Translation of Вифлянцев

I have a few questions on the russian name Вифлянцев:

In old Russian documents (1920) I have see it spelt Вифлянцевч. People have said the "ч" is an accent and it was dropped in current russian spelling.

Is the translation in english alphabet Viflyantsev?

Some people have said it is a cossack name. Are cossack names different?

Thanks,

Ричард Вифлянцев

Maybe "Вифлянцевич"?

I do not understand. The "ич" would translate the ending to "-evich". The translated version when my grandfather come to North American translation was "-off".

What is the difference or meaning behind the endings in the names:

Such as " -ev, -eff, -ov, -off" rather than "-vich".

Thanks,

Richard

No, I'm not talking about the patronimic suffix "-vich".

There is suffix "-ich" (not related to above), which is quite typical for last name of Byelorussian or Polish origin.