East Slavic name
East Slavic naming customs are the traditional way of identifying a person's given name, patronymic name, and family name in East Slavic cultures in Russia and some countries formerly part of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union.
They are used commonly in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and to a lesser extent in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.
| Name | Belarusian example | Russian example | Ukrainian example |
| First name | |||
| Patronymic | |||
| Family name |
Given names
East Slavic parents select a given name for a newborn child. Most first names in East Slavic languages originate from two sources:Almost all first names are single. Doubled first names are very rare and are from foreign influence. Most doubled first names are written with a hyphen: Mariya-Tereza.
Males
Females
Forms
Being highly synthetic languages, the East Slavic ones treat personal names as grammatical nouns and apply the same rules of inflection and derivation to them as for other nouns. So one can create many forms with different degrees of affection and familiarity by adding the corresponding suffixes to the auxiliary stem derived from the original name. The auxiliary stem may be identical to the word stem of the full name, and most names have the auxiliary stem derived unproductively.Unlike English, in which the use of diminutive forms is optional even between close friends, in East Slavonic languages, such forms are obligatory in certain contexts because of the strong T–V distinction: the T-form of address usually requires the short form of the counterpart's name. Also, unlike other languages with prominent use of name suffixes, such as Japanese, the use of derived name forms is mostly limited to the T-addressing: there is no way to make the name more formal than the plain unsuffixed full form, and usually no suffixes can be added to the family name.
Most commonly, Russian philologists distinguish the following forms of given names:
| Name form | Example | Formation | Comments |
| Full | full name stem + case ending | - | |
| Short | short name stem + II declension ending | most common for informal communication, comparable to Western name-only form of address ', or Japanese surname-only, or surname/name -kun | |
| Diminutive | short name stem + + II declension ending | expresses familiarity, may be considered rude when used between people who are not close friends. Comparable to English diminutives ' or Japanese unsuffixed names | |
| Affective diminutive | short name stem + + II declension ending | most intimate and affectionate form, comparable to German diminutives or Japanese -chan suffixes |
Short forms
The "short name", is the simplest and most common name derivative. Bearing no suffix, it is produced suppletively and always has the declension noun ending for both males and females, thus making short forms of certain unisex names indistinguishable: for example, Sasha is the short name for both the masculine name Aleksandr and the feminine form Aleksandra.Some names, such as Zhanna and Mark, have no short forms; others may have two or more different forms. In the latter case, one form is usually more informal than the others.
| Full name | Full name | Short forms | Short forms |
| Александр | Aleksandr | Саша, Саня, Шура, ukr. Сашко, Лесь | Sasha, Sanya, Shura, ukr. Sashko, Les |
| Александра | Aleksandra | Саша, Шура, ukr. Леся | Sasha, Shura, ukr. Lesia |
| Алексей | Aleksey | Алёша, Лёша | Alyosha, Lyosha |
| Анастасия | Anastasia | Настя, Стася | Nastya, Stasya |
| Анатолий | Anatoly | Толя | Tolya |
| Андрей | Andrey | Андрюша, Дюша, Андря | Andryusha, Dyusha, Andrya |
