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 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.

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.