Georgian family names

At first glance it might seem like everybody in Georgia is vaguely related, because all their names seem similar, all those "idze"s, "adz"s and "shvili"s. In fact, they are just the Georgian equivalent of all of the Northwest's Johnsons, or "John's son."

"Dze" is Old Georgian for son, and "shvili" Old Georgian for child. And whether someone is a "dze" or "shvili" depends on which side of the country his or her family comes from. The "dze" -former Soviet Foreign Minister and Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, or choreographer Giorgi Balanchivadze, who thought George Balanchine looked better in the program -- are from western Georgia. The "shvili" -- Josef Dzhugashvili, who thought Josef Stalin looked better in the pogrom -- are from eastern Georgia. (Stalin was born in Gori, which is west of Tbilisi but still a long way from the Black Sea, and is reportedly the only city left in the world to still have a big statue of Joe out in front of the town hall.)

Some Georgians have less common names ending in "Uri," "ani," "is" and "ua," like the wonderful Georgian singer Maia Jabua.

-Greg Palmer