| Анна | Anna | Аня, Анюта, Нюта, Нюша | Anya, Anyuta, Nyuta, Nyusha |
| Борис | Boris | Боря | Borya |
| Давид | David | Дава | Dava |
| Даниил | Daniil | Данила, Даня | Danila, Danya |
| Дарья | Darya | Даша | Dasha |
| Дмитрий | Dmitry | Дима, Митя | Dima, Mitya |
| Галина | Galina | Галя | Galya |
| Геннадий | Gennady | Гена | Gena |
| Георгий | Georgy | Гоша, Жора | Gosha, Zhora |
| Григорий | Grigory | Гриша | Grisha |
| Иван | Ivan | Ваня | Vanya |
| Иммануил | Immanuil | Моня | Monya |
| Ирина | Irina | Ира | Ira |
| Кирилл | Kirill | Кира, Киря | Kira, Kirya |
| Константин | Konstantin | Костя | Kostya |
| Ксения | Ksenya | Ксюша | Ksyusha |
| Лариса | Larisa | Лара, Лёля | Lara, Lyolya |
| Леонид | Leonid | Лёня | Lyonya |
| Лев | Lev | Лёва | Lyova |
| Лидия | Lidiya | Лида | Lida |
| Любовь | Lyubov' | Люба | Lyuba |
| Людмила | Lyudmila | Люда, Люся, Мила | Lyuda, Lyusya, Meela |
| Мария | Mariya | Маша, Маня, Маруся, Машуля, Машенька, Марийка, Маняша, Марічка | Masha, Manya, Marusya, Mashulya, Mashеnka, Mariyka, Manyasha, Marichka |
| Матвей | Matvey | Мотя | Motya |
| Михаил | Mihail | Миша | Misha |
| Надежда | Nadezhda | Надя | Nadya |
| Наталья | Natalya | Наташа | Natasha |
| Николай | Nikolay | Коля | Kolya |
| Ольга | Olga | Оля | Olya |
| Павел | Pavel | Паша, Павлик | Pasha, Pavlik |
| Полина | Polina | Поля, Лина | Polya, Lina |
| Пётр | Pyotr | Петя | Petya |
| Роман | Roman | Рома | Roma |
| Семён | Semyon | Сёма | Syoma |
| Сергей | Sergey | Серёжа | Seryozha |
| София | Sofia, Sofya | Соня, Софа | Sonya, Sofa |
| Светлана | Svetlana | Света, Лана | Sveta, Lana |
| Станислав | Stanislav | Стас | Stas, Stanko |
| Тамара | Tamara | Тома | Toma |
| Татьяна | Tatyana | Таня | Tanya |
| Вадим | Vadim | Вадик, Дима | Vadik, Dima |
| Валентин / Валентина | Valentin / Valentina | Валя | Valya |
| Валерий | Valery | Валера | Valera |
| Валерия | Valeriya | Лера | Lera |
| Василий | Vasily | Вася | Vasya |
| Виктор | Viktor | Витя | Vitya |
| Виктория | Viktoriya | Вика | Vika |
| Виталия | Vitaliya | Вита | Vita |
| Владимир | Vladimir | Вова, Володя | Vova, Volodya |
| Владислав, Владислава | Vladislav, Vladislava | Влад, Влада | Vlad, Vlada |
| Вячеслав | Vyacheslav | Слава | Slava |
| Ярослав | Yaroslav | Ярик | Yarik |
| Елена | Yelena | Лена, Алёна | Lena, Alyona |
| Елизавета | Yelizaveta | Лиза | Liza |
| Екатерина | Yekaterina | Катя | Katya |
| Евгений / Евгения | Yevgeniy / Yevgeniya | Женя | Zhenya |
| Юлия | Yuliya | Юля | Yulya |
| Юрий | Yury | Юра | Yura |
| Яков | Yakov | Яша | Yasha |
Diminutive forms
Diminutive forms are produced from the "short name" by means of various suffixes; for example, Михаил Mikhail – Миша Misha – Мишенька Mishenka – Мишка Mishka. If no "short name" exists, then diminutive forms are produced from the full form of the respective first name; for example, Марина Marina – Мариночка Marinochka – Маринка Marinka. Unlike the full name, a diminutive name carries a particular emotional attitude and may be unacceptable in certain contexts. Depending on the nature of the attitude, diminutive name forms can be subdivided into three broad groups: affectionate, familiar, and slang.Affectionate diminutive
Typically formed by suffixes -еньк-, -оньк-, -ечк-, -ушк, as illustrated by the examples below. It generally emphasises a tender, affectionate attitude and is roughly analogous to German suffixes -chen, -lein, Japanese -chan and -tan and affectionate name-derived nicknames in other languages. It is often used to address children or intimate friends.Within a more official context, this form may be combined with the honorific plural to address a younger female colleague.
