Agureyev (Russian: Агуре́ев; masculine) or Agureyeva (Russian: Агуре́ева; feminine) is a Russian last name.[1] Variants of this last name include Agureykin/Agureykina (Russian: Агуре́йкин/Russian: Агуре́йкина), Ogureyev/Ogureyeva (Russian: Огуре́ев/Russian: Огуре́ева), Ogurenkov/Ogurenkova (Russian: Огуре́нков/Russian: Огуре́нкова), Oguryayev/Oguryayeva (Russian: Огуря́ев/Russian: Огуря́ева), and possibly Ogurtsov/Ogurtsova (Russian: Огурцо́в/Russian: Огурцо́ва).
There are three theories as to the origins of these last names. According to the first one, they derive from the Russian dialectal verb "Russian: огуреть" —or "Russian: агуреть" (aguret) in dialects with akanye—meaning to disobey.[2] This and related dialectal words "Russian: огурь" (ogur), meaning stubbornness, laziness; "Russian: огурный", meaning a stubborn idler, a slacker; and "Russian: огуряться" (oguryatsya), meaning to slack off, gave birth to nicknames "Russian: Огурей" (Ogurey) and "Russian: Огуряй" (Oguryay), as well as "Russian: Агурей" (Agurey) and "Russian: Агурейка" (Agureyka) in dialects with akanye.
According to another theory, this last name derives from the first name Gury, a form of which is "Gurey".[3] The latter eventually transformed to "Agureyev"/"Ogureyev", as adding a vowel made pronunciation easier.
Finally, it is also possible that these last names (and especially "Ogurtsov") derive from the nickname "Russian: Огурец" (Ogurets), which in some dialects has the same meaning as "Ogurey" and its variants above, but also literally means cucumber. The latter possibility, however, is discounted by some researchers.