Bulgarish Place Names in the Ukraine, Poland, and Hungary
At the second mill BC, Turkic tribe Bulgar, the ancestors of the modern-day Chuvash, primarily occupied the country on the left bank of the Dniester (Stetsyuk V., 1999, 85-95; Stetsyuk V. 2000, 28). The border between their habitat and the Teuton area lay across the watersheds of the Pripjat’ and Dniester. As this boundary was feebly marked,
linguistic contacts Bulgars with Teutons and other Germanic tribes were rather close, as the numerous lexical matches between the modern German and Chuvash languages make clear. This fact has been noted by several researchers working independently of each other (Kornilov G.E., 1973; Egorov G., 1993, Stetsyuk V., 1998). Bulgarians stay on the mentioned territory is confirmed by local place names, which can not be explained by means of the Slavic languages, but are understandable by means of Chuvash. The bulk of Bulgarish place names is concentrated in the Lviv region, but in enough large quantities they are also found in the Volyn region, in the Carpathian Mountains, and adjacent areas of Hungary and Poland.
While deciphering place names such phonetic matching correspondences of the Ukrainian and Chuvash languages have to be regarded:
The letters ă and ě reflect reduced sounds a and e. They correspond often to Ukrainian o (u) and respectively, but can also fall out.
Chuvash letter u correspond historically most often to sound a, seldom to u.
Chuvash letter a can correspond to Ukrainian a and o.
Chuvash letters e and i correspond to Ukrainian e and i though mutual substitutions are possible.
Chuvash consonants differ little from Ukrainian ones, but Chuvash previous sound k has evolved into x (kh) and g into k, that is, words with g don't exist in the Chuvash language do not, except for loan-words. Other features are:
Chuvash letters reflecting voiceless consonants may sound more voiced at the beginning of words and before vowels (for example, p sounds closer to b).
The letter ç reflects sound close to the Ukrainian z' or c'. Because the voiceless consonants often have a voiced pair, then ç may also correspond to Ukrainian dz.
Chuvash sound reflected by the letter č can be derived from the ancient Turkic t.
UKRAINE
The most convincing examples of Bulgarian origin of place names are those that can be associated with the geographical terrain features. For example, the town of Khyriv in Stary Sambir district of Lviv Region is located in an area rich in pine forests. Since the Chuvash xyr means "pine-tree ", the origin of the name from this word is probable. When examples could be found enough, the presence of the ancestors of the Bulgars in Western Ukraine should not have any doubt
Sometimes the connection of a name with peculiarities of a village is compelling. The village Havarechchyna not far from the town of Zolochiv in Lviv Region is a known for black pottery, which is manufactured according to the old original technology of firing clay. The name of the village just points out to the craft spread here – Chuv kăvar "embers" and ěççyni "a worker" united in kǎvarěççyni would mean "a worker with hot coals", that is "a potter". A common surname Bakusevich in this village may also have Bulgar origin, since an old man's name Pakkuç was used by Chuvash. Obviously the name of the village Kobylechchina, located in the south-east of Zolochiv also contains the same word as in Gavarechchina. For the first part may be suitable Chuv. hăpala "to burn" which in meaning and even phonetically stands close to the Chuv. kăvar. Then, the pottery was existed in this village too.
The name of the rocky ridge Tovtry in western Ukraine could be etymologized by Chuvash tu "mountain" and tără "top". As the name of the mountain in many other Turkic languages sounds as tau, the primary name of the ridge could be Tautără. The mountain range on the border of Slovakia and Poland Tatry had the same protoform too. Tovtry stretch from Zolochiv in the Lviv Region to northern Moldavia and appear as separate limestone ledges and ridges that protrude above the surrounding expressive, mostly fairly level terrain, ie translation as "mountain peaks" fits very well. On the contrary, the name for the village Voronyaki and special for the part of the ledge Holohory on the western outskirts of Podol Upland can be translated as "smooth , flat place" in accordance with Chuv vyrăn "place" and yak "smooth". Such explanation of the name suited for this area and is semantically close to name Holohory (Ukr. "naked mountains").
