User:Kolchinsky

KOLCHINSKY. Jewish origin family hypothetically from the town of Kolki (Колки) in Western Ukraine. According to the linguistic process of alternation -Č (ch) will change to -K for the sake of the linguistic economy. Thus adjective kolKinsky would transform to kolCHinsky. In both cases, according to the hypothesis, Kolchinsky means "the one from Kolki". [1]. If one goes a little further with the assumptions there is a possible way through which Jews came to the Volyn territories of Ukraine and at that time Lithuanian knyaz Vitovt allowed karaim jews from Crimea to settle in the region of Volyn including Kolki [2]. Kolki per se were mentioned on 1500 as the town founded by the Radzyvil dynasty. In old slavic language, according to Dal's dictionary of the Russian language, "колок" -- "отдельная рощица, лесок или лесной остров" - separate piece of wood, small wood or a group of trees.

An alternative theory derives the name from the village Kul'chinniki (Кульчинки) near Starokonstantinovo, Volynskaya guberniia. That area was populated mostly by Jews.

However if the creators of the theory had stronger understanding of the processes that take place in the Russian language they would have a clear vision of the fact that the derivative from K-U-l'сhinniki is K-U-lchinnikskiy with the definite -U- and not -O- in the first syllable because for the reason of the linguistic economy there is no reason to change that sound. Plus Кульчинки near Starokonstantinovo (modern Khmelnitsky) is translated as Kul'chinki. Plus there is Kulchiny near Kulchinki.

There are plenty of places on the territiories of Slavic world that would have Kol- in the first syllable but only few would fit as the place of the origin for the surname. And the strongest reason is the fact there were pogroms in those places.

However another assumption can be taken as true.

The last name Kol'chinsky (with soft sign in Russian, Кольчинский) is not related to Kolchinsky without the soft sign, although they became identical in English transcription. For instance, a well-known orchestra conductor from California Camilla Kolchinsky used to be Kol'chinskaya in Russian.

Not all Kolchinskys are Jewish. For instance, colonel A. A. Kolchinsky served in the White Army and was one of the two executors appointed by Denikin in 1942 (http://bibliotekar.ru/rusDenikin/39.htm).