Colloquial diminutives
Colloquial diminutives are derived from short names by the -к- suffix. Expressing a highly familiar attitude, the use may be considered rude or even pejorative outside a friendly context.Slang forms
Slang forms exist for male names and, since a few decades ago, female names. They are formed with the suffixes -ян, -он, and -ок/ёк. The suffixes give the sense of "male brotherhood" that was once expressed by the patronymic-only form of address in the Soviet Union.Early Soviet Union
During the days of the October Revolution, as part of the campaign to rid Russia of bourgeois culture, there was a drive to invent new, revolutionary names. As a result, many Soviet children were given atypical names, often being acronyms/initialisms.| Name | Name | Origin | Comments |
| Вил, Вилен, Владлен, Владлена | Vil, Vilen, Vladilen Vladlen / Vladlena | Владимир Ильич Ленин ' | |
| Мэл | Mel/Mels | М'аркс, Энгельс, Ленин '' ' | |
| Баррикада | Barrikada | - | "Barricade" - refers to the revolutionary activity |
| Ревмир, Ревмира | Revmir / Revmira | Революция мира ' | Means "The World Revolution" |
| Гертруда | Gertruda | Gertrude reinterpreted as Герой труда | Means "The Hero of Labour" |
| Марлен | Marlen | Marlene reinterpreted as Маркс и Ленин | |
| Стэн | Sten | Stan reinterpreted as Сталин и Энгельс | |
| Ким | Kim | Kim reinterpreted as Коммунистический интернационал молодёжи | Means "Young Communist International" |
Patronymics
The patronymic name is based on the given name of the father and is written in all legal and identity documents. If used with the given name, the patronymic always follows it; but it is not analogous to an English middle name.Usage
The patronymic name is obligatory when addressing a person of higher social stance and/or on special occasions such as business meetings; for example, when a pupil addresses a teacher, they are obliged to use both first and patronymic names –. Not using patronymic names in such situations is considered offensive.Addressing a person by patronymic name only is widespread among older generations and serves as a display of close relationship based on not only sympathy but also mutual responsibility.
In speech patronymics are commonly truncated and it is not considered to be a colloquialism, e.g., written "Ivan Ivanovich" may be pronounced "as is", as well as "Ivan Ivanych".
In the past of East Slavs, before the introduction of surnames, noble, wealthy, or otherwise respected people were addressed by name plus patronymic, see, e.g., "Yaroslavich"/"Yaroslavna". From this custom a number of surnames of West Ruthenian origin was produced, such as Antonovich or Prokopovich, which in their turn derived Polish surnames, such as Antonowicz or Prokopowicz.
For commoners, when the distinction among people with the same given name was required, a qualifier "son of..." was usually added: "Ивашка, Антонов сын". From the latter tradition Russian patronymic surnames ending in "-ov/-ev/yov" originated, in this case, Antonov".
Derivation
The patronymic is formed by a combination of the father's name and suffixes. The suffix is -ович for a son, -овна – for a daughter. For example, if the father's name was Иван, the patronymic will be Иванович for a son and Ивановна for a daughter.If the suffix is being appended to a name ending in a й or a soft consonant, the initial o in the suffixes -ович and -овна becomes a е and the suffixes change to -евич and -евна. For example, if the father is Дмитрий, the patronymic is Дмитриевич for a son and Дмитриевна for a daughter. It is not Дмитрович or Дмитровна because the name Дмитрий ends on "й" ;
For some names ending in a vowel, the suffix is -ич for a son and -ична or -инична for a daughter; for example, Фока Foka – Фокич Fokich – Фокична Fokichna ; Кузьма Kuzma – Кузьмич Kuzmich – Кузьминична Kuzminichna.
Historical grounds
Historical Russian naming conventions did not include surnames. A person's name included that of their father: e.g. Иван Петров сын which means "Ivan, son of Peter". That is the origin of most Russian -ov surnames.From the 17th century, the second name with suffix -ович was the privilege given by the tsar to commoners. For example, in 1610, Tsar Vasili IV gave to the Stroganovs, who were merchants, the privilege to use patronyms. As a tribute for developing the salt industry in Siberia, Pyotr Stroganov and all his issues were allowed to have a name with -ovich. The tsar wrote in the chart dated on 29 May, "... to write him with ovich, to try in Moscow only, not to fee by other fees, not to kiss a cross by himself " In the 18th century, it was the family of merchants to have patronyms. By the 19th century, the -ovich form eventually became the default form of a patronymic.