L. Krushelnic’ka distinguishes Cherepin-Lahodiv group in archaeological relics of Hallstatt period in north-eastern Carpathian region which is corresponded to Early-Scythian time . Many relics of this group are concentrated in a strip of land extending from the village of Cherepin in the Peremishljany district of L’viv Region, through Zvenyhorod and Lahodiv eastward along Holohory to the village of Makropil’ in Brody district. Many place names on this territory can be explained by means of the Chuvash language. Besides mentioned above Voronyaky we can find the village Yaktoriv here, which name is translated as “level-mountain” (Chuv. yak "smooth". and tǎrǎ “top"). There is southeast of the village of Zvenyhorod a mountain called Kamula, which at 471 meters above sea level is the highest point of Ukraine outside of the mountains of Carpathian and Crimea. Chuv. kamǎr čul “stone clump" (čul "stone") is a good match for the name of this mountain. Kamăr also well suited because different languages have similar words with similar meaning (Lat cumulus, Lith. gumulus "heap", Alb. gamule "pile of earth," Bash. kömrö "hump"). The name of the fast river Poltva flowing through the northern parts of Holohory also has Bulgarish origin (Chuv. paltla, “fast").
Since the toponyms that we have found in this small part of the Cherepin-Lahodiv group of monuments presumably originate from Scythian-Bulgarish names inspired by nearby natural formations, we have a basis for trying to etymologize other toponyms with unclear origins in the area via Chuvash. On the left bank of the Poltva is a village with the strange name Kutkir. Perhaps drawing from Chuv. kut, “a trunk,” and kěr, “strong,” this toponym may be understood to mean “strong trunk.” A cluster of settlements with original names is located several kilometers south of Lahodiv. Some of them may be deciphered by way of Chuvash: Korosno – Chuv. karas, “poor;” Peremyšlany – Chuv. pěrěm, “skein, hank;” eşěl, “green;” Kimyr – Chuv. kěměr, “heap, great lot”; Chupernosiv – Chuv. çăpar, “motley,” masa, “appearance;” Ushkovychi – Chuv. vyşkal, “similar.” A few more examples of Scythian-Bulgarish toponyms in L’viv Region follow:
The town of Khodoriv and the village of Khodorkivci south of Bibrka – Chuv. xatăr, “alive, cheerful” (the Scythians-Bulgars borrowed this word from Germanic languages: O.Eng. hador, O.U.G. heitar, “other”);
The village of (v.) Citula, west of Zhovkva – Chuv. çi, “to eat,” tulă, “wheat”;
v. Chyshky to the south-east of Lviv, v. Chyzhky on the north of Staro-Sambir district – Chuv chyshkă “a fist”.
v. Tetel’kivci near Brody – Chuv. tetel, “fishing network”;
v. Turady, west of Žydačiv – Chuv. turat, “branch, brushwood”;
v. Veryn, south of Mykolajiv, and the village of Veryny near Žovkva – Chuv. věrene, “maple”.
Further to the east of the Lviv Region, the amount of the place names of Bulgarish origin decreased gradually, but surprisingly, they form a clear chain of settlements at a distance of 10-20 km from each other (Sokal, Tetevchitsi, Radekhiv, Uvin, Corsiv, Tesluhiv, Basharivka, Tetilkivtsi near Pidkamin’, Kokorev, Tetilkivtsi near Kremenets, Tsetsenivka, Shumbar, Potutoriv, Keletentsi, Zhemelintsi, Sohuzhentsi, Savertsi, Sasanivka, Pedynka, Sulkivka, Ulaniv, Chepeli, Shepiyivka, Kordelivka, etc.) This chain extends from Sokal in the north of Lviv region above Radekhiv to Radivyliv, then turns east and runs south of Kremenets, Shumsk and Iziaslav to Lubar, then turns south-east, goes above Chmilnyk through Kalynivka, and there is not a chain, but a whole band of names goes in the direction to the Dnieper. However, dealing with the Bulgar toponymy continues, which is often acknowledged as the logical-semantic relationship of parts of words, and the cases of almost complete phonetic identity. Compare:
v. Gelmjaziv near Zolotonosha – Chuv. kělměç, “a beggar”;
v. Zhurzhinci, north of Zvenyhorodka in Cherkasy Region, and the village of Zhurzhevychi, north of Olevs’k in Zhytomyr Region – Chuv. şarşa, “smell”;
v. Kolontajiv, southwest of Krasnokuc’k in Kharkiv Region – Chuv. xullen, “quiet,” thuj, “wedding;”
