Aminoff family

The family originated with boyars from Veliky Novgorod and hails from the clan of Ratsha, a court servant (tiun) to Prince Vsevolod II of Kiev. Ratsha moved to Kyiv from the Holy Roman Empire in 1146.[1][2] It is assumed that Ratsha moved to Kyiv from Bohemia.[3] Later he moved from Kyiv to Novgorod.[2]

Later it split in two branches in the 17th century after Time of Troubles: the Russian and Nordic.[4]

The Russian and Nordic Aminovs are a lineage of the Kuritsyn boyar family, who, in turn, were offspring of the Novgorodian Kamensky clan. The Russian branch is thought to be extinct.

The Nordic branches and their members reside in Sweden and in Finland, and its genealogy branches are represented in Sweden's and Finland's Houses of Nobility.[5][6]

Aminoff's is a traditional military family but in 1900s and 2000s they have been involved more in business and industry and as public servants. Aminoff noble family is still active, and it has plenty of family members in Sweden and in Finland.[7]

The Aminov family claimed their descent from the legendary Ratsha, who is also believed to be the progenitor of the Pushkins, Buturlins and other families.[8] The Aminovs are actual descendants of the Kamensky family through boyar to Grand Duke Vasily I of Moscow Roman Ivanovich Kamensky, who owned the Kamenka of Bezhetsky uyezd, Veliky Novgorod.[9] Roman Ivanovich was a descendant of Gavrila Alexich, boyar to Prince Alexander Nevsky, through which they are direct descendants of Ratsha. Ratsha's descendant Ivan Yuryevich (Volkov) syn Kurytsyn nicknamed Amin',[8] the son of Yuri Ggirogyevich Kamensky nicknamed 'Volk' (i.e. wolf) is the actual progenitor of the family. Nikita Ivanovich Aminov took part in the siege of Kazan in 1552, where he was killed in action.[8] The Russian branch died out in the 18th century.[8]

The Swedish branch of the Aminoff family was introduced at the Swedish House of Nobility in 1650, No. 446. The Swedish branch was established in 1618 when The great-grandson of Nikita Aminov, Fyodor Grigoryevich Aminov (c. 1560 – March 28, 1628), voivode at Ivangorod. In 1611, he surrendered the town to the Swedes and switched to their side. He moved to the Swedish territory with his immediate family with nine other families called Russian bayors.[8] Soon he was appointed the governor of the Swedish Gdov.[8] Teodor Gregorievitj Aminoff (Fyodor Grigoryevich Aminov) was then naturalized as a Swedish nobleman.[10] Fyodor Aminov's mother was Princess Helena Ivanova Golitsin, daughter of Great Novgorod's Governor, Prince Ivan Jurivich Golitsin.[11]

The Finnish branch of the Aminoff family,[12][13] a subbranch of the Swedish branch, was introduced at the Finnish House of Nobility in the 1800s. Finnish family members are descendants of Captain Gregori Aminoff and Märta Ramsay, a descendant of the Scottish Clan Ramsay.[14] The Finnish branch is reportedly seen as one of the biggest noble families of Finland,[15] in terms of number of members, along with Schauman, Blåfield and Ehrnrooth.[16] Prominent members of the Finnish branch include: Ivar Aminoff, Finnish Minister of Defense.

• Johan Fredrik Aminoff (1756–1842), Count, General, Statesman
• Ivar Aminoff (1868–1931), Defense Minister of Finland, Politician
• Alexis Aminoff (1897–1977), diplomat and Chamberlain of Duke and Duchess of Västergötland
• Carl Göran Aminoff (1916–2001), CEO of Insurance Company Varma and Minister for Foreign Trade of Finland
• Marianne Aminoff (1916–1984), a Swedish film actress

• Gregori Aminoff Prize

• Aminoff, Berndt Herman; Aminoff, Torsten Gregori (1978). Släkten Aminoff (in Swedish). Ekenäs tryckeri. ISBN 9789519000602.
• Slägten Aminoff. Efter kaptenen Tönnes Aminoffs efterlemnade manuskript (in Swedish). Stockholm. 1898.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to House of Aminoff.

• Genealogy of the Aminoff family
• Aminoff at Riddarhuset.se
• Aminoff family website