The most common Russian surnames for all classes end in -ov -ev, or -in. For women, an “a” is added to the -ov/-ev/-in ending, such that it becomes -ova/-eva/-ina. The surnames of many Russians with noble ancestry, such as Dostoevskii, often end in -skii for men and -skaia for women.
The female patronymics end in -ovna or -evna. Most surnames end in -ov or -ev. Surnames derived from given male names are common. Female forms of this type of surnames end in -ova or -eva.
The middle name is patronymic, created by using the child's father's name with the suffix “vich” or “ovich” for boys, and “avna” or “ovna” for girls. This means 'son of' and 'daughter of'. An 'a' is added to the end of almost all female surnames.
Russian Surnames
These work nearly the same as Western surnames. They are passed down from the father and identify a given family. And with all countries' last names, some are very common while others are more rare. Roughly speaking, there are two kinds of surnames in Russian - native surnames and 'foreign' ones.
Typical Russian surnames end in “ov” for men and “ova” for women: Ivanov and Ivanova, Smirnov and Smirnova. Another common ending is “in” and “ina”, such as Eltsin and Eltsina, or “skiy” and “skaya”, such as Chaikovskiy and Chaikovskaya.
Many surnames change depending on the gender of the person. This is especially true for surnames ending in v (Russian letter в) and n (Russian letter н). For these names, typically, the feminine form is the same as the male form but has an additional a at the end.
The first double surnames in Russia and Eastern Europe were known and used in medieval times. Having a double surname was a privilege and an indication of a higher social class. The practice of adding a second surname arose because of the need to distinguish between members of the same family.
The suffix -off comes from the French transliteration of -ov, based on the Muscovite pronunciation. Example: Petrović means Petr's son. In Russia, where patronyms are used, a person may have two -(ov)ich names in a row; first the patronym, then the family name (e.g. Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich).
Vlatka is a Croatian name, the diminutive of Vladimira (the female equivalent of Vladimir).
Russians do not choose their own middle name, it is created by taking their father's name and adding the ending -ovich/-evich for boys, or -ovna/-evna for girls, the particular ending determined by the last letter of the father's name. For example, Vladimir Popov and Irina Popova are brother and sister.
Common titles and appellations
Eventually, such words as девушка (lady), молодой человек (young man), and even мужчина (man) and женщина (woman) have been adopted as default forms of addressing strangers, which may seem awkward or even rude to a foreigner.
Ivanov is the most common surname in Russia.
Along with Natalia and Anastasia, other Russian girl names in the US Top 1000 include Angelina, Annika, Kira, Mila, Nadia, Nina, Sasha, and Vera. Popular girl names in Russia include Yelizaveta — the Russian variation of Elizabeth — Polina, Varvara, Ksenia, Alina, and Yulia.
The most popular neutral names are Saša and Nikola, both with a slight Russian (or East-Slavic) connotation. Other names of that paradigm are Áda, Jarka, Jára, Jindra, Jirča, Jirka, Kája, Mára, Míla, Mira, Míša, Míťa, Nikola, Péťa, Saša, Stáňa, Sváťa, Štěpa, Vlasta, Zbyňa, Zdena.
Etymology. Borrowed from the Slavic diminutive form of Alexander and Alexandra; in English mostly from Russian Са́ша (Sáša), a diminutive form for both Алекса́ндр (Aleksándr, “Alexander, male”) and Алекса́ндра (Aleksándra, “Alexandra, female”).
Sasha is a gender-neutral name of Russian origin, meaning “defender” and “helper of mankind”. This solid and heroic name is the Russian short-form of the Greek name Alexander or Alexandra, which means “to defend man”.
Tatiana is a baby girl name of Russian origin. Derived from the Latin name Tatius and the Roman name Tatianus, this baby name means “fairy queen.” History buffs may recognize the variant Tatius as King Tatius—a ruler who reigned over the Sabines and the Romans.
45. Molchalin. If someone with this last name is a little reserved, it's probably because the name means "silent."
While the surname Ivanov came from a first name, another popular Russian surname, Smirnov, originated from a nickname that means 'the quiet one' (смирный).
Koshkin is a Russian surname, which means "cat" or cat owner", from the Russian word koshka or "cat". An alternative spelling is Koshkyn, and a name with the same meaning is Kotov. The name Koshkin may refer to: Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Koshkin (born 1941), Russian football player.
As opposed to full forms used in formal situations, short forms of a name are used in communication between well-acquainted people, usually relatives, friends and colleagues. Short forms emerged in spoken language for convenience as majority of formal names are cumbersome.
Russians use three names: first name, or имя; middle or patronymic name, or отчество, which is their father's first name plus a suffix meaning "son of" (ович) or "daughter of" (овна); and the last name or family name, or фамилия. Women's last names add an а to the masculine form of the name.
Derivations of Russian Last Names
Typical Russian family names end in “-ov”, “-ev”, or “-in”. Most Russian last names are patronymic, meaning they derived from the given name of a child's father. For example, if a man named Ivan had a son named Vasily, then the child's full name would be Vasily Ivanov.