Russian given names are provided at birth or selected during a name change.

Orthodox Christian Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churche ...

names constitute a fair proportion of Russian given names, but there are many exceptions including pre-Christian Slavic names, Communist names, and names taken from ethnic minorities in Russia. Given names form a distinct area of the Russian language with some unique features. The evolution of Russian given names dates back to the pre-Christian era, though the list of common names changed drastically after the adoption of Christianity. In

medieval Russia Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas o ...

two types of names were in use: canonical names given at

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

(calendar or Christian names, usually modified) and non-canonical. The 14th century was marked by the elimination of non-canonical names, that ended by the 18th century. In the 20th century after the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

the whole idea of a name changed. It was a completely new era in the history of Russian names, marked by significant changes in common names. The names of popular

saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orth ...

are known as "calendar names" from their occurrence in the

Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar The Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar describes and dictates the rhythm of the life of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Passages of Holy Scripture, saints and events for commemoration are associated with each date, as are many times special ru ...

. A common custom is to name the baby for the saint who is the

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

over their

birthday A birthday is the anniversary of the birth of a person, or figuratively of an institution. Birthdays of people are celebrated in numerous cultures, often with birthday gifts, birthday cards, a birthday party, or a rite of passage. Many rel ...

. Such names include

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulga ...

(, "

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

"), Andrei (, "

Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

"),

Yakov Yakov (alternative spellings: Jakov or Iakov, cyrl, Яков) is a Russian or Hebrew variant of the given names Jacob and James. People also give the nickname Yasha ( cyrl, Яша) or Yashka ( cyrl, Яшка) used for Yakov. Notable people Peopl ...

(, "

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam ...

"),

Yuri Yuri may refer to: People and fictional characters Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), also Yūri, feminine Jap ...

(, " George"),

Tatyana Tatiana (or Tatianna, also romanized as Tatyana, Tatjana, Tatijana, etc.) is a female name of Sabine-Roman origin that became widespread in Eastern Europe. Variations * be, Тацця́на, Tatsiana * bg, Татяна, Tatyana * germa ...

(, "

Tatiana Tatiana (or Tatianna, also romanized as Tatyana, Tatjana, Tatijana, etc.) is a female name of Sabine-Roman origin that became widespread in Eastern Europe. Variations * be, Тацця́на, Tatsiana * bg, Татяна, Tatyana * germa ...

"),

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

(, "

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also call ...

"),

Avdotia Avdotya (russian: Авдо́тья) or Avdotia is a Russian feminine given name. It is a form of the Greek name Eudoxia/Eudokia/Eudocia, held by several saints honored in the Russian Orthodox Church. It is shared by the following people: * Avdoty ...

(, " Eudocia"), Elizaveta (, " Elizabeth"). The group of calendar names includes traditional names that used to be listed in orthodox

menologia Menologium (), also written menology, and menologe, is a service-book used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite. From its derivation from Greek , ''menológion'', from μήν ''m� ...

prior to the

and in popular calendars of the Soviet era that had been printed since the second half of the 19th century. 95% of the Russian-speaking population in the Soviet Union in the 1980s had calendar names. Ancient Slavic names include Stanislav (),

Rada The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sena ...

() and Radomir (), and Dobromila. Old Russian names include Zhdan (), Peresvet (), Lada (), and Lyubava (). Soviet-era names include Vilen (), Avangard (),

Ninel Ninel is a given name. It is feminine in the former Soviet Union and masculine in Romania. In many Soviet cases, it is often considered to be derived from reversing the surname Lenin. It may refer to: *Ninel Aladova (born 1934), Belarusian archite ...

(), and

Era An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Com ...

(). Names borrowed from other languages include

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

(), Ruslan (),

Zhanna Zhanna is a given name, Russian form of Jeanne. Notable people with the name include: * Zhanna Agalakova (born 1965), Russian journalist * Zhanna Bichevskaya (born 1944), prominent Russian bard and folk musician *Zhanna Friske (1974–2015), Russi ...

(), and Leyla (). The number of currently used names is relatively small. According to various estimations no more than 600 masculine and feminine names more or less regularly appear in modern generations: the main body of given names does not exceed 300–400.

History

The history of Russian given name is usually divided in three stages: * pre-Christian, period of pagan names, created by means of Old-East Slavic language. * Christian, foreign Christian names began to replace old pagan names; small proportion of traditional names became canonical; * modern, starting from October Revolution, characterized by elimination of difference between canonical, calendar and non-calendar names, active borrowing and active name construction.

Before the Christian era

Before adoption of Christianity till the end of the 10th century, eastern Slavs (ancestors of modern

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Or ...

and

Belarusians , native_name_lang = be , pop = 9.5–10 million , image = , caption = , popplace = 7.99 million , region1 = , pop1 = 600,000–768,000 , region2 = , pop2 ...

