Documented surname branches from the late medieval period to the modern family. 6 early branches, 47 people and 3 new sources. These branches are shown side by side, never joined: there is no proven single biological Tokmakov line from the 1500s to the present.
Same surname and overlapping period do not establish descent. Nothing on this page is drawn into the documented Transbaikal, Australian or modern family branches.
The Ivan the Terrible adviser story
Family legend
Family tradition says an early Tokmakov was an adviser to Ivan the Terrible.
The family memory has a strong historical core, but it appears to compress two generations: Ivan Tokmak created the princely name-line, and his son Yuri became the trusted servant of Ivan IV.
Historical evidence
Prince Ivan Vasilyevich “Tokmak” gave the princely Tokmakov line its name and served as a voevoda under Vasily III, dying before 1550.
His son, Prince Yuri Ivanovich Tokmakov, rose under Ivan IV.
A 2023 peer-reviewed study by Vitaly V. Penskoy concludes that Yuri entered the inner circle of trusted persons of Tsar Ivan IV.
Yuri was made an okolnichy in 1573, commanded artillery and held Moscow defence responsibilities during the 1572 Crimean invasion.
The princely line is then recorded as ending with Yuri's childless son Ivan Yurievich in 1590.
Still unknown
“Adviser” was never a formal office. Yuri is best described as a trusted member of Ivan IV's inner circle and a senior military and state official — not as chief or personal adviser.
No documentary evidence connects any living Tokmakov branch to Yuri or to the princely Tokmakov-Zvenigorodsky family.
Branch lanes
Velyaminov-Tokmak surname branch
Historical surname branch
late 15th to 16th century · Muscovy — Velyaminov genealogy
Separate early surname branch. No connection to the princely Tokmakov-Zvenigorodsky or modern Transbaikal Tokmakovs is proven.
Connection to the modern family: not proven
Timofey Velyaminovich Tokmak
Тимофей Вельяминович Токмак
15th century; exact dates not established
Historical genealogical compilation
Peter Timofeevich, Velyaminov-Tokmak line
Пётр Тимофеевич
exact dates not established
Historical genealogical compilation
Vasily Timofeevich, Velyaminov-Tokmak line
Василий Тимофеевич
exact dates not established
Documented branch ended
No recorded descendants / branch ends here. The Velvet Book records him as childless. Descendants can only be added by challenging this with a source.
Danilo Timofeevich, Velyaminov-Tokmak line
Данило Тимофеевич
exact dates not established
Documented branch ended
No recorded descendants / branch ends here. The Velvet Book records him as childless. Descendants can only be added by challenging this with a source.
Ivan Petrovich, nicknamed Bogdan
Иван Петрович, прозвище Богдан
exact dates not established
Documented branch ended
No recorded descendants / branch ends here. Recorded as childless and killed at Sokol. This closes the recorded male descent of the Velyaminov-Tokmak branch. Descendants can only be added by challenging this with a source.
Branch endpoint: Ivan Petrovich “Bogdan” — childless, killed at Sokol
Princely Tokmakov-Zvenigorodsky branch
Branch ended
early 16th century to 1590 · Muscovy, Pskov, Dvina
Important surname-history branch. It is NOT proven ancestry of the Transbaikal or modern Tokmakov family.
Connection to the modern family: not proven
Prince Vasily Ivanovich Nozdrevaty-Zvenigorodsky
Князь Василий Иванович Ноздреватый-Звенигородский
? – d. 1512
Historical genealogical compilation
Prince Ivan Vasilyevich Tokmak Nozdrevaty-Zvenigorodsky
Князь Иван Васильевич Токмак Ноздреватый-Звенигородский
mentioned 1538 – d. before 1550
Academic historical analysis
Prince Yuri Ivanovich Tokmakov-Zvenigorodsky
Князь Юрий Иванович Токмаков-Звенигородский
? – d. 1578
Academic historical analysis
Prince Vasily Ivanovich Tokmakov-Zvenigorodsky
Князь Василий Иванович Токмаков-Звенигородский
Dates not established
Documented branch ended
No recorded descendants / branch ends here. Historical genealogical material records him as childless. Descendants can only be added by challenging this with a source.
Prince Ivan Yurievich 'Cherny' Tokmakov-Zvenigorodsky
Князь Иван Юрьевич Чёрный Токмаков-Звенигородский
? – d. 18 February 1590
Documented branch ended
No recorded descendants / branch ends here. Recorded childless. End of the documented male princely Tokmakov-Zvenigorodsky line, 18 February 1590. Descendants can only be added by challenging this with a source.
Branch endpoint: Prince Ivan Yurievich “Cherny” — childless, died 18 February 1590
Odoev: Kuchuk/Kochek line
Research branch
1615 – 1699 · Odoev district, Petrovskoye
These are important records that may eventually bridge the 16th and 17th centuries, but they are not proven descendants of the princely branch and are not proven ancestors of the Transbaikal branch.
Connection to the princely and Transbaikal branches: not proven
Kuchuk/Kochek Tokmakov
Dates not established
Research root name
Andrey Kochekov son Tokmakov
recorded Petrovskoye
Archival index / transcription
Lukerya, wife/widow of Andrey
recorded widow recorded 1681
Archival index / transcription
Lyubim Andreev son Tokmakov
recorded service 1654, 1675
Archival index / transcription
Venedikt Andreev son Tokmakov
Dates not established
Archival index / transcription
Yakov Andreev son Tokmakov
Dates not established
Archival index / transcription
Ivan Lyubimov son Tokmakov
recorded 1681, 1686, 1698
Archival index / transcription
Timofey Lyubimov son Tokmakov
recorded 1690
Archival index / transcription
Vasily Timofeev son Tokmakov
recorded 1699
Archival index / transcription
Fedor Timofeev son Tokmakov
recorded 1699
Archival index / transcription
Odoev: Ivanovich cluster
Research branch
1620 – 1692 · Odoev district, Petrovskoye
Includes a researcher-proposed common father, Ivan Tokmakov c.1560?, shown as a hypothesis only.