v. Kacmaziv, southwest of Šarhorod in Vinnycja Region – Chuv. kuç, “eye”, masa, “appearance”;
v. Kretivci (from Kretel), southeast of Zbarazh; – Chuv. kěret, “open”, těl, “place” (the village is located on a level, open spot);
v. Kudashevo, south of Chyhyryn in Cherkasy Region – Chuv. kut, “buttocks,” aş, “meat”;
v. Kuyanivka in the southern surburbs of Bilopillja – Chuv. kuyan , “a hare”;
v. Ozdiv (from Oztel), southwest of Luc’k – Chuv. uçă, “open,” těl, “place” (the village is located on a level spot);
v. Potutory in Berezhany district and the village of Potutoriv, east of Kremenec’ in Ternopil’ Region – Chuv. păv, “to press, squeeze,” tutăr, “shawl”;
v. Takhtaulove near Poltava – Chuv. tăxtaval , “to interrupt”;
v. Temyrivci, west of Halych – Chuv. timěr, “iron”;
v. Tymar, south of Hajsin – Chuv. tymar, “a root”;
v. Urman’ in Berezhany district, Ternopil’ Region – Chuv. vărman, “forest" (the village is surrounded by forests);
v. Khalayidove, south-west of Monastyryšče in Cherkasy Region – Chuv. xăla, “red”, jyt, “a dog”;
v. Cepcevychi, west of Sarny in Rivno Region – Chuv. çip, “thread,” çěvě, “seam”;
v. Shuparka in Borshchiv district in Ternopil’ Region – Chuv. çăpărka, “a whip”;
v.v. Yaltushkiv near Bar and near Zhmerinka in Vinnycja Region – Chuv. yultaş, “a comrade”.
West of Cherkasy, a bog separates the Irdyn’ and Irdyn’ka, rivers that flow into the Dnieper below and above the city respectively. Looking at a map, one may observe that these two rivers were once part of a channel that separated from the Dnieper, leaving behind the island on which the city of Cherkasy was built. The Chuvash verb irtěn, “to be separated," expresses that situation rather well. The name of the city may be of Bulgarish origin as well. There are no fewer than ten settlements ending with -kassă, “village, street,” to be found in the Chuvash Republic in Central Russia (Egorov 1993, 38). Additionally, there is substantial variety in the first part of the word in the Chuvash language. There are also villages of Cherkasy in Lviv Region and Lublin Voivodship in eastern Poland.
There are very few toponyms of Bulgarish origin in Kirovohrad Region, but two of them may be etymologized via Chuvash. Though little remains of the woods around the village of Kamburliyivka, located in the southern suburbs of Pavlysh, they were once rich in mushrooms, as Chuv. kămpa, “mushroom" and purlă, “rich" allow us to assume. If the names of the village Kandaurovo and the river Kandaurovs’ki Vody derive from Chuv. kăn, “potash,” and tăvar, “salt," this observation pulls along a whole chain of considerations. It is assumed that the Ancient Bulgars could obtain salt in this area from evaporation, selling it to their neighbors (Stetsyuk V., 1998, 57). But here we are not concerned about everyday table salt, as it would require no particular significance of the word tăvar. There is reason to doubt that people knew how to extract soda from wood ashes by then. Thus the name of the river may arise from the name of some other salt from which was dissolved in the water. Herodotus wrote about a river with bitter water in Scythia. Describing the river Hypanis, he notes that its water is fresh at the source, but becomes very bitter at a distance of four days from the sea. He explains thusly:
The third river is the Hypanis, which starts from Scythia and flows from a great lake round which feed white wild horses; and this lake is rightly called “Mother of Hypanis.” From this then the river Hypanis takes its rise and for a distance of five days’ sail it flows shallow and with sweet water still; but from this point on towards the sea for four days’ sail it is very bitter, for there flows into it the water of a bitter spring, which is so exceedingly bitter that, small as it is, it changes the water of the Hypanis by mingling with it, though that is a river to which few are equal in greatness. This spring is on the border between the lands of the agricultural Scythians and of the Alazonians, and the name of the spring and of the place from which it flows is in Scythian Exampaios, and in the Hellenic tongue ‘The Sacred Ways.’ (Herodotus, IV, 52, translated by G.C. Macaulay).