) used almost exclusively Slavonic names which were given at birth. No distinction between first name and

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

was made during this period. Given names in Old East Slavonic language (nickname, epithet, handle) are similar to appellation after a particular episode. Pre-Christian names were used in Rus' several centuries after adoption of Christianity. They were commonly used alongside Christian names till the end of 17th century. Old Slavonic names are exceptionally diverse. Dictionary of Old Slavonic names by N. M. Tupikov, printed in 1903, comprised 5300 masculine and 50 feminine names. Old Slavonic names fall in several categories: Дед Мороз

* Numerical names representing birth order in a family: ''Perva'', ''Pervoy'' (the first), ''Vtorak'' (the second), ''Tretyak'' (the third), ''Chetvertak'' (the fourth) and so on. Due to biological limitations, those names wouldn't go far beyond 10 (Desyatko). * Names based on individual characteristics, like hair and skin color. Names like Chernysh, Chernyai, Chernyava,(=black one) Bel, Belyai, Belyak, Beloukha (=white one) were widely used. Constitution features also could be reflected in a name: Mal (Small), Малюта, Малой (Smaller), Долгой (Tall), Сухой (thin one), Толстой (Fat one), Голова (Head), Головач, Лобан, Беспалой (Fingerless). * Names describing personality, habits and behaviour. Among them Забава (fun or game), Истома, Крик (scream), Скряба, Молчан (silent one), Неулыба (one who does not smile), Булгак (restless), Смеяна (one who laughs) и Несмеяна (one who does not laugh). * Names, reflecting attitude toward child, whether she was longed for: Богдан (gift of God) и Богдана, Бажен (желанный), Голуба, Любава (loved one), Ждан (awaited one) и Неждан (unexpected one), Хотен, Чаян и Нечай. * Seasonal names: ''Veshnyak'' Вешняк (spring one), Zima Зима (

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in Polar regions of Earth, polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring (season), spring. The tilt of Axial tilt#Earth, Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a Hemi ...

), Moroz Мороз (frost). * Animal and plant-related names:

Bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species '' Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, incl ...

(russian: Бык, Byk), Волк (wolf), Ворон (raven), Щука (pike), Кот (cat), Кошка (she-cat), Жеребец (Stallion), Корова (cow), Щавей (from щавель, rumex), Трава (grass), Пырей. It is believed that this kind of name is a relic of

totem A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage (anthropology), lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan ...

beliefs. * Names related to beliefs that "bad" words can deflect evil spirits, diseases and even death: Горяин, Немил, Некрас (ugly one), Нелюба (loveless one), Неустрой, Злоба (Anger), Тугарин (from туга — печаль, sorrow). * Names related to other nations : Chudin Чудин (after

Chud Chud or Chude ( orv, чудь, in Finnic languages: tšuudi, čuđit) is a term historically applied in the early East Slavic annals to several Finnic peoples in the area of what is now Estonia, Karelia and Northwestern Russia. Arguably, the ...

people, чудь), Karel Карел,

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

in Татарин, Kozarin Козарин (от названия хазар), Ontoman Онтоман (after

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

people, оттоманы). All previously mentioned names fall into domestic category were used in family circle. However, when a person entered a broader social group (changing his occupation or place of residence), his name was replaced or supplemented by another. This sort of nickname exceeds family names in number - an adult has more distinct characteristics that can be used as a basis for a nickname than a child. Not all pre-Christian names were equally popular. Only some tens of several thousand names were actively used. Popularity of pagan names resulted in formation of various diminutive forms: Bychko from Byk, Zhdanko from Zhdan, Puzeika from Puzo and so on. The most popular names had many forms. For example, root -bel- produced a wide range of names like Bela, Belka, Belava, Beloy, Belonya, Belyay, Belyash. Root -sem- produced 33 names, including Semanya, Semeika and Semushka. Increasing influence of the Russian Orthodox church on social life led to gradual elimination of pagan nicknames. However, they didn't become completely extinct, as they served as basis for major part of Russian surnames (the first stage of surname formation took place in the 15th century).

Establishment of Russian naming tradition

Adoption of Christianity led to introduction of completely new, foreign names that were tightly connected to baptism ceremony: according to Christian tradition baptism presumes giving Christian name. Names were given according to special books – minei , which described religious services, ceremonies for each day, including which saint to praise. Religious tradition dictated that children should be named in honor of a saint, praised on the day of baptism. Sometimes on birthday, sometimes any day between birth and baptism. Minei were extremely expensive, so some churches couldn't afford them. One possible solution was to use menologia () – calendars with brief listing of religious celebrations and

Saints days In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

. Minei were among the first books to be translated into Russian from Greek. With a rare exceptions names were not translated, preserving their original pronunciation. Their meaning was completely obscure for vast majority of people and they were perceived as alien. This state of things led on the one hand to long coexistence of Christian and pagan names and to active assimilation and transformation of Christian names.

Coexistence of old and new names

Christian and pagan names coexisted up to the 17th century. One of the reasons is that parents could not choose a name for a child freely – a newborn was baptized according to the menologium. Sometimes several children in one family would bear one name. Furthermore, the total number of names in the menologium at the time didn't exceed 400. Pagan nicknames being more diverse and less restrictive provided a convenient way to distinguish people bearing one name. A practice established in the 14th to 16th centuries supposed giving two names: a baptismal name (usually modified) and a nickname. For example: Trofimko Czar ( Torpes the

Czar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

), Fedka Knyazets, