In short
- The most common Armenian man's name is Hovhannes, and the most common woman's name is Roza.
- The most common Armenian surname is Harutyunyan, followed by Sargsyan, Grigoryan, Hovhannisyan, Hakobyan.
- 94% of Armenian surnames end in -yan (or -ian in the diaspora), meaning "of the family of".
- Fashions changed: men born before 1920 were most often Hovhannes, Hakob, Grigor; men born since 1960 are most often Armen, Artur, Karen.
The 20 most common first names
The share is the part of all men, or all women, in our records who carry the name. Tap a name to look for graves.
Women
- Seda Սեդա1.4% of women
Show 11 to 20
- Tamara Թամարա1.2% of women
- Emma Էմմա1.1% of women
- Varsenik Վարսենիկ0.8% of women
The favourite names of each decade
The five most common names by decade of birth. Choose a decade.
1880s
1890s
1900s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
Then and now
Old Christian and family names gave way, in the Soviet years, to short names like Armen, Karen and Gayane, and to names from European fashion.
Men
Women
The 20 most common surnames
Most Armenian surnames grew out of a forefather's first name or trade: Sargsyan is "of Sargis's family", Harutyunyan "of Harutyun's family". The share is the part of all people in our records who carry the surname.
- Harutyunyan Հարությունյան2.4% of people
- Sargsyan Սարգսյան2.4% of people
- Grigoryan Գրիգորյան2.4% of people
- Hovhannisyan Հովհաննիսյան2.3% of people
- Hakobyan Հակոբյան2.0% of people
- Khachatryan Խաչատրյան2.0% of people
- Vardanyan Վարդանյան1.6% of people
- Petrosyan Պետրոսյան1.6% of people
- Karapetyan Կարապետյան1.5% of people
- Gevorgyan Գեվորգյան1.4% of people
- Mkrtchyan Մկրտչյան1.3% of people
- Manukyan Մանուկյան1.3% of people
- Ghazaryan Ղազարյան1.3% of people
- Avetisyan Ավետիսյան1.2% of people
- Poghosyan Պողոսյան1.1% of people
- Martirosyan Մարտիրոսյան1.1% of people
- Sahakyan Սահակյան0.9% of people
- Muradyan Մուրադյան0.9% of people
- Simonyan Սիմոնյան0.9% of people
- Stepanyan Ստեփանյան0.8% of people
The most common patronymics
An Armenian patronymic is the father's name with the ending -i: Hovhannesi means "son, or daughter, of Hovhannes". It is written between the first name and the surname on many gravestones in Armenia.
How Armenian names work
Christian names
Armenia adopted Christianity in 301, and many of the most common names come from the Bible and the saints: Hovhannes (John), Hakob (Jacob), Mariam (Mary), Grigor, after Saint Gregory the Illuminator, and Hripsime and Gayane, the martyred nuns.
Old Armenian names
Some names reach back before Christianity: the goddesses Anahit and Astghik, the forefather Hayk, the kings Tigran, Aram and Ashot, and the hero Vardan Mamikonian, who fell at Avarayr in 451.
Names that mean something
Many women's names are built from words: vard (rose) in Vardush and Varduhi, anush (sweet) in Siranush and Haykanush, lusin (moon) in Lusine. The ending -uhi, as in Armenuhi, means "woman".
Surnames
The ending -yan (-ian in Western Armenian and in the diaspora) means "of the family of". Older endings are -ants and -unts, and noble families used -uni, as in Bagratuni. Many families in Armenia fixed their surname only in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Spelling
One name can be spelled many ways in Latin letters: Hovhannes, Hovannes, Ovanes; Sargsyan, Sargissian, Sarkisian. If a search finds nothing, ours suggests other spellings.
Questions
What is the most common Armenian name?
What is the most common Armenian surname?
Why do Armenian surnames end in -yan or -ian?
What is an Armenian patronymic?
Which Armenian names were popular in the past?
Where do these numbers come from?
About the data
Counted from the first names, surnames and patronymics on public graves in HUSH.am records, recalculated every week. Names that appear fewer than 20 times are not ranked. An early version of this study was published by 168 Hours in 2015.
How to cite
HUSH.am (2026), "The most popular Armenian names", https://hush.am/Most_Popular_Armenian_Names