Eastern Slavic naming customs

This article gives the general understanding of naming conventions in the Russian language as well as in languages affected by Russian linguistic tradition. This relates to modern Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. For exact rules, differences and historical changes, see respective languages and linguistics-related articles.

It is obligatory for people to have three names: a given name, a patronymic, and a family name (surname). They are generally presented in that order, although the ordering is not as strict in other languages: e.g. Владимир Владимирович Путин (Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin), where "Vladimir" is a first name, "Vladimirovich" is a patronymic, and "Putin" is a family name.

Given first name

As with most Western cultures, a person has a given name chosen by the parents. First names in East-Slavic languages mostly originate from two sources: Orthodox church tradition and native pre-Christian (pagan) lexicons.

Common male first names

If two variants of a name are given, generally the first variant is Russian, and the second is Ukrainian.

• Иван/Іван (Ivan, equivalent to John, of Hebrew origin)
• Николай/Микола (Nikolay or Mykola, equivalent to Nicholas, of Greek origin)
• Борис (Boris, a pre-Christian Slavic diminutive of Borislav, meaning "Fighter for Glory")
• Владимир/Володимир (Vladimir, a pre-Christian name of Gothic origin that can be interpreted as "The Lord of the World" in Russian)
• Пётр/Петро (Pyotr or Petro, equivalent to Peter, of Greek origin)
• Андрей/Андрій (Andrey or Andriy, equivalent to Andrew, of Greek origin)
• Александр/Олександр (Aleksandr, equivalent to Alexander, of Greek origin)
• Дмитрий/Дмитро (Dmitry or Dmytro, of Greek origin)
• Сергей/Сергій (Sergey or Serhiy, of Latin origin)
• Леонид/Леонід (Leonid, from Leonidas, of Greek origin)
• Алексей/Олексій (Aleksey or Oleksy, of Greek origin)
• Виктор/Віктор (Viktor , of Latin origin)
• Юрий/Юрій, Георгий/Георгій (Yuri or Georgy, equivalent to George, of Greek origin)
• Павел/Павло (Pavel or Pavlo, equivalent to Paul, of Latin origin)
• Константин/Костянтин (Konstantin, of Latin origin)
• Василий/Василь (Vasily or Vasyl, equivalent to Ваsіl or William, of Greek origin)
• Cтaниcлaв (Stanislav, of Slav origin)
• Михаил/Михайло (Mikhail or Mykhaylo, also known as Misha.N equivalent to Michael, of Hebrew origin)

Common female first names

• Анна/Ганна (Anna or Hanna, equivalent to Ann, of Hebrew origin)
• Елена/Олена (Yelena or Olena, equivalent to Helen, of Greek origin)
• Наталья/Наталя (Natalya, equivalent to Natalie, of Latin origin)
• Мария/Марія (Mariya, equivalent to Mary, of Hebrew origin)
• Ольга (Olga or Olha, a pre-Christian name derived from Varangian Helga)
• Александра/Олександра (Aleksandra or Oleksandra, equivalent to Alexandra, of Greek origin)
• Ксения/Оксана (Kseniya or Oksana, Oksana is the most common Ukrainian female name, Kseniya is from Greek Xenia)
• Екатерина/Катерина (Yekaterina or Kateryna, equivalent to Catherine, of Greek origin)
• Татьяна/Тетяна (Tatyana or Tetyana, of Latin origin)
• Анастасия/Анастасія (Anastasiya, of Greek origin)
• Светлана/Світлана (Svetlana or Svitlana, meaning "Shining One"; although it looks like a pre-Christian Slavic name, as a matter of fact it was invented by Alexander Vostokov in 1802 and became popular when Vasily Zhukovsky published his ballad Svetlana in 1813).
• Юлия/Юлія (Yulia, equivalent to Julia or Julie, of Latin origin)
• Вера/Віра (Vera or Vira, this name means "Faith", calque from Greek Πίστη)
• Надежда/Надія (Nadezhda or Nadiya, this name means "Hope", calque from Greek Ελπίς)
• Любовь/Любов (Lyubov, this name means "Love", calque from Greek Αγάπη)
• Софья/Софія (Sofiya, equivalent to Sophia, of Greek origin)

Diminutive forms

Diminutive forms (e.g. Tony for Anthony in English) exist for almost every popular name. Some common names and their diminutive forms are:

