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Russian Naming Convention: Difference between revisions
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{{
[[Russian
You're reading a Russian-written and/or set novel in which there's a hot [[Sensual Slavs|Soviet]] [[
▲'''Diminutives'''
▲You're reading a Russian-written and/or set novel in which there's a hot [[Sensual Slavs|Soviet]] [[Mata Hari|spy]] (with blonde highlights, natch) called Ekaterina Ivanovna Smirnova. She hangs around Moscow and goes to Moscow Centre to do her work, where she's called Comrade Major Smirnova or Ekaterina Ivanovna. Then she goes to visit her friends, who start calling her Katya. Then she visits her parents at their [[Dacha]] (they're senior CPSU members, so they have a dacha) and they call her ''Katen'ka''.
No, you haven't gone mad. Nor has the author engaged in a stunning display of inconsistency. You've just entered the world of the Russian diminutive.
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* The derogatory one, in this case "Kat'ka" (basically Stupid Kate). Used when you're being insulting or for nonchalant familiarity, whether in actual display thereof or to take someone who obviously doesn't apply down a notch or two. Except in some contexts this form isn't offensive (most often, if the person who accepts it is trying to present hirself as simple, down-to-earth person). Or sometimes Russians use this form when talking about themselves, ironically.
There are other, non-standardized forms of Russian names, often occurring in slang and among the ''[[Gang
(She could also be called "Katyusha"- Katie, a name best known since it was applied to truck-mounted rocket launchers used by the Red Army during the [[World War II|Second World War]] and still used today).
There are examples for virtually every common Russian name. No, they aren't predictable. Note that unlike in the West, dimunitive names are never used in formal
So we're back to our hot female spy. Her full name is Ekaterina Ivanovna Smirnova. Her first name is obvious- the Russian form of Katherine. But what about the other two:
* Ivanovna means "daughter of Ivan". The male version is "Ivanovich"- "son of Ivan". The technical term is [[
* Smirnova is the feminine form of Smirnov, a very common Russian surname. Women (often) add an "a" to the surname.
=== ''Surnames'' ===
Russian, Ukrainian and Belarussian surnames have a variety of different types, usually tallying with ethnic origin. The Russian ones:
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* -in/ina
* -sky/skaya: More of a Jewish or Polish name today, but before 1917, there were many noble (comital or princely) Russian families with names like this.
** Plus there's the whole "add a -ski and it's Russian" thing for nicknames (not [[Reporting Names]]), for Soviet/Russian military tech, such as "Konkordski" (the Tu-144 "Charger", the Soviet rival to Concord, which entered service first, but was retired far earlier and much cruder, if faster), "Harpoonski" (Kh-35/SS-N-25 "Switchblade", due its resemblance to the US Harpoon missile) and
*** ''Termiteskis'' in [[Looney Tunes|Russian Rhapsody]].
* -iy/iya: Also in Ukraine.
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* -enko
* -ko
** Which means there's a chance that [[Alias (TV series)|Irina Derevko]] is actually not a Russian in ethnic origin, but Ukrainian.
*** Not necessary, as Russians, Ukrainians and Belorussians are, regardless of what [[Patriotic Fervor|nationalists on all sides]] would tell you, still very much parts of a same ethnicity, or at least not consider each other ''foreign'' enough, so the surname ethnicity doesn't really reflect a ''person'''s ethnicity in any way.
* -lo
* -uk
* -ych
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* Names that are just nouns without familial endings are more common among Ukrainians and Belarussians than Russians. E.g. Koval (smith), Shpak (starling), Kuchma (woolly hat) (all Ukrainian), Filin (owl), Moroz (frost) (more likely to be Belarussian), etc.
Many surnames are derived from animal names. For example, Dmitry Medvedev (get used to that name since he is in control of [[Mnogo Nukes]]) has a surname that means "Bear's Son". Others derive from professions, i.e. Kuznetsov, "Smith's Son".
When the Soviet Union took over Central Asia, the Muslim Turkic and Persian locals generally adapted their names (which already used [[Patronymic
Common surnames: Ivanov, Smirnov, Kuznetsov, Petrov, Sidorov
Common first names in those three countries (with English equivalents where they exist).
