The surname Ratinov has several possible versions of origin. One version connects it to the German word "Rat" (council), which could indicate the profession of an advisor or member of a city council. However, there exists another, possibly more probable version. According to researcher Alexander Beider, Ratinov may represent a Russified form of the surname Ratiner, which originated in Galicia and is associated with the town of Rogatin (a district center in Galicia), or possibly derived from the name of the locality Ratno or the village Ratni. The characteristic ending "-ov" is typical for Russian surnames and indicates a process of Russification of an originally non-Russian name.

In the first version of the website, created by Boris Ratinov, the story is told based on the memories of his aunt Olga Isaakovna, the wife of his uncle Ruvim. According to this story, the founder of the family was a foundling. On a frosty night in the early 19th century, he was found on the doorstep of an inn somewhere on the border of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. The innkeeper's family took in the child, nursed him, and gave him the Jewish name Leiba (Lyova).

Leiba grew up to be a strong and clever young man. From the age of thirteen, he helped the innkeeper by cleaning rooms after guests. Once, a wealthy cattle merchant forgot his wallet under the pillow, which the honest youth returned to the owner. In gratitude, the guest left a large sum of money for Lyova until he came of age.

When Leiba grew up, the cattle merchant took him as an apprentice and taught him cattle trading. Fortune favored the young man — he quickly became wealthy. Leiba was married four times and had many children, but information has survived to our days about only three of them: David, Anisim, and Mendel — children from his last wife.

Whether he was truly the first Ratinov and a foundling can no longer be determined.

Among Leiba's children, the most information was found about Anisim Lvovich, who lived in the city of Elisavetgrad (now Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine). He was married to Olga Gutchina, and they had seven children.

The eldest son Viktor Anisimovich emigrated to Argentina in 1882. Since he traveled through Germany, the surname was changed to Ratinoff. His descendants later moved from South America to the USA. In Sacramento lives Viktor's great-grandson — Eric Ratinoff, thanks to whom photographs of Anisim Lvovich and his wife have been preserved, surviving two world wars and moves across oceans and continents.

Viktor's younger brother, Boris Anisimovich, also lived in Elisavetgrad. His wife gave birth to 14 children, of whom 11 survived. A family photograph from 1925 has been preserved, showing almost all of Boris Anisimovich's children.

Another son of Anisim, Ilya Anisimovich, was arrested on August 19, 1937, sentenced on September 2, 1937 by a troika of the NKVD USSR for the Moscow region, and shot in Moscow on September 3, 1937. He was rehabilitated on July 12, 1989.

In our time, descendants of the Ratinov family are scattered around the world — from the countries of the former USSR to South America, the USA, and Israel. Various branches of the family have adapted the surname to local linguistic features: Ratinov in Russian-speaking countries, Ratinoff in English-speaking ones.

Although the family is not particularly famous, it remains a fact that all Ratinovs are relatives.

The current version is based on the website of Boris Ratinov, who collected information about relatives and compiled the first version of the family tree. The old version of the website is available at this link.

Since 2025, the website is maintained and developed by Samuil Ratinov. You can write to me at: contact@ratinov.family.