Origin and history of the surname Afanasyev-Grigoriev

Representatives of the Afanasyev-Grigoriev family had all the reasonshave every reason to be proud of their ancestors, as information about their life can be found in numerous documents, which confirm the mark they left in the history of Russia.
Double surnames are not common even in modern Russia. Yet, they were used, although not widely, among the nobility. The oldest double surnames combined princely and boyar names, which significantly increased the number of bearers of the same name, but reduced the number of double surnames among women. Actually, double surnames in Rus' were not a combination of the surnames of both partners formed upon marriage. Thus, the princely surname Pozharsky ceased to exist since Evdokia Ivanovna Pozharsky, granddaughter of Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky, married Prince Mikhail Alegukovich-Cherkassky.
Most often, double surnames were derived from names of principalities, domains and estates, which were inherited solely by sons. An increased number of the bearers of the same surname necessitated addition of the name of the immediate ancestor to the family name, which over time turned into a surname ending in -ov, -ev, and -in. Surnames with adjective endings were much less common.
Later, in the 18th century, honorary surnames, which consisted of two or more names, became popular in Russia. The surnames were originally derived from the name of the place, which made a person famous. For example, the name Rymniksky was added to the surname of Alexander Suvorov as a reward for the victory at Rymnik during the Russian-Turkish War. In some cases, the ‘awarded’ name implicated some significant event in the life of the country. For example, Alexander Markov, as a child, became a donor for smallpox patients because he was vaccinated against this disease. The effect of the vaccination was proven, and the name Ospenny was added to his surname.