Herodotus’s Hypanis is commonly corresponded to the Southern Buh river. Since the Kandaurovs’ki Vody flow into the Inhul, the Ancient Greek historian probably had another bitter river in mind. This may not be so important, however: deposits of potassium chloride (a source of potash) can be found in this locality, and so bitter water may flow through many of its rivers. In particular, B. Ribakov attributes a bitter taste to the water of the Black Tashlik, which flows into the Siniukha (Ribakov B.A., 1979, 36). More important for our purposes is the Bulgarish origin of the river name Kandaurovs’ki Vody, a real oddity for this area.
Bulgarish place names in the Carpathians
Mountain place names
The highest mountain of Ukraine is named of Hoverla (2061m above sea level). The decoding of the name by means of the Slavic and Romanian languages gives no acceptable results. In view of Chuv kǎvar “hot coal, embers” with the suffix -la which is used for formation of adjectives, the name of mountain could be translated as “puffing by heat”. Such name would suit well for the mountain of eruptive origin, but geographers deny such origin of Hoverla. (Volcanic Carpathians are located at the border of the Transcarpathian lowland). However very heated stone scattering of Hoverla in summer and it could be reason for the name of the mountain.
Mt Breskul or Bretskul (1911 м). There is a lake on the South-West slope of the mountain. Obviously Chuv părăç "icy" and kўlě "a lake" are present in the name. Cf. Turkul.
Mt Dancyr (1848 м). If to take into consideration Chuv tun “to break off” and çyr ”steep, gully”, one can assume that a part of mountain broke away once, forming a precipice. Both the reason for the name of the mountain and phonetic correspondence are good. It is necessary to mean, that Chuv u corresponds often. Ukr a.
Mt. Dzembronia (1877 м). Strange for Ukrainians name could be explained as “a log (possibly tree) of monstrous appearance” taking into consideration Chuv çam “monster” and pĕrene “a log”. (Cuv ç is spelled as z’). The name for a mountain is not very suitable, if only a single tree of strange form was being grow near-by. However the phonetic correspondence is very good, nothing better in other languages was found.
Mountain range Karakaza (highest point 1558 м). Chuv. kukār "crooked, sinuous" and aça "belt" agree with range form.
Part of landscape Kalatura – “yellow mountain” (Chuv khălă “yellow” and tără “a mountain, top”). Though Roum tură "a rock" can be taken in consideration for this and two next names too.
Mountain Pass Karatura – “black maountain” (Chuv khura “dark” and tără “a mountain, top”).
Mountain range Karmatura – in view of the latter names Chuv tără "mountain, top" is present here too. Chuv karmash "to stretch" can be suggested for the first part of the name.
Mt. Kukul (1539 м). Chuv kukǎl “pie, tart” befits phonetic perfectly to the name. Naming reason of it is not quite clear, as unknown is what form of pies baked ancient Bulgars.
There are in the Carpathians a few mountains and peaks with similar names Manchul, Menchul, Menchil. Undoubtedly they have to be translated as "a great stone" (Chuv. măn "great", chul "stone"). There are in the Carpathians tops which have in their names the word "stone" – Great Stone, Sharp Stone, Painted Stone etc.
Mt. Mingol(1085 м). Chuv phonetic correspondences min “roses, ruddiness” and kul “to laugh” are unacceptable for the name of mountain. Most likely, this is a modification of the name Manchul (see).
The tops of mountains having name Magura are фдыщ present in Carpathians in great numbers. As the word became also denominative meaning, their quantity cannot be counted. Certainly, it can be accepted to consideration Slavic word gora “a mountain”, but prefix ma- remains incomprehensible as also phonetic transformation. Cuv mǎkǎr “hill, bump” suits for the name of mountain. The ending –а was accepted under influence of Slavic gora.
The name of a small mountain Tempa (1089 m) has for the first part in the Chuvash language good correspondence: tĕm "hill, mound". The second part can be something like Chuv. pÿ "body, figure, growth."
