Name «Zhaba»

The personal name Zhaba originates from the eponymous amphibian creature, the frog, and has always belonged to the category of rare family-related names among the Slavs. Among the names of Ukrainians in the Uzhhorod region, it is documented in 1393 in relation to a person named Vasyl: Wasyl dictus Żabia. In this record, the name Zhablia serves as an identifier. An additional identifier alongside the personal name in the 14th century, the name Zhaba also appears in other regions of Ukraine. For example, a record from 1364: Petro Żaba; in 1649: Mykhailo Zhablia; in 1649: serf Mykhailo Zhabka from the village of Tyushka.Currently, in Ukraine, there are over 10 different surnames related to this name, such as Zhaba, Zhabey, Zhabka, Zhabkovych, Zhablyak, Zhabchenko, Zhabur, Zhabotynsky, and others. A similar situation is observed among Polish and Czech populations. For instance, in a record from 1433, Andreas Zhaba is mentioned. Only in Belarus did the lexeme Zhaba remain in use as a proper name until the 16th century, as evidenced by a record from 1532: Zhaba Semyonovych.