Gontar is a Russian occupational surname that refers to a roofer or shingler. The occupational meaning is obsolete, as with many such surnames including the equivalent in English Shingler, and German Schindler. Gontar derives from Russian gont (гонт), shingle,https://context.reverso.net/translation/russian-english/гонт from Polish gont, shingle,https://en.bab.la/dictionary/polish-english/gontDictionary of the Ukrainian language in 11 volumes, Naukova Dumka, Kyiv 1980 from Middle High German gant, beam,Dictionary of the Ukrainian language in 11 volumes, Naukova Dumka, Kyiv 1980 from Latin cantherius, rafter,Ulrich, Roger B. Roman Woodworking. Yale University Press, 2007, p.366 from Greek kanthelion (κανθήλιον), rafter.https://lsj.gr/wiki/κανθήλια The English word gantry also derives from the Latin cantherius.
The same slavic word for shingle, and the surname, also exist in Ukrainian as both Gontar and Hontar, and in Polish, Gontar.https://en.bab.la/dictionary/polish-english/gont The Ukrainian spelling "Гонтар" is pronounced close to what would be in English Hontar, reflecting the kind of difference in Horowitz and Gorowitz, and H versus G in other versions of that name.Г in Ukrainian indicates a slightly fricative H sound. In Russian, Г sounds as a hard g, written in Ukrainian by a Ghe with upturn, Ґ. Many people in Ukraine, however, appear to use the Gontar pronunciation. The usual Russian Cyrillic spelling is Гонтарь.
As spelled Gontar, 75% of people bearing the surname live in Russia, at 3,192. Yet 99% of people bearing the Hontar spelling live in Ukraine, and more than double the bearers of the Gontar spelling worldwide.
Notable people with the surname include:
Abram Yutkovich Gontar (1908–1981), Soviet Jewish poet and novelist of Ukrainian origin, participant in the Kengir uprising Anastasiia Gontar, Russian Paralympic swimmer Anna Hontar, Ukrainian Paralympic swimmer Nikolai Gontar (born 1949), Russian footballer Olga Gontar (born 1979), Belarusian rhythmic gymnast Viktor Petrovich Gontar (1905–1987), son-in-law of Nikita Khrushchev; from 1954, administrative director of the Russian Drama Theater and Kyiv Opera; later administrative director of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine
See also
Gonchar
References