A certain lake is situated at the foot of the mountain Turkul, what gives grounds to consider for the translation of the name Chuv tără "mountain, top" and kўlě "a lake". Cf. Breskul.
Mountain Pass Shurdyn could be explained probably translated as “angry locality”(Chuv shart “anger” and en “side, land”). There are in Tatarstan near to the border of Chuvashia some villages having the similar and also obscure names Širdany. The aul (a village) of Širdan, founded by either Chuvash or was known too.
Rivers
The names of Carpathian rivers could be also explained by means of Chuvah but phonetic correspondences wish to be better sometimes. However, in principle, the names of rivers must be more submitted to modifications then the names of mountains, because they are in more frequent using as settlements are located mainly on river banks, not near-by mountains.
The river Tysa. This name can stem from the plant yew (Ukrainian tys) which was wide spread in Carpathians in great numbers many years ago, but we could take into consideration Chuv tase “clean” which good suits to river name. If the contamination of two meanings took place, the explanation of the name can be very plausible.
The names of some Carpathians rivers have endings -shava, -shva, -zhava. Chuv shyv “water, river” suits to names as an appellative very well. The ending –а could be corresponded to the special Turkic grammar form (izafet shyvĕ). Thus, the name of the river Borzhava is transformed out of Chuv pǎr šyvĕ “ice river” (pǎr “ice”). The name for a mountain river suits just perfectly.
The name of the river Irshava could be explained as “morning water” (Chuv ir "morning").
The river Kevele , lt of the Tisza. Chuv. xĕvellĕ "sunny".
The river Salatruk, lt of the Bistritsa-Nadvirnyanska, rt of the Dniester. The looks Turkic. The first part may have Chuv salat "to scatter, sprinkle," but the translation of the second part is difficult.
The river Sutshava (Rom Suceava), rt of the Siret, lt of the Danube and the city of Suceava in Romania – Chuv sĕt "milk, milky", shyvĕ "river".
The river Tevshak, lt of the Apshitsa, rt of the Tisza. Obviously, the name should be translated as "winding" (Chuv tĕv "loop", -shak – adjective suffix).
The river Tereshova. The first part of the name could mean “mountain, top” (Chuv tǎrǎ). Thus, the name of the river is “the flowing from the mountain”.
The river Tereshova. The first part of the name could mean “mountain, top” (Chuv tǎrǎ). Thus, the name of the river is “the flowing from the mountain”.
The name of the river Teresva was, obviously, transformed and could be explained by the same way as the name of the Terešova. The transformation occurred in order to avoid mixing two names because the Terešova if the tributary of the Teresva.
Names of settlements
V. Akreshory. The names of some villages in Carpathians have the same component -shory. There is in Hungarian the word sor (it is spelled as shor) “a row, line” but Hungarian place names in the Ukrainian Carpathians are practically absent, therefore one can take to consideration Chuv shur “a swamp”. One can see in the first part of the name Romanian acru “sour”, but as the second part by means of Romanian cannot be explained, it is possible to take Chuv ukăr “tannic matter” which, obviously, has the same origin as Romanian word has. Thus the name can be explained as "a tannic swamp".
The name of the town of Bolekhiv could be related Chuv pulǎx ”fertility”.
V. Dashava. This name could be translated as “mountain water” (Chuv tu “mountain” and shyvĕ “river”).
The name of the city of Kalush has good correspondence in Chuv хulaš „a hillfort, site” out of xula "a town". Many of the Turkic languages have qala/kala "fortress, city", which is considered to be Arabic borrowing qalha "fortress, citadel". However, all these words can be based on an ancient Nostratic root kal-/kel-, which had sense "to hide, protect", received in different languages meaning "dwelling, building, fortress, town" (Hebrew kele "prison", Lat. cella "camera, cell," O-Ind. çālā "a house", Eng hall, etc.). See also Kolomyia, Kolochava.
V. Kevelove. The name can be explained differently: Chuv kĕvĕ “melody”, kĕvĕle "to sing, play", kivĕ "old", lav "a cart", kivel "to became old". However Chuv xĕvel "sun" and xĕvellĕ "sunny" suit best of all.
