Unlike Brazilian surnames, which are formed by first name + maternal last name + paternal last name, Russian surnames today follow the following structure: first name + patronymic + family name.
To better demonstrate, we take the full name of one of the greatest Russian poets as an example:
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Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin.
His first name is Alexander (Alexandre in Portuguese), his middle name is patronymic, that is, it comes from his father’s first name, which is Sergey, plus the accompaniment-evich, and lastly the family name which is Pushkin.
In Russia, this ending will vary according to the child’s gender. If it is masculine, the father’s name will be added to the terms, which are more common, ovich, evich, ich or vich. If feminine, the usual complements are ovna, evna or ichna.
A female example, Russian singer and pianist Oksana Petrovna Grigorieva. Her first name is Oksana, her middle name is her father’s name Petr plus the term -ovna and her family name is Grigorieva.
Speaking of family names, they vary by gender as well. It is customary for a woman to get “a” at the end, for example, Pushkina. The most common masculine suffixes are ov, ev, öv, in, ih and yh, while the feminine suffixes are ova, eva, öva, ina, ih or yh.
Other last names are based on animal or bird names. Less frequently, some may also refer to occupation names.
Russian female surnames
Alekseeva
This feminine surname means “daughter of Alexei“, this first name being a Russian form of Alexis.
From the Greek Alexis, derived from the verb aléxo, which means “to repel”, “defend” or “protect”, it takes on the meaning of “protector of man” and “defender of humanity”. As a result, the surname gains the meaning of “daughter of the protector of man” and “daughter of the defender of humanity“.
Semyonova
Following the same logic, this last name means “daughter of Semyon”, which is a Russian first name that means the same thing as Simon (which is the French, English and German version of Simon).
Simon originates from the Hebrew Shim’on, which derives from the element shamá that means “he heard”, meaning “he who hears”, “listener”. The surname gains the meaning of “daughter of the one who listens“, “daughter of the listener“.
Pavlova
Meaning “daughter of Pavel”, which is the Russian, Czech, Bulgarian and Slovenian version of Paul, being Paulo in Portuguese, it also gains the meaning of “daughter of the small man”, “daughter of the short man”.
Paulo originates from the Latin Paullus, from paullo, which means “small” or “low”. One famous personality who bears this family name is Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova.
Popova
This surname has nothing to do with a given name, in fact it means “priest’s daughter”, “priest’s daughter”.
Originating from the Russian pop, which means “priest”, “priest”. A well-known person in the artistic world who carries it is the Bulgarian writer Maria Popova.
Fedorova
Another family name that arises from a first name, precisely Fyodor, who is the Russian version of Teodoro.
Theodore originates from the Greek name Theódoros, composed of théos “god” and dôron “gift, gift”, meaning “gift from God”, “divine gift”. Because of this, Fedorova means “daughter of Fyodor”, “daughter of God’s gift”, “daughter of the divine gift”.
Russian male surnames
Ivanov
As a very popular surname, reaching around 1.3% of the Russian population, it also originated from a male given name, which is Ivan.
Ivan originates from the Russian Iván, the ancient form of the Slavic Ioannu, which means “God is gracious”, “graced by God”, “God’s grace and mercy” or “God forgives”. Because of this, the surname also gains the meaning of “son of the graced by God”, “son of God’s grace and mercy”. Well-known people who own it are former Bulgaria defender Trifon Ivanov and martial artist Blagoy Ivanov.
Smirnov
Another super popular surname in Russia, carried by approximately 1.8% of the population, it arose from an archaic male name, which is Smirnoy. It means “calm”, “quiet”, “obedient”, “gentle” and “peaceful”, beautiful meaning, don’t you think?
Petrov
Another surname that arises from a male given name, it is quite popular in Russia. It comes from Pyotr, which is the Russian version of the name Pedro, meaning “son of Pyotr”.
Pedro originates from the Greek name Pétros, the latter from the word petra, which literally means “stone, rock”. Because of this, the last name can gain the meaning of “son of the strong man”. One historical figure who owned it was former Lieutenant Colonel in the Russian army, Stanislav Petrov.
Sidorov
This surname comes from the male name Sidor, which is a shortened version of Isidoro, meaning “son of Sidor”.
Isidoro comes from the Greek Isidoros, formed by the union of the words Isis, name of the goddess Isis, and dôron, which means “gift, gift, gift”, becoming “gift of Isis”, “gift of the goddess Isis”. The surname takes on the meaning of “son of the gift of Isis”, “son of the gift of the goddess Isis”.
Vassiliev
Carrying a sense of royalty and nobility, this surname arose from the Russian male name Vassily, meaning “son of Vassily”.
This is a version of the name Basil, which comes from the Greek Basileios, derived from basileus, which means “king”, “sovereign”. Because of this, Vassiliev comes to mean also “son of the king”, “son of the sovereign”.
Russian surnames in Brazil
In this division, last names that are popular in Brazil were separated, mainly because of Russian personalities that are famous.
Asimov
Surely you have already read or at least heard about the science fiction writer Isaac Asimov, right? In fact, his given name was Isaak Yudovich Ozimov.
