r/rusyn • u/BNTGsheep • Aug 03 '25
Are Hutsuls Rusyn?
My heritage is Ukrainian and Hutsul and I have heard quite a debate over if hutsul is Ukrainian, Rusyn, or it’s own thing and I’m not really sure so I’m just curious if I’m Rusyn then.
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u/freescreed Aug 03 '25
What village(s) are your ancestors from?
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u/BNTGsheep Aug 03 '25
Serafyntsi.
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u/freescreed Aug 03 '25
Did they migrate from the highlands to the Horodenka area village?
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u/BNTGsheep Aug 03 '25
Well I know one of my family members did as the name comes from rural mountain regions
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u/BNTGsheep Aug 03 '25
But the memebers form that village I don’t know
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u/freescreed Aug 03 '25
Unfortunately, there's no resource for Hutsuls that is like the list of Lemko last names, but there are a few last names that were unique to specific villages.
To your original question, few Hutsuls in Ukraine see themselves as Hutsuls and Hutsuls only. According to sources including Ukraine's turn-of-the-millennium census and Maria Lavruk's survey, identifying with the name Hutsul is fairly unpopular among residents in the Hutsul region in Ukraine. Some sources indicate that there are some Hutsuls in Ukraine who see themselves as part of a Rusyn nation that is distinct from Ukrainians. Most Hutsuls in Ukraine see themselves as Ukrainian. In Romania, it is different. There are many among present-day Romania's small Hutsul population who see themselves as either simply Hutsuls or Rusyns and not as Ukrainians. There may be some interesting works forthcoming from G. Mattalia and Renata Soukand that include questions about regional identity.
Over the 19th and 20th c., there were changes in Hutsul identities, and the future might bring changes.
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u/Hladnareka 28d ago
Hutsuls are part of the sub-ethnic groups of the Ukrainian people. And Rusyns are separation group of Carpathian Slavs
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u/engelse Aug 03 '25
Only about 30 Hutsul villages in historic Hungary (modern-day Transcarpathia and Maramureș County) are considered part of the Carpatho-Rusyn homeland. If your ancestors were from the Horodenka area, they would not be considered Carpatho-Rusyn.