The city of Kolomyia, v. Kolochava. The names of these settlements can stem from Ukr kolo “round” but the question is not clear -chava. In this connection Chuv khula "city" can be considered too. Such explanation would be very plausible bu tnothing suitable was found in Chuvash except măya "necklace of coins" (from măy "neck") for the second part of the name Kolomyia. Chuv shyvĕ "river" would suit for the second part of the name Kolochava.
V. Kosmach. Ukrainian kosmač means “a shaggy man” but we can consider as appellative also Chuv kasmač “a mattock, hook”.
V. Lumshory. Taking to consideration Chuv lǎm “moisture, humidity” and shur “a swamp” the translation of the name could be “a moist swamp”.
Some settlements in Carpathians and Fore-Carpathians have strange for Ukrainians names Sykhiv. Ukrainian ending -iv could be added to Chuv root sykh “watchful”.
V. Sheparivtsi. The name could be related to Chuv shǎpǎr “a besom”.
The village Sheshory. The name could be explained as “a wet swamp” {Chuv shü “to be watered” and shur “a swamp”). Something like to Lumshory (see).
The toponyms alike Shypot, Shepit are very widespread in the Carpathians. The villages, small rivers, waterfalls, can have such names, in general all that looks nice. Chuv shep “nice” and the affix -at "making" can explain these names.
The names of two villages of Tseniava in Ivano-Francovsk Region could be related Chuv çěně “new”.
The city of Turka. It is believed that the name origins from the word tur "a bull". Indeed, there are in the Carpathian Mountains the names of settlements, having in its composition the adjective turiy , but in this case remains unknown suffix – k -. Turka has long been a trading center on the way from Hungary to Galicia, so we can consider the origin of the name from Old Bulg. *turku "site, market place." Slavic torg and similar words in many languages origin from this word. The Chuvash language has no such word, but has derived ones from it. This topic is discussed in the section on For-historic trade.
V. Voronenka. A village is located among mountains on unusual for mountains and enough large space. The name could have Slavic origin, but we could consider Chuv vyrǎn “place, space” and yak “level, smooth, even”. Obviously, at first the village was named Voroniaka or Voroniaky and later adopted the Slavic suffix – enka.
V. Vorokhta. This village is located into mountain canyon, therefore Chuv varak “ravine” and and tu “mountain” suits perfectly.
The city of Yaremča. Chuv yaram “stripe, strap” and chav “to dig” suits for the explanation of the name.
Two villages have the same name Zhukotyn (in the Lviv and Ivano-Francovsk Regions). The name can have the Slavic origin, although in this case the suffix of –otyn looks strange. But the matter is that one of historical Chuvashian cities had exactly such name. Then we have a reason to consider Chuv çăka “a linden” as an appellative for the name of settlements having linden-trees. There are many linden-trees in v. the Zhukotyn of Lviv district.
Bulgarish place names in the Hungary
After the analysis of the Carpathian toponymy for the presence of traces of Ancient Bulgars, an attempt was made to find them also in adjacent areas of Hungary. As it turned out, there are some place names can also have Bulgarish origin:
The village of (v.) Abasár in Heves County – Chuv upa “a bear”, shur “swamp”;
v. Arló in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County – Chuv urlav “cross-piece”;
v. Buj in Szabolcz-Szatmár-Bereg County to the north of Nyíregyháza – Chuv puy “rich”;
v. Bük in Vas County – Chuv pükh “to swell”;
the city (c.) Veszprém – Chuv veç “finish”, pĕrĕm “a skein”; cf. Peremarton;
c. Dunakeszi in Pest County – the first part of the word ші the Hungarian name of the Danube, the second part corresponds to the Сhuv kasă "street, village", a very common formative of Chuvash place names;
t. Zahony in Szabolcz-Szatmár-Bereg County – Chuv çăkhan’ “a raven”;
v. Inke in Somogy County – Chuv inke “daughter–in-law”;
v. Komjati in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County – Chuv khum “a wave”, yăt “to raise”;
v. Onga in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County to the east of Miskolc – Chuv unkă “a ring”;
v. Pakod in Zala County – Chuv dial. păl “to fall asleep”, ut “a horse”;
t. Pásztó in Nógrá County – Chuv pustav “cloth”;
the settlement of Peremarton to the east of Veszprém – pĕrĕm “a skein”, urtan “to hang down”; cf. Veszprém ;
v. Sály in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County to the south of Miskolc – Chuv sulă “a raft”;
v. Tarpa in Szabolcz-Szatmár-Bereg County – Chuv tărpa “a chimney”;
t. Tata in Komarom-Esztergom County – Chuv tută “satisfied”;
t. Tura in Pest County – Chuv tără 1. “a mountain”, 2. “clear”;
v. Ják in Vas County – Chuv yăk “misfortune”;
r. Kálló , the right tribute (rt) of the Berettyó, rt of the Sebes-Körös, rt of the Körös, the left tribute (lt) of the Tisza, lt of the Danube – Chuv khulla “slow”;
r. Kerka, lt of the Mura, lt of the Drava, rt of the Danube – Chuv kĕrke “a trout’;
r. Laskó, rt of the Tisza, lt of the Danube – Chuv lashka “to plod”;
r. Takta, lt of the Sajo, rt of the Tisza, lt of the Danube – Chuv tăl “to pour”, tu “a mountain”;
r. Zala, flows in Lake Balaton – Chuv çula “to lick”.
