski – is typically used to create adjectives from nouns; these days, it’s also used to make words sound Slavic in origin (Russian, Polish, for example: “broski”); therefore, it translates to “with traits of”
s – it’s a typical “Latvian grammar thing”, to make a word sound Latvian in origin – all male names must end with “s”.
In summary, this surname is of Nordic origin (Asta), then adapted in Slavic languages (+hov) and made sound even more Slavic (+ski), being given to a Latvian (+s).
Literally, it means “with traits of a son of Asta”. Other versions would be: “with traits of son of love” or “with traits of descendant of love”
Alternative breakdown would be: “with traits of Love temple”, taking Asta+hov from Nordic origin and only +ski from Slavic.
However, regardless of the final wording, one thing is clear – there is a lot of LOVE in Astahovskis.
With lots of love,
Toms
🐝🙏💝