• Aleksandr (Александр) - Sasha (Саша), Sanya (Саня), Сашок (Sashok), Shura (Шура), Shurik (Шурик), Sashko (Sashko, укр), Oles (Олесь, укр)
• Aleksandra (Александрa) - Sasha (Саша), Sanya (Саня), Shura (Шура), Olesia (Олеся, укр)
• Aleksey (Алексей) - Alyosha (Алёша), Lyosha (Лёша), Lyokha (Лёха)
• Anastasiya (Анастасия) - Nastya (Настя), Asya (Ася), Stasya (Стася)
• Anatoliy (Анатолий) - Tolya (Толя), Tolik (Толик)
• Anna (Анна) - Anya (Аня), Nyura (Нюра), Nyusya (Нюся), Anyuta (Анюта)
• Boris (Борис) - Borya (Боря)
• Dar'ya (Дарья) - Dasha (Даша)
• Dmitriy (Дмитрий) - Dima (Дима), Mitya (Митя)
• Galina (Галина) - Galya (Галя)
• Gennadiy (Геннадий) - Gena (Гена)
• Grigoriy (Григорий) - Grisha (Гриша), Hryts (Гриць, укр)
• Il'ya (Илья) - Ilyusha (Илюша), Ilyukha (Илюха)
• Irina (Ирина) - Ira (Ира)
• Ivan (Иван) - Vanya (Ваня)
• Konstantin (Константин) - Kostya (Костя), Kostik (Костик)
• Kseniya (Ксения) - Ksyusha (Ксюша), Oksana (Оксана)
• Larisa (Лариса) - Lara (Лара)
• Leonid (Леонид) - Lyonya (Лёня)
• Lev (Лев) - Lyova (Лёва)
• Lidiya (Лидия) - Lida (Лида)
• Lyubov' (Любовь) - Lyuba (Люба)
• Lyudmila (Людмила) - Lyuda (Люда), Lyusya (Люся), Meela (Мила)
• Mariya (Мария) - Masha (Маша), Marusya (Маруся)
• Mikhail (Михаил) - Misha (Миша)
• Nadezhda (Надежда) - Nadya (Надя)
• Natal'ya (Наталья) - Natasha (Наташа)
• Nikolay (Николай) - Kolya (Коля)
• Ol'ga (Ольга) - Olya (Оля)
• Pavel (Павел) - Pasha (Паша)
• Polina (Полина) - Polya (Поля)
• Pyotr (Пётр) - Petya (Петя)
• Roman (Роман) - Roma (Рома)
• Sergey (Сергей) - Seryozha (Серёжа)
• Sof'ya (Софья) - Sonya (Соня)
• Svetlana (Светлана) - Sveta (Света), Lana (Лана)
• Tamara (Тамара) - Toma (Тома)
• Tat'yana (Татьяна) - Tanya (Таня)
• Valentin/Valentina (Валентин/Валентина) - Valya (Валя)
• Valeriya (Валерия) - Lera (Лера)
• Vasiliy (Василий) - Vasya (Вася)
• Viktor (Виктор) - Vitya (Витя)
• Viktoriya (Виктория) - Vika (Вика)
• Vladimir (Владимир) - Volodya (Володя), Vova (Вова)
• Vyacheslav (Вячеслав) - Slava (Слава)
• Yakov (Яков) - Yasha (Яша)
• Yelena (Елена) - Lena (Лена)
• Yelizaveta (Елизавета) - Liza (Лиза)
• Yekaterina (Екатерина) - Katya (Катя), Katyusha (Катюша)
• Yevdokiya (Евдокия) - Dusya (Дуся), Dunia (Дуня)
• Yevgeniy/Yevgeniya (Евгений/Евгения) - Zhenya (Женя)
• Yuliya (Юлия) - Yulya (Юля)
• Yuriy (Юрий) - Yura (Юра), Zhora (Жора)

Most names have several diminutive forms (e.g. Aleksey — Alyosha or Lyosha). Some diminutive forms can include colloquial variants (e.g.: Vanya — Van'ka, Alyosha — Lyokha or Alyoshka, Sasha — Sashka, etc.). Diminutive forms of feminine names mainly have either an "a" or "я" ("ya") ending (e.g.: Kseniya — Ksyusha, Mariya — Masha, Yekaterina — Katya, Ol'ga — Olya). The distinguishing feature of diminutive forms of Russian names is superlative, which represents the "-еньк" " ("-yen'k") suffix (e.g. Kolya — Kolen'ka, Sasha — Sashen'ka, Masha — Mashen'ka)

Patronymic

The patronymic of a person is based on the first name of his or her father and is written in all documents. If it is mentioned, it always follows the first name. A suffix (meaning either "son of" or "daughter of") is added to the father's given name—in modern times, males use -ович -ovich, while females use -овна -ovna. If the suffix is being appended to a name ending in й (y) or a soft consonant, the initial o becomes a ye (-евич -yevich and -евна -yevna). There are also a few exceptions to this pattern; for example, the son of Ilya is always Ilyich, not Ilyevich.