Bulgarish place names in Poland
In the west, the Bulgarish territory was apparently limited by the rivers Vistula and San. At least, there were found in the Lublin region of Poland several place names, which can have Bulgar origin:
v. Budzyń to the south of Bilgoraj, v. Budzyń on the Ukrainian-Polish boundary across the Ukrainian town of Krakovets – Chuv puç "head", puçăn "to start";
c. Warszawa (Warsaw) – to Chuv shyvĕ "river" can be suited by Cuv var "ravine" but Chuv văra "mouth" is better, as Warsaw lies at the mouth of the river Western Bug flowing in the Vistula;
v. Zamch to the southwest of Tomaszów Lubelski – Chu çămkha "a ball" or çamka "forehead";
r. Kaczawa (from Katshava), rt of the Oder – Chuv khǎt "comfort", shyvĕ "river";
v. Kocudza between Zamkh and Tomaszów Lubelski – Chuv kaçă "crossbar, walkways" and çu "to wash";
c. Pizuny to the south of Tomaszów Lubelski – Chuv piçĕ "strong" and ana "strip of land, paddock";
v. Puchacze to the northeast of Lyubaczów – Chuv păkh "feces" and aca "a child";
v. Tarszawa to the north of Jędrzejow in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship – Chuv tără "clean" and shyvĕ "river".
The spread of place names shows that the Bulgars occupied a large territory, but later were mixed with newcomers. It should be noted that Old Bulgarish place names in the Carpathians, Hungary, and Poland have been left not by ancestors of the mordern Chuvash. The Bulgars settled the Carpathian Mountains, moving to the mountains from the territory of modern Lviv region. Coming down from the mountains, rather most of them went further, settling the territory of present-day Hungary, and possibly the southern part of Slovakia, where a few place names can have Bulgarish origin. Other part of Bulgars moved along the northern slopes of the Carpathians and settled on the lands of present-day Poland. So far ancestors of the Chuvash may be that part of the Ancient Bulgars, who from the territory of Western Ukraine went to the Black Sea and Azov steppes. Old Bulgarish population in the Western Ukraine remained not only in the Carpathian Mountains but also on the plains. Subsequently, it was assimilated by the Ukrainians, but Bulgars had left their mark on the Ukrainian folk culture, especially in embroidery, in carving, songs. Hungarian-Bulgar contacts, which began in Scythian times in the northern Black Sea coast, could be resumed again when the Magyars under the pressure of Pechenegs crossed the Carpathians and found its home on the territory which is occupied by them now (Hungarian term honfoglalas). The traces of these contacts is particularly evident in the languages but stratify them is difficult. That small part of the Bulgars, which settled in Poland , except for place names do not leave marked trails by themselves.
The list of the place names of the Bulgarish origin while further research is complemented and corrected, what requires a permanent correcting illustrative maps and it's pretty hard work which also harm the quality of cards. In this regard, the new additions and removal of random coincidences will be placed in the system Google Map (see below)