Legal basis
Everyone in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus is supposed to have a tripartite name. Single mothers may give their children any patronym, and this does not have any legal consequences. Foreigners who adopt Russian citizenship are exempted from having a patronym. Now, an adult person is entitled to change patronyms if necessary, such as to alienate themselves from the biological father as well as to decide the same for an underage child.Matronymic
In modern Russia, there are cases when women raising a child without a father give the child their own name instead of a patronymic. This practice is not recognized by law, but the civil registry offices may meet such wishes. A common loophole is when the mother's name is a feminine form of a masculine given name, the mother will give the child the patronym of the masculine equivalent.Family names
s are generally used like in English.Derivation and meaning
In Russian, some common suffixes are -ов, -ев, meaning "belonging to" or "of the clan of/descendant of", e.g. Petrov = of the clan of/descendant of Petr, usually used for patronymic surnames—or -ский, an adjectival form, meaning "associated with" and usually used for toponymic surnames. Historically, toponymic surnames may have been granted as a token of nobility; for example, the princely surname Shuysky is indicative of the princedom based on the ownership of Shuya. Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tavricheski had the victory title 'Tavricheski', as part of his surname, granted to him for the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Empire.In the 19th and early 20th centuries, -off was a common transliteration of -ov for Russian family names in foreign languages such as French and German.
Surnames of Ukrainian and Belarusian origin use the suffixes -ко, -ук, and -ич. For example, the family name Писаренко is derived from the word for a scribe, and Ковальчук refers to a smith.
Less often, some versions of family names will have no suffix, e.g. Lebed, meaning swan, and Zhuk, meaning beetle.
Hyphenated surnames like Petrov-Vodkin are possible.
Grammar
East Slavic languages are synthetic languages and have grammatical cases and grammatical gender. Unlike analytic languages like English, which use prepositions to show the links and relations between words in a sentence, East Slavic suffixes are used much more broadly than prepositions. Words need the help of some suffix to integrate them into the sentence and to build a grammatically correct sentence. That includes names, unlike in German. Family names are declined based on the Slavic case system.The surnames that originally are short or full Slavic adjectives, have different forms depending on gender: male forms -ov, -ev, -in and -iy/-oy/-yy correspond to female forms -ova, -eva, -ina and -aya, respectively. For example, the wife of Борис Ельцин was Наина Ельцина ; the wife of Leo Tolstoy was Sophia Tolstaya, etc. All other, i.e. non-adjectival, surnames stay the same for both genders, -ич, unlike in many West Slavic languages, where the non-adjectival surname of men corresponds to derivative feminine adjectival surname. Note the difference between patronymics and surnames ending with -ich: surnames are the same for males and females, but patronymics are gender-dependent
This dependence of grammatical gender of adjectival surname on the gender of its owner is not considered to be changing the surname. The correct transliteration of such feminine surnames in English is debated: the names technically should be in their original form, but they sometimes appear in the masculine form.
The example of Иванов, a family name, will be used:
The surnames which are not grammatically adjectives declines in cases and numbers as the corresponding common noun. The exclusion is when a woman has a surname which is grammatically a noun of masculine gender; in such case, the surname is not declined. For example, Ivan and Anna Zhuk in dative case would be: Ивану Жуку, but Анне Жук.
Family names are generally inherited from one's parents. As in English, on marriage, women usually adopt the surname of the husband; the opposite, when the husband adopt the maiden surname of his wife, very rarely occurs. Rarely, both spouses keep their pre-marriage family names. The fourth, very rare but still legal way is the taking a double surname; for example, in marriage of Ivanov and Petrovskaya, the spouses may adopt the family name Ivanov-Petrovsky and Ivanova-Petrovskaya, correspondingly.
Slavicisation of foreign names
Slavicisation of foreign surnames
Some surnames in those languages have been russified since the 19th century: the surname of Kazakh former president Nursultan Nazarbayev has a Russian "-yev" suffix, which literally means "of Nazar-bay". The frequency of such russification varies greatly by country.After incorporation of Azerbaijan into the Soviet Union, it became obligatory to register their surnames and to add a Russian suffix such as -yev or -ov for men and -yeva or -ova for women. Since the majority did not have official surnames, the problem was resolved by adopting the name of the father and adding the mentioned suffixes. Examples are Aliyev, Huseynov, and Mammadov. After Azerbaijan gained its independence, Azerbaijanization of surnames has been pursued.
Since 1930s and 1940s, surnames and patronymics were obligatory in Uzbekistan. The surname could be derived from the name of the father by adding the suffixes -ev after vowels or soft consonants and -ov in all other cases. Examples are Rashidov, Beknazarov and Abdullaev. Most of the people born in this time had the same surname as their patronymic.