Connection to the princely and Transbaikal branches: not proven
Andrey Ivanov son Tokmakov
recorded Petrovskoye, 1620 and 1646
Archival index / transcription
Fedor Andreev son Tokmakov
recorded 1670
Archival index / transcription
Emanuel Andreev son Tokmakov
recorded 1670
Archival index / transcription
Fedor Ivanov son Tokmakov
recorded service from 1623
Archival index / transcription
Marfa, wife/widow of Fedor
recorded widow 1667
Archival index / transcription
Prokofiy Fedorov son Tokmakov
recorded 1667
Archival index / transcription
Perfiliy Fedorov son Tokmakov
recorded 1667
Archival index / transcription
Artemiy Fedorov son Tokmakov
recorded service 1656
Archival index / transcription
Vasily Artemiev son Tokmakov
recorded 1667, 1692
Archival index / transcription
Ivan Tokmakov (proposed)
Иван Токмаков
c.1560? · researcher reconstruction
Research hypothesis
Novosil: Peter / Matvey / Efrem cluster
Research branch
1596 – 1685 · Novosil district
Peter Ivanov son Tokmakov appears in a service record in 1596 — the earliest dated surname record in this layer. His c.1581 birth is estimated from a minimum service age, not recorded.
Connection to the princely and Transbaikal branches: not proven
Peter Ivanov son Tokmakov
recorded service record 1596
Archival index / transcription
Taras Petrov son Tokmakov
recorded 1620-1638 and later service references
Archival index / transcription
Maria Tarasova daughter Tokmakova
recorded 1672
Archival index / transcription
Anna Tarasova daughter Tokmakova
recorded 1672/1679
Archival index / transcription
Matvey Ivanov son Tokmakov
Dates not established
Parentage inferred — research only
Larion Matveev son Tokmakov
recorded 1615-1638
Archival index / transcription
Zhdan Matveev son Tokmakov
recorded 1628-1638
Archival index / transcription
Kuzma Matveev son Tokmakov
recorded 1628-1635
Archival index / transcription
Efrem Ivanov son Tokmakov
recorded 1615-1638
Archival index / transcription
Yakov Efremov son Tokmakov
recorded 1645/1646
Archival index / transcription
Lukyan Efremov son Tokmakov
recorded 1651, 1684, 1685
Archival index / transcription
Grigory Lukyanov son Tokmakov
recorded 1673
Archival index / transcription
Leon/Leontiy Efremov son Tokmakov
recorded 1651, 1684, 1685
Archival index / transcription
Kirill Leontiev son Tokmakov
recorded 1673
Archival index / transcription
Novosil: Savely line
Research branch
1627 – 1674 · Novosil district, Vysokaya
These are important records that may eventually bridge the 16th and 17th centuries, but they are not proven descendants of the princely branch and are not proven ancestors of the Transbaikal branch.
Connection to the princely and Transbaikal branches: not proven
Savely Tokmakov
Dates not established
Research root name
Savva/Savil Savelyev son Tokmakov
recorded Vysokaya, 1627-1635
Archival index / transcription
Denis Savelyev son Tokmakov
recorded estate record 1639
Archival index / transcription
Denis Savilov son Tokmakov
recorded 1674
Archival index / transcription
Pimen Savvin son Tokmakov
recorded 1673
Archival index / transcription
Onisim Pimenov son Tokmakov
recorded 1673
Archival index / transcription
Pimon Pimenov son Tokmakov
recorded 1673
Archival index / transcription
Where an RGADA inventory/transcription explicitly gives a patronymic, inheritance or parent-child wording, render that relationship as archival-index supported. Where the 2025 researcher inferred a common father called Ivan around 1560 from chronology and patronymics, show a hypothesis card only, never a solid parent node.
Eastern and modern branches
Part of the documented Transbaikal / modern Tokmakov genealogy. No documentary link to the 16th-century princely Tokmakov-Zvenigorodsky branch has yet been proven. They are documented in their own views: historic tree, family tree explorer and heritage. Nerchinsk / Transbaikal, Tsasuchey, Hada-Bulak / Second Chindant, Katherine / Northern Territory Australia, the Alexander Mikhailovich branch and the Fedor branch are all unchanged by this surname research.
Research gaps
No descent from the princely branch
Ivan Yurievich 'Cherny' Tokmakov-Zvenigorodsky, died 1590, childless → Odoev/Novosil Tokmakov surname clusters
Do not connect. Show as same-surname historical context only.
Moscow City University Journal of Historical Studies, 2023, No. 4 (52) · DOI 10.25688/20-76-9105.2023.52.4.02 · Supports: Yuri Ivanovich Tokmakov's career under Ivan IV; Yuri entering the inner circle of trusted persons of Ivan IV; Ivan Vasilyevich Tokmak serving under Vasily III and dying before 1550.
Supports: Documented Tokmakov service and estate records in Odoev and Novosil districts from 1596 through the late 17th century; Multiple separate Tokmakov surname clusters; Peter Ivanov son Tokmakov recorded in service in 1596; Later documented descendants in Odoev and Novosil. · Treat the cited archival appearances as research leads/secondary transcription until original RGADA images or certified copies are attached. Do not convert the researcher's reconstructed common-parent hypotheses into solid relationships.
A forum transcription of archival inventory references is not the same evidence level as the original RGADA record. Obtaining the original files is an open research task on the sources page.