Russian Name Generator
Russian names in full: given name, patronymic in -ovich or -ovna, and a family name, every part glossed and correctly gendered.
312,650 combinations in this form
- Mikhail Bogdanovich Golubev
Mikhail like god + bogdanovich son of Bogdan
like god, son of Bogdan
Golubev the dove's
the dove's
- Anfisa Anatolyevna Berezovskaya
Anfisa flowering + anatolyevna daughter of Anatoly
flowering, daughter of Anatoly
Berezovskaya of the birch
of the birch
- Maksim Klimovich Fyodorov
Maksim greatest + klimovich son of Klim
greatest, son of Klim
Fyodorov Fyodor's
Fyodor's
- Nika Vyacheslavovna Pavlova
Nika victory + vyacheslavovna daughter of Vyacheslav
victory, daughter of Vyacheslav
Pavlova Pavel's
Pavel's
- Vitaly Dmitrievich Ivanov
Vitaly of life + dmitrievich son of Dmitri
of life, son of Dmitri
Ivanov Ivan's
Ivan's
- Yaroslava Vitalyevna Ivanova
Yaroslava fierce glory + vitalyevna daughter of Vitaly
fierce glory, daughter of Vitaly
Ivanova Ivan's
Ivan's
- Luka Mikhailovich Tkachev
Luka from Lucania + mikhailovich son of Mikhail
from Lucania, son of Mikhail
Tkachev the weaver's
the weaver's
- Fyodora Olegovna Popova
Fyodora god's gift + olegovna daughter of Oleg
god's gift, daughter of Oleg
Popova the priest's
the priest's
- Ruslan Romanovich Ostrovsky
Ruslan lion + romanovich son of Roman
lion, son of Roman
Ostrovsky of the island
of the island
- Nika Vasilyevna Fyodorova
Nika victory + vasilyevna daughter of Vasily
victory, daughter of Vasily
Fyodorova Fyodor's
Fyodor's
- Yaroslav Ivanovich Zaytsev
Yaroslav fierce glory + ivanovich son of Ivan
fierce glory, son of Ivan
Zaytsev the hare's
the hare's
- Milana Klimovna Volkova
Milana dear + klimovna daughter of Klim
dear, daughter of Klim
Volkova the wolf's
the wolf's
- Yakov Vyacheslavovich Solovyov
Yakov supplanter + vyacheslavovich son of Vyacheslav
supplanter, son of Vyacheslav
Solovyov the nightingale's
the nightingale's
- Alexandra Danilovna Soboleva
Alexandra defender of men + danilovna daughter of Daniil
defender of men, daughter of Daniil
Soboleva the sable's
the sable's
- Anatoly Petrovich Tkachenko
Anatoly sunrise + petrovich son of Pyotr
sunrise, son of Pyotr
Tkachenko the weaver's son
the weaver's son
- Alexandra Bronislavovna Ilyina
Alexandra defender of men + bronislavovna daughter of Bronislav
defender of men, daughter of Bronislav
Ilyina Ilya's
Ilya's
- Oleg Romanovich Volkov
Oleg holy + romanovich son of Roman
holy, son of Roman
Volkov the wolf's
the wolf's
- Praskovya Valeryevna Plotnikova
Praskovya preparation + valeryevna daughter of Valery
preparation, daughter of Valery
Plotnikova the carpenter's
the carpenter's
- Fyodor Alexeyevich Alexeyev
Fyodor gift of god + alexeyevich son of Alexey
gift of god, son of Alexey
Alexeyev Alexey's
Alexey's
- Zoya Maksimovna Chernykh
Zoya life + maksimovna daughter of Maksim
life, daughter of Maksim
Chernykh of the blacks
of the blacks
- Vasily Grigoryevich Vysotsky
Vasily royal + grigoryevich son of Grigory
royal, son of Grigory
Vysotsky of the heights
of the heights
- Agafya Pavlovna Kovaleva
Agafya good + pavlovna daughter of Pavel
good, daughter of Pavel
Kovaleva the farrier's
the farrier's
- Stepan Svyatoslavovich Sokolov
Stepan crown + svyatoslavovich son of Svyatoslav
crown, son of Svyatoslav
Sokolov the falcon's
the falcon's
- Boguslava Innokentyevna Petrova
Boguslava god glory + innokentyevna daughter of Innokenty
god glory, daughter of Innokenty
Petrova Pyotr's
Pyotr's
How Russian names are built
¶A Russian is named three times over: given name, patronymic, family name. The patronymic is the father's name plus ovich for a son and ovna for a daughter, so Ivan's children are Dmitri Ivanovich and Anna Ivanovna. Given name and patronymic together is the courteous form of address, used where English would reach for a title and surname, and it is what a teacher, a doctor or a stranger of any seniority is called.
Family names agree with the person too. A man is Volkov, Kuznetsov or Vishnevsky; his wife and daughter are Volkova, Kuznetsova and Vishnevskaya, because the surname is grammatically an adjective. Most are possessive: Volkov is the wolf's, Kuznetsov the smith's, Popov the priest's, Sokolov the falcon's. A second group is patronymic in origin, so Ivanov is Ivan's and Ilyin is Ilya's. The sky ending is toponymic and points at a place, and a small group in ykh, enko and chuk does not inflect at all, standing identical for a man and a woman.
Then there are the diminutives, and no other European language has so many. Alexander gives Sasha in the street, Sashenka from his mother, Sashka from a friend being rude, Sashulya from someone being soft. Yekaterina gives Katya, Katyusha, Katenka, Katka. The endings do not change the name, they set the temperature of the room, and choosing the wrong one in dialogue is as loud as choosing the wrong pronoun.
Questions
How do Russian patronymics work?
Take the father's given name and add a suffix: ovich or evich for a son, ovna or evna for a daughter. Ivan's children are Ivanovich and Ivanovna, Sergey's are Sergeyevich and Sergeyevna. A few are irregular, so Pyotr gives Petrovich, Ilya gives Ilyich and Ilyinichna. The patronymic sits between the given name and the family name and never changes on marriage.
Why do Russian surnames end in -a for women?
Because the surname behaves as an adjective and agrees with its bearer. Volkov means the wolf's, so a woman of that family is Volkova; Kuznetsov becomes Kuznetsova, and the sky ending becomes skaya, so Vishnevsky becomes Vishnevskaya. Writing Maria Sharapov rather than Sharapova is a grammatical error rather than an alternative spelling.
What are common Russian surnames?
Ivanov, Smirnov, Kuznetsov, Popov, Vasilyev, Petrov, Sokolov, Mikhailov, Novikov and Fyodorov head the list. Some are patronymic, built on a father's name, and some are nicknames: Kuznetsov is the smith's, Popov the priest's, Sokolov the falcon's, and Smirnov comes from smirny, meaning quiet. All of them take an a for a woman.
What does Sasha mean in Russian?
Nothing on its own. It is the short form of Alexander and also of Alexandra, and Russian builds dozens of these from every name: Sasha, Sashenka, Sashka, Sashulya, Shura. They carry warmth, familiarity or contempt rather than meaning, which is why a Russian novel can call one character six different things without ever renaming him.
Are these real Russian names?
Yes. Every given name is in current or historical Russian use and carries its documented etymology, every patronymic is the correct form built from a real father's name, and every surname is an attested Russian family name. Each roll gives the full official name, given name then patronymic then family name, with the patronymic and the surname both in the form that agrees with the bearer.