Names by country
Russian names for characters
Popular Russian first names by birth decade, common and regional surnames, pronunciation, and the naming rules writers trip over.
How Russian names work
Every Russian has a patronymic from their father's first name (Ivanovich, son of Ivan; Ivanovna, daughter of Ivan). First name plus patronymic is the polite form of address; diminutives like Sasha and Lena are for friends and family. Most surnames take an -a ending for women.
Middle names. No middle names. The patronymic sits in that position and is part of the full legal name.
First names by birth decade
Names drift in and out of fashion. Pick from the decade your character was born, not the year your story is set.
Born before 1950
Girls
- Valentina (Valya) vah-len-TEE-nah
- Galina (Galya) gah-LEE-nah
- Nina
- Lyudmila (Lyuda) lyood-MEE-lah
- Tamara (Toma) tah-MAH-rah
- Zoya ZOY-ah
- Raisa (Raya) rah-EE-sah
- Antonina (Tonya) an-toh-NEE-nah
Boys
- Vladimir (Volodya) vlah-DEE-meer
- Nikolai (Kolya) nee-koh-LYE
- Aleksandr (Sasha) ah-lek-SAHNDR
- Viktor (Vitya) VEEK-tor
- Anatoly (Tolya) ah-nah-TOH-lee
- Yuri (Yura) YOO-ree
- Ivan (Vanya) ee-VAHN
- Mikhail (Misha) mee-khah-EEL
Born 1950–64
Girls
- Tatyana (Tanya) tat-YAH-nah
- Lyudmila (Lyuda)
- Nadezhda (Nadya) nah-DYEZH-dah
- Lyubov (Lyuba) lyoo-BOF
- Svetlana (Sveta) svet-LAH-nah
- Irina (Ira) ee-REE-nah
- Galina (Galya)
- Larisa (Lara) lah-REE-sah
Boys
- Sergei (Seryozha) ser-GAY
- Aleksandr (Sasha)
- Vladimir (Volodya)
- Viktor (Vitya)
- Yuri (Yura)
- Gennady (Gena) geh-NAH-dee
- Valery (Valera) vah-LEH-ree
- Nikolai (Kolya)
Born 1965–79
Girls
- Yelena (Lena) yeh-LEH-nah
- Olga (Olya)
- Natalya (Natasha)
- Irina (Ira)
- Svetlana (Sveta)
- Tatyana (Tanya)
- Marina mah-REE-nah
- Oksana ahk-SAH-nah
Boys
- Sergei (Seryozha)
- Andrei (Andryusha) ahn-DRAY
- Aleksandr (Sasha)
- Dmitry (Dima) DMEE-tree
- Aleksei (Lyosha) ah-lek-SAY
- Igor
- Oleg
- Vladimir (Volodya)
Born 1980–94
Girls
- Yelena (Lena)
- Yekaterina (Katya)
- Anna (Anya)
- Olga (Olya)
- Yulia (Yulya)
- Natalya (Natasha)
- Anastasia (Nastya) ah-nah-STAH-see-yah
- Tatyana (Tanya)
Boys
- Aleksandr (Sasha)
- Dmitry (Dima)
- Sergei (Seryozha)
- Andrei (Andryusha)
- Aleksei (Lyosha)
- Maksim (Maks) mahk-SEEM
- Denis deh-NEES
- Yevgeny (Zhenya)
Born 1995–2009
Girls
- Anastasia (Nastya)
- Darya (Dasha)
- Yekaterina (Katya)
- Polina (Polya) pah-LEE-nah
- Mariya (Masha)
- Anna (Anya)
- Viktoriya (Vika) veek-TOR-ee-yah
- Yelizaveta (Liza) yeh-lee-zah-VYEH-tah
Boys
- Daniil (Danya) dah-nee-EEL
- Nikita nee-KEE-tah
- Artyom (Tyoma)
- Maksim (Maks)
- Ivan (Vanya)
- Kirill (Kirya) kee-REEL
- Dmitry (Dima)
- Ilya (Ilyusha) eel-YAH
Born 2010 onward
Girls
- Sofia (Sonya)
- Mariya (Masha)
- Anna (Anya)
- Alisa ah-LEE-sah
- Viktoriya (Vika)
- Varvara (Varya) var-VAH-rah
- Polina (Polya)
- Yeva YEH-vah
Boys
- Aleksandr (Sasha)
- Mikhail (Misha)
- Artyom (Tyoma)
- Matvei (Motya) maht-VAY
- Maksim (Maks)
- Ivan (Vanya)
- Lev (Lyova) LYEF
- Mark
Common Russian surnames
Women's forms are shown after the slash.
- Ivanov / Ivanova ee-vah-NOF
- Smirnov / Smirnova smeer-NOF
- Kuznetsov / Kuznetsova kooz-nyet-SOF
- Popov / Popova pah-POF
- Vasilyev / Vasilyeva vah-SEEL-yef
- Petrov / Petrova peh-TROF
- Sokolov / Sokolova sah-kah-LOF
- Mikhailov / Mikhailova mee-KHYE-lof
- Novikov / Novikova NOH-vee-kof
- Fyodorov / Fyodorova FYOH-dah-rof
- Morozov / Morozova mah-rah-ZOF
- Volkov / Volkova vahl-KOF
- Alekseyev / Alekseyeva ah-lek-SAY-ef
- Lebedev / Lebedeva LYEH-beh-dyef
- Semyonov / Semyonova sem-YOH-nof
- Yegorov / Yegorova yeh-GOR-of
- Pavlov / Pavlova PAHV-lof
- Kozlov / Kozlova kahz-LOF
- Stepanov / Stepanova steh-PAH-nof
- Nikolayev / Nikolayeva nee-kah-LYE-ef
- Orlov / Orlova ar-LOF
- Andreyev / Andreyeva ahn-DRAY-ef
- Makarov / Makarova mah-KAH-rof
- Zakharov / Zakharova zah-KHAH-rof
Regional names
Where a character comes from inside Russia changes their surname, and sometimes their first name.
Tatarstan (Kazan)
Tatar families use Russian-style surnames and patronymics built on Turkic and Arabic roots.
Surnames: Valiev, Khabibullin, Galiev, Sharipov, Zakirov, Mukhametshin, Gilmutdinov, Nurullin, Safin, Ibragimov
Girls: Alsu, Gulnara, Dinara, Aigul, Liliya, Guzel, Elvira, Leysan
Boys: Rustam, Ildar, Marat, Rinat, Ruslan, Aidar, Ilnur, Timur
Kuban and the south (Krasnodar, Rostov)
Cossack and Ukrainian-origin surnames in -enko and -ko don't change for women.
Surnames: Kravchenko, Tkachenko, Lysenko, Bondarenko, Shevchenko, Moroz, Kovalenko, Savchenko, Rudenko, Yatsenko
Questions
What are common Russian surnames?
Some of the most common Russian surnames are Ivanov, Smirnov, Kuznetsov, Popov, Vasilyev, Petrov. Regional surnames differ, so check the regional lists before choosing one for a character from a particular area.
How do Russian names work?
Every Russian has a patronymic from their father's first name (Ivanovich, son of Ivan; Ivanovna, daughter of Ivan). First name plus patronymic is the polite form of address; diminutives like Sasha and Lena are for friends and family. Most surnames take an -a ending for women. No middle names. The patronymic sits in that position and is part of the full legal name.
Build a Russian character in one tap
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