Post by monochromereflection on Aug 20, 2015 19:17:19 GMT -7
Okay, so I noticed in some RPs a lot of people from Western countries who played Russian born characters didn’t really understand Russian naming customs. So I thought I’d write a handy guide for future members.
First off, Russians don’t have the same naming system as the west. So if a person is born in Russia they don’t have the typical first name, middle name, last name as we do in the US or in Western Europe. If you were born in Russia and a few other Slavic countries, you would be given a first name, a patronymic (basically means “Son of [father’s name]” or “Daughter of [father’s name]”), and your last name is different depending on whether you are male or female (though this can exceptions depending if your surname isn’t Slavic). Though, this can change depending on if a Russian national is born in another country and might follow Western rules.
LINKS FOR RUSSIAN FIRST NAMES:
First names are pretty standard. They’re not as complicated as middle/last names, though can be hard to spell and pronounce if you’re unfamiliar with Slavic languages.
MALE NAMES: www.behindthename.com/names/gender/masculine/usage/russian
FEMALE NAMES: www.behindthename.com/names/gender/feminine/usage/russian
UNISEX/AMBIGUOUS NAMES: www.behindthename.com/names/gender/unisex/usage/russian
LINKS FOR RUSSIAN MIDDLE NAMES (PATRONYMICS):
Patronymics are gendered, which means the patronymic depends on whether you are born a boy or a girl. Patronymics are variants of the first name of your father (I’ve never seen matronymics used in Russia).
For example: A male name would be Mikhail Ivanovich Sokolov. This in a sense would mean “Mikhail, son of Ivan, Sokolov”.
BUT a female name would be Maria Ivanovna Sokolova. “Maria, daughter of Ivan, (feminine spelling of) Sokolov. Gendered surnames are mentioned below.
ON PATRONYMICS:
goeasteurope.about.com/od/russianculture/a/russianpatronymics.htm
stpetersburg.usconsulate.gov/swtspell2.html
Though if you really want to by lazy about it, you could just put “vich” or “ovna” at the end of a man’s name.
LINKS FOR RUSSIAN LAST NAMES:
Russian last names usually depend on whether you are male or female, though foreign names in Russia can be an exception. Usually if you meet a Russian family you’d notice sons would have a different surname than a daughter. Like I mentioned in the middle name section a man would be Sokolov and a female would be Sokolova. Just keep that in mind with surnames if your character is Russian born.
surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/russian
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_surnames_in_Russia
genealogy.familyeducation.com/browse/origin/russian
First off, Russians don’t have the same naming system as the west. So if a person is born in Russia they don’t have the typical first name, middle name, last name as we do in the US or in Western Europe. If you were born in Russia and a few other Slavic countries, you would be given a first name, a patronymic (basically means “Son of [father’s name]” or “Daughter of [father’s name]”), and your last name is different depending on whether you are male or female (though this can exceptions depending if your surname isn’t Slavic). Though, this can change depending on if a Russian national is born in another country and might follow Western rules.
LINKS FOR RUSSIAN FIRST NAMES:
First names are pretty standard. They’re not as complicated as middle/last names, though can be hard to spell and pronounce if you’re unfamiliar with Slavic languages.
MALE NAMES: www.behindthename.com/names/gender/masculine/usage/russian
FEMALE NAMES: www.behindthename.com/names/gender/feminine/usage/russian
UNISEX/AMBIGUOUS NAMES: www.behindthename.com/names/gender/unisex/usage/russian
LINKS FOR RUSSIAN MIDDLE NAMES (PATRONYMICS):
Patronymics are gendered, which means the patronymic depends on whether you are born a boy or a girl. Patronymics are variants of the first name of your father (I’ve never seen matronymics used in Russia).
For example: A male name would be Mikhail Ivanovich Sokolov. This in a sense would mean “Mikhail, son of Ivan, Sokolov”.
BUT a female name would be Maria Ivanovna Sokolova. “Maria, daughter of Ivan, (feminine spelling of) Sokolov. Gendered surnames are mentioned below.
ON PATRONYMICS:
goeasteurope.about.com/od/russianculture/a/russianpatronymics.htm
stpetersburg.usconsulate.gov/swtspell2.html
Though if you really want to by lazy about it, you could just put “vich” or “ovna” at the end of a man’s name.
LINKS FOR RUSSIAN LAST NAMES:
Russian last names usually depend on whether you are male or female, though foreign names in Russia can be an exception. Usually if you meet a Russian family you’d notice sons would have a different surname than a daughter. Like I mentioned in the middle name section a man would be Sokolov and a female would be Sokolova. Just keep that in mind with surnames if your character is Russian born.
surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/russian
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_surnames_in_Russia
genealogy.familyeducation.com/browse/origin/russian