Slavicisation of foreign patronymics
By law, foreign persons who adopt Russian citizenship are allowed to have no patronymic. Some adopt non-Slavonic patronymics as well. For example, the Russian politician Irina Hakamada's patronym is Муцуовна because her Japanese father's given name was Mutsuo. The ethnicity of origin generally remains recognizable in Russified names. Other examples are Kazakh ұлы, or Azeri оглы/оғлу ; Kazakh қызы. Such Turkic patronymics were officially allowed in the Soviet Union.Bruno Pontecorvo, after he emigrated to the Soviet Union, was known as Бруно Максимович Понтекорво in the Russian scientific community, as his father's given name was Massimo. His sons have been known by names Джиль Брунович Понтекорво, Антонио Брунович Понтекорво and Тито Брунович Понтекорво.
Forms of address
Common rules
- For informal communication, only the first name is used: Иван Ivan. Even more informally, diminutives are often used.
- In rural areas, the patronymic name alone is used by old people among themselves, but young people sometimes use the form for irony. Also, younger people can use the form for much older people for both respect and informality. For example, a much younger man with a very good relationship with his elder colleague may use a patronymic and the "ty" form, but using the first name alone is generally inappropriate. Using a diminutive would nearly always be very impolite.
- The family name alone is used, much more rarely, in formal communications. It is commonly used by school teachers to address their students. Informally, Russians are starting to call people by their surnames alone for irony.
- the form "first name + patronymic" :
- * is the feature of official communication ;
- * may convey the speaker's respect for the recipient. Historically, patronymics were reserved for the royal dynasty
- The full three-name form is used mostly for official documents. With some exceptions, everyone in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus is supposed to have a three-part name. This form is also used on formal occasions and for introducing oneself to a person who is likely to write down the full name, like a police officer. The family name is placed first in various documents, when sorting by personal name is important.
The choice of addressing format is closely linked to the choice of second-person pronoun. Russian language distinguishes:
- formal вы ; respectful Вы may be capitalized in formal correspondence, but plural вы is not.
- informal ты ;
Other than the use of patronymics, Russian forms of address in Russian are very similar to English ones.
Also, the meaning of the form of address strongly depends on the choice of a V-T form:
| Vy or ty | Form | Male example | Female example | Use |
| Using "Vy" | Full three-name form | Anatoliy Pavlovich Ivanov | Varvara Mikhailovna Kuznetsova | Official documents, very formal occasions |
| Using "Vy" | First name + patronymic | Anatoliy Pavlovich | Varvara Mikhailovna | General formal or respectful form |
| Using "Vy" | Surname | Ivanov | Kuznetsova | Formal. Often used by a person of a higher social position |
| Using "Vy" | Informal first name + informal patronymic | Tol' Palych | Varvara Mikhalna | Respectful but less formal |
| Using "Vy" | Full first name | Anatoliy | Varvara | Respectful but less formal |
| Using "Vy" | Diminutive first name | Tolya | Varya | Friendly but still somewhat formal |
| Using "Vy" | Affectionate first name | Varechka | Used almost exclusively towards women, showing fondness but still keeping some formality | |
| Using "Ty" | First name + patronymic | Anatoliy Pavlovich | Varvara Mikhailovna | Can be used between friends on semi-formal occasions or ironically |
| Using "Ty" | Informal patronymic | Palych | Mikhalna | Combining familiarity and respect |
| Using "Ty" | Surname | Ivanov | Kuznetsova | Similar in use to a "vy" form but less formal |
| Using "Ty" | Full first name | Anatoliy | Varvara | Friendly but with a tone of formality. If the name has no diminutive form, also used informally |
| Using "Ty" | Diminutive first name | Tolia | Varya | General informal form |
| Using "Ty" | Colloquial first name | Tolik | Var'ka | Very familiar form |
| Using "Ty" | Slang first name | Tolyan | Varyukha | Very familiar form |
| Using "Ty" | Affectionate first name | Tolen'ka | Varechka | Tender, affectionate form |
Using a "ty" form with a person who dislikes it or on inappropriate occasions can be an insult, especially the surname alone.
Adjectives
Other East Slavic languages use the same adjectives of their literal translation if they differ from Russian analogue. All East Slavic languages are synthetic languages, and grammatical genders are used. Thus, the suffix of an adjective changes with the sex of the recipient.In Russian, adjectives before names are generally restricted to written forms of communication. Adjectives like Любимый / Любимая and Милый / Милая are informal, and Уважаемый / Уважаемая is highly formal. Some adjectives, like Дорогой / Дорогая, can be used in both formal and informal letters.