Usyskin Explained

Usyskin, also Usiskin, Usyshkin, Ussishkin, etc., is a Jewish surname. According to Alexander Beider's Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Russian Empire, the surname is derived from the river Usyska.^[1] Vladimir Maksimov of the research centre "Surname History" mentions other versions. In particular he points out that in the 19th century there was a settlement Usyska by the river, as well as that Usyska was a diminutive for the name Sisoy.^[2] Beider notes that the surname was recorded in Vitebsk, Gorodok and Velizh uyezds of Vitebsk Governorate, Russia.^[1] Notable people with the surname include:

• , Soviet counter admiral
• (1910–1934), Soviet physicist, crew member of the stratospheric aerostat Osoaviakhim-1
• David Ussishkin (born 1935) Israeli archeologist
• Menachem Ussishkin (1863–1941), Russian-born Zionist leader and head of the Jewish National Fund
• Zalman Usiskin, American mathematics educator, director of the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project
• Ussishkin, a character from the 1972 Soviet comedy film Ilf and Petrov Rode a Tram

See also

• Ussishkin Fortress

Notes and References

1. https://www.avotaynu.com/books/DJSRE2.htm A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Russian Empire: Revised Edition
2. https://www.nkj.ru/archive/articles/24871/ Из истории фамилий