Russian Last Names

Common Russian last names on this page include Ivanov or Ivanova, Kuznetsov or Kuznetsova, Petrov or Petrova, Smirnov or Smirnova, Popov or Popova, and Sokolov or Sokolova. Common notes follow each source's own counts and may list forms separately.

Ivanov is the masculine form and Ivanova is the feminine form. Many Russian surnames follow this pattern where the ending changes to indicate gender. Some sources rank these forms separately rather than as a single family name.

Many Russian surnames have masculine and feminine forms. For example, Ivanov becomes Ivanova, Petrov becomes Petrova, and Sokolov becomes Sokolova. However, some reviewed surnames on this page are unchanged regardless of gender.

These endings indicate masculine and feminine forms of Russian surnames. The -ov/-ova pattern (like Ivanov/Ivanova), -ev/-eva pattern (like Medvedev/Medvedeva), and -in/-ina pattern (like Nikitin/Nikitina) are the most common gendered surname patterns in Russian.

Reviewed Russian surnames starting with M include Mikhailov or Mikhailova, Makarov or Makarova, Morozov or Morozova, Matveyev or Matveyeva, Medvedev or Medvedeva, Maslov or Maslova, and the unchanged form Melnik.

For many paired surnames, the masculine form is used in male contexts: Ivanov, Petrov, Sokolov, Kuznetsov, Smirnov, Morozov, and Medvedev are examples in the reviewed list.

Many feminine forms add endings such as -ova, -eva, -ina, or -skaya. Examples include Ivanova, Petrova, Sokolova, Kuznetsova, Pushkina, and Belskaya.

Sokolova is the feminine form paired with Sokolov. The reviewed meaning note connects the surname to sokol, meaning falcon.

No. A patronymic can appear between the given name and family name in Russian naming. This page lists family names, though many family names themselves come from given-name roots.