I'm Argentine with a Ukrainian last name, originally written Явтушенко. My Russian father and grandmother are deceased (and they didn't have a clue as to its meaning — they weren't Ukrainian speakers). I know that the ending -шенко is very common in Ukraine, but that, in addition to a song called "Where do you go, Явтуше?" (partially translated) is all I know.
What's the meaning of my last name, Явтушенко?
Явтушенко is a family name based on the personal name Явтух and the suffix -енко ("son of"), so Явтушенко is "son of Явтух". There's also another family name that's more familiar to Russian ears and has the same origins — Евтушенко.
Явтух is a short form of the name Евстихий, which has Greek origins and is translated into Russian as "счастливый, преуспевающий".
It seems that the form Евтихий is a more popular name of the same origin. Here's an article on Wikipedia:
Евти́хий (греч. Εὐτυχής, Εὐτύχιος, букв. «счастливый», «великодушный», «весёлый») — мужское имя греческого происхождения.
These names were given to children based on the calendar of Orthodox Saints (святцы), so in the Wikipedia page, you'll see a number of Orthodox Saints who had this name.