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* Aleksandr/Alexander (Alex)
** The basic diminutive for this name is "Sasha". Has an equally popular female version - "Aleksandra" which diminutes to "Sasha" as well. Sometimes gets shortened to "Alex" just as "Aleksey" above.
*** The gender of [[Team Fortress 2
*** Thus is explained the stage name of welsh trance producer Alexander Coe, DJ Sasha.
** Sasha Alexander, from ''[[
** Another diminutive is "Shura" or "Shurik". The latter is male-only and is also a popular Soviet comical stock character - an awkward and clumsy Soviet student, reeking of geekiness and ''intelligentsya''.
** "Alik" is another popular nickname for Aleksandr, and also serves as a nickname for other, rarer names that start with "Al-" (including foreign names such as Albert).
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* Varvara (Barbara)
** "Varya"
* Polina
** "Polya"
* Yevdokiya (Eudocia/Eudokia)
** "Dunya"
In Russia, when you're referring to someone in a formal setting, you don't just use their first name, but their first name and patronymic, i.e. "Ekaterina Ivanovna" or their diminutive. ("Ivan Ilyich" is a name familiar to Tolstoy wonks, who will tell you that that's not the character's full name; Soviet history buffs will tell you the same about [[One Day in
Oddly, even though addressing a person by the first name and patronymic is very formal, addressing them with the patronymic alone is seen as highly informal, even less formal than [[First-Name Basis]]. In this informal usage male patronymics usually get shortened by removing the "ov/ev" (e.g. Ivanovich becomes Ivanych, Sergeyevich - Sergeich, etc.), unless that syllable is stressed (e.g. Petrovich). In addition, some names have completely idiosyncratic short forms (e.g. Pavlovich - Palych, Dmitriyevich - Mitrich, etc.) As a way of emphasising his closeness to the people, Lenin was often referred to simply as "Ilyich" in speeches and Soviet media. In contrast, no one ever (except ''maybe'' [[Battle Butler|general Vlasik]]
When it comes to name orders, Russian does not stick to just one, unlike English or Japanese. The most formal order is family name first, followed by given name, followed by patronymic (e.g. Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich). However, this order is only used on official documents and when introducing or referring to people in a very formal setting (for instance, dinner at the Kremlin or a courtroom in session), never as a direct form of address. This does not differ too much from the equivalent Western usage; think of the situations someone might use the phrasing "Smith, John Michael," and you have a rough (but hardly complete) idea when "Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich" might be used in Russia. The more Western order of given name-patronymic-family name (Ivan Ivanovich Ivanov) is a less official, but more commonly used way of giving someone's full name. When the patronymic is left out both the Western (Ivan Ivanov) and Eastern (Ivanov Ivan) orders are acceptable. The media nowadays uses the Western order almost exclusively (which also means that most official anime dubs reverse the Japanese names, just like they do in the West), while in schools and colleges the Eastern order is generally preferred. The only strict rule in Russian naming orders is that the patronymic can only be placed immediately after the given name (so "Ivan Ivanov Ivanovich" is always unacceptable). The surname alone is used in some formal situations as surname and first letters of name and patronymic in many documents. It assumes authority of the caller, such as of teacher in a class.
The Russian equivalents to Mr. and Mrs. aren't really used save in older literature. Lack of an easy pronoun to call someone actually became a problem a few years ago. "Gospodin" or "gospozha" (equivalents to Mr. and Mrs. respectively) were only [[The New Russia|recently]] returned to use and are used mostly by businessmen or civil servants to address each other, very formally. (Don't call a Russian the equivalent of "citizen"; that's how cops address a ''perp'', so it sounds offensive.) The address "comrade" is used only in the [[Tricolours With Rusting Rockets|army]] and in the Communist Party, which is removed from power and is slowly dying out. The most common forms of address between common people are the Russian equivalents of "man", "young man", "woman" or "girl". Note that "girl" ("devushka") is MUCH more preferable then "woman" ("zhenshina") as the latter [[
When writing full Russian names in English, you either skip the patronymic, initial both names, or do it in full. Usually. Some people get the "Name Patronymic-initial Surname" treatment, most famously Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, frequently called "Vladimir V. Putin" in the Western press.
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[[Category:Naming Conventions]]
[[Category:Useful Notes/Russia]]
[[Category:
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