The meaning of the second name is not known, but Asimov is an anglicization of Ozimov, which also has an uncertain origin and meaning, it may have arisen from a Russian expression meaning “shivering”, “with goose bumps”, “feeling cold in the body”. ”.
Sharapov
This surname belongs to one of the greatest athletes in Russia and one of the best tennis players in the world, Maria Yuryevna Sharapova. Her patronymic name, which is the middle one, comes from her father’s name, Yuri, more evna.
Yuri is the Russian version of the name Jorge and means “little farmer”, “he who works the earth”, “farmer” or “the light of God”. Because of this, the surname Yuryevna means “daughter of the small farmer” or “daughter of God’s enlightened”. Sharapova has the possibility of being of Turkish origin, from the word Şarap, which means “honor” and “wisdom”.
Dostoevsky
That last name immediately reminds you of a very successful Russian writer, doesn’t it? Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky left masterpieces that are remembered and commented on today.
His patronymic name, which is his middle name, comes from his father’s name, Mikhail, which is the Russian version of Miguel. This has its origin in the Hebrew Mikhael, formed from the combination of the elements mikhayáh, and El, meaning “who is like God?” Because of this, the surname means “son of Mikhail” and “son of the one who is like God”. Dostoevsky, on the other hand, probably has toponymic origin, from a village called Dostoev, in Belarus.
Chekhov
Another Russian surname well known in Brazil, which was popularized by one of the greatest modern short story writers, called Anton Pavlovich Chekhov.
His patronymic name, like Pavlova, comes from the male name Pavel, Russian version of Paulo, meaning “son of Pavel”, “son of the small man”, “son of the man of short stature”. The origin and meaning of the Chekhov family name is not known for sure, there is a probability that it came up with the old Russian name Chekh or Chokh, through the verb chikhat, which means “to sneeze”.
Goncharov
Another heavy surname, which became known through Russian writer Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov, who wrote the important work Oblomov.
Alexandrovich comes from the name of his father Aleksander, Russian version of Alexander, meaning “son of Aleksander”, “son of the protector of man”, “son of the defender of humanity”, “son of the one who repels enemies”. Goncharov comes from the Russian word gonchar, which means “potter”, “one who makes ceramic objects”. It is believed that it became popular after a potter gave it to his son as a first name.
Noble and Popular Russian Surnames
Turgenev
This surname is considered of nobility in Russia, with uncertain origin and meaning, it is likely to have emerged from the Mongolian, through the root of the name turgen, meaning “fast”, “fast” and “eccentric”.
A world-renowned personality who owns it is Russian writer Ivan Turgenev.
Romanov
Being the surname of one of the world’s best-known Russian noble families, the last imperial dynasty, it means “son of Roman”.
Roman originates from the Latin romanus, which means “inhabitant of Rome” or “Roman”. Because of this, the surname also takes on the meaning of “son of the inhabitant of Rome”.
Demidov
Being the surname of a rich, noble and influential Russian family, it features as its main representative Pavel Nikolaevich Demidov.
It means “son of Demid”, which is the Russian version of the male name Diomedes, which came from the Greek dios, which means “of Zeus” and medomai, which is “to think”, “to imagine”, “to plan”, gaining the meaning of “divine counselor”, “intelligence of Zeus”. Thus, the surname can also gain the meaning of “son of the divine counselor”.
Orlov
This surname also represents an important Russian noble family, which became popular in the eighteenth century, mainly because of the soldier Alexei Orlov and his brother Gregory Orlov, lover of Empress Catherine (the Great).
The family name comes from the Russian word oryol, meaning “eagle”. This animal symbolizing force, power, authority and victory.
Rurik
The predecessor dynasty of the Romanovs were the noble Rurik family, who ruled until the 17th century. This surname is probably the Russian version of the Old Norse name Hrœrekr, which is a cognate of Old Germanic Hrodric, from which the name Rodrigo was derived.
Rodrigo is made up of the elements hruot, which means “fame”, and rik, which means “prince, ruler”. So Rurik can acquire the same meaning, meaning “mighty famous”, “famous for his glory” or “mighty ruler”, “famous king”.
Balabanov
Russian family name of occupational origin, Balabanov means “son of Balaban”. In Greek, this name means “tame bear”, while in Russian, it can be translated as “falcon” or “falconer”, a word related to the training of falcons.
Dobrow
This Russian surname has Ukrainian origins and is a reference to a place. It means “good” and refers to people from the village of Dobroe in Ukraine.
Kravtsov
A Russian occupational surname of Ukrainian origin, Kravtsov refers to people who had “tailoring” as their work.
Lagunov
Lagunov is a name of occupational origin that means “barrel of water”. It makes direct reference to people who had professional occupations connected with this artifact in ancient times.
Medvedev
There are some Russian surnames that make direct reference to the animals found in this country. One of the most famous is Medvedev, which simply means “bear.”
Also, see:
Beautiful surnames: 141 examples of beautiful, cute and strong names from around the world