Historically, the -ovich (-ovna) form was reserved for the Russian aristocracy, while commoners had to use -in, -yn, -ov, -ev, etc. (for a son; e.g., Boris Alekseev, Dmitri Kuzmin) and -eva, -ova, -ina, etc. (for a daughter; e.g., Sofiya Alekseeva, Anastasiya Kuzmina). Over time, the -ovich (-ovna) form spread to commoners favored by the tsar, high-ranking bureaucrats, and during the 19th century, to all segments of Russian society.

As an example, the patronymic name of Soviet leader Никита Сергеевич Хрущёв (Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev) indicates that his father was named Сергей (Sergey). Similarly, the patronymic name of Светлана Иосифовна Сталина (Svetlana Iosifovna Stalina) indicates that her father was named Иосиф (Iosif) (in this case, Iosif (Joseph) Stalin).

When translating Russian-style names into English, it is important to remember that the patronymic is not equivalent to an English middle name, and follows different abbreviation conventions. The patronymic can be omitted (e.g. Vladimir Putin or V. Putin); both the first name and the patronymic can be written out in full (Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin); or both the first name and the patronymic can be abbreviated (V. V. Putin). However, writing out the first name and abbreviating the patronymic (e.g. Vladimir V. Putin), although something that one occasionally encounters in translations, is stylistically incorrect.[1]

In Ukraine the female patronymic ends with -ivna. The male version is the same as in Russian.

Family name (surname)

Family names, like Путин (Putin), Ельцин (Yel'tsin) or Горбачёв (Gorbachyov), generally function in the same manner that English family names do. They are generally inherited from one's parents, although (as with English names) women may adopt the surname of their husband or (very rarely) vice versa. Another uncommon practice is creating a double surname (for example, Mr. Ivanov and Ms. Petrova in their marriage may take family names Ivanov-Petrov and Ivanova-Petrova, respectively). Grammatically, most Russian surnames are possessive adjectives; the surnames-nouns (Lebed' - literally "the swan") or attributive adjectives (Tolstoy - literally "thick" in an archaic form) are infrequent, they are mainly adopted from other languages. The surnames ended with -ov, -ev, -in are short forms of possessive adjectives, the ones ended with -sky are full forms. As all Russian adjectives, they have different forms depending on gender—for example, the wife of Борис Ельцин (Boris Yel'tsin) is Наина Ельцина (Naina Yel'tsina). Note that this change of grammatical gender is a characteristic of Slavic languages, and is not considered to be changing the name received from a woman's father or husband (compare the equivalent rule in Czech or Polish). The correct transliteration of such feminine names in English is debated: sometimes women's names are given in their original form, sometimes in the masculine form (technically incorrect, but more widely recognized).

Russian surnames usually end with -ov (-ova for female); -ev (-eva); -in (-ina); -skiy (-skaya). Ukrainian surnames generally end with -enko, -ko, -uk, and -ych (these endings do not change based on gender). The ending -iy (-ya) is common in both Russia and Ukraine.

The majority of Russian surnames are produced from personal names (Sergeyev — Sergey's son; Vasilyev — Vasiliy's son etc.). Many surnames originate from names of animals and birds (Lebedev — Swan's Son; Korovin — Cow's Son etc.) which have long ago been used as additional personal names or nicknames. Many other surnames have their origin in people's professions and crafts (Kuznetsov — Smith's son). In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries -off has been commonly used in place of -ov when spelling Russian surnames in foreign languages (Smirnoff).

Forms of address

Although everyone in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus is required to have three names, the full three-name form is virtually never used in direct communication and it is generally reserved for documents and public speeches. In the media, the three-name form could be used for highly respected persons (e.g. leaders of the Soviet Union and Russia). In most circumstances, one or two names are usually omitted. Different combinations of names denote varying levels of respect. In speech, common forms of address include:

• <First name, diminutive form> — familiar
• <First name, full form> — formal. This form emerged in last 20 years due to Western influence, now it gradually supersede the next one, especially in business practice[2]
• <First name> <Patronymic> — formal and respectful, could be used to address an older relative or a mentor
• <Prefix> <Last name> — highly formal. During the Soviet era, a prefix 'tovarishch' (comrade) was universally used. Nowadays, common prefixes are 'gospodin' (sir), 'gospozha' (madam). In some situations (e.g. by police officers) 'grazhdanin'/'grazhdanka' (citizen) has been used since Soviet time.

There is also a special "patronymic-only" form of address used only among very close friends. In this form for men, a diminutive variant of the patronymic is usually used, with -ovich becoming -ych. For example, if Vasiliy Ivanovich Chapayev is a good friend of ours, we can call him just "Иваныч" (Ivan[ov]ich). By contrast, only full patronymic name is used for women, for example "Ивановна" ("Ivanovna"), not "Иванна" ("Ivanna").

Third persons in speech can be referred to in all the previous ways (clearly, first three are used only for persons who are present or well-known in a group) and also as:

• <First name >, <Last name> — formal
• <First name >, <Patronymic>, <Last name > — used either to provide full name of not previously mentioned person (e.g. to introduce him/her to the auditory), or to show very high respect (this is quite rare now even for President of Russia).

Comparison between Russian and other names

In the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian languages, non-Slavic patronymics and family names may also be changed according to the above-mentioned rules. This is widespread in naming people of ethnic minorities and citizens of Central Asian or Caucasian republics of the former Soviet Union, especially if a person is a permanent resident and speaks the local language. For example, Irina Hakamada, a popular Russian politician whose father was Japanese, has a patronymic "Mutsuovna" (strange-sounding in Russian) since her father's first name was Mutsuo.

Bruno Pontecorvo, after he emigrated to the USSR, was known as Бруно Максимович Понтекорво (Bruno Maksimovich Pontekorvo) in the Russian scientific community, because his father's given name was Massimo (corresponding to Russian Максим (Maksim)). Pontecorvo's sons have been known by names Джиль Брунович Понтекорво, Антонио Брунович Понтекорво and Тито Брунович Понтекорво (Dzhil/Gil Brunovich, Antonio Brunovich, Tito Brunovich Pontekorvo).

In several Tom Clancy novels, Sergei Nicolayevich Golovko calls his American counterpart, John Patrick Ryan, "Ivan Emmetovich," because his father was Emmet Ryan: as an Irish-American, Ryan had not had a patronymic before.

Such conversion of foreign names is unofficial and optional in many cases of communication and translation, especially in cases of honorific or respectful addressing when both the given name and the patronymics should be used.

Exceptions for some post-Soviet countries

In the local languages of the non-Slavic CIS countries, Russian rules for patronymics were either never used or abandoned after gaining independence. Some Turkic languages, however, also use patronimics, formed using the Turkic word meaning 'son' or 'daughter'. For example, Kazakh ұлы (ûlâ; transcribed into English as -uly, as in Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev) or Azeri oğlu (as in Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev); Kazakh қызы (transcribed into English as -qyzy, as in Dariga Nursultanqyzy Nazarbayeva). Such kinds of patronymic for Turkic peoples were officially allowed in the Soviet times.

Some surnames in those languages have been russified since the 19th century and remain so; e.g. the surname of Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev has a Russian "-yev" suffix, which literally means "of Nazar-bay" (where "bay" is a Turkic native noble rank - confer Turkish "bey", Uzbek "beg", and Kyrghyz "bek"). This surname russification practice is not common, varying greatly by country.

Some ethnic groups use more than one name, one official, another unofficial. Official names are made with Russian patronymics, unofficial names are noble or tribal names, which were prohibited after the revolution. After the fall of the Soviet Union, some people returned to using these tribal or noble names as surnames (e.g Sarah Naiman — a Kazakhstan singer, whose surname means that she is from Naimans). Some Muslim people changed their surnames to an Arabic style (e.g. Tungyshbay Zhamankulov — famous Kazakhstan actor who often plays role of Khans in movies, changed his name to Tungyshbay al-Tarazy).

News and other information regarding CIS states is frequently written in Russian (and then translated to English) with names using the Russian patronymics, regardless of the person's preference or common usage.

Early Soviet Union

During the days of revolutionary enthusiasm, as part of the campaign to get rid of "bourgeois culture" (and, specifically, of religious heritage, manifest in many Russian first names), there was a drive to invent new, "revolutionary" names. This produced a large number of Soviet people with bizarre names. Commonly the source were initialisms, as "Vil", "Vilen(a)", "Vladlen(a)" and "Vladilen(a)" for Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. A common suffix was -or, after the October Revolution as seen in "Vilor(a)" or "Melor(a)" (Marx Engels Lenin). Sometimes children were given names after aspects as Barrikada ("barricade") or Revolutsiya ("revolution"). Some of these names have survived into the 21st century.

A number of books about this tendency mention some rather curious pearls, such as Dazdrapertrak for Da Zdravstvuet Pervy Traktor ('Hail The First Tractor!'), Dazdraperma Da Zdravstvuet Pervoe Maya ('Hail May Day!') (May Day - International Workers' Day), Revmir(a), for Revolutsiya Mirovaya ('World Revolution') and Oyushminald, for Otto Yulyevich Shmidt na Ldine" ('Otto Shmidt on the ice floe').

Some parents called their children the German female name "Gertrud(a)" (Gertrude), reanalyzing it as "Geroy/Geroinya Truda" ('Hero of Labour').

A number of Russians with the name "Kim", were not of Korean descent, but rather were named after the "Kommunistichesky International Molodyozhi" ('Youth Communist International').

See also

• Romanization of Russian
• Украинское имя (Ukrainian names) Template:Ru icon

References

• Paul Goldschmidt's Dictionary of Russian Names -- discussion of patronymics; also interesting historical exceptions to the current pattern [3].
• Russian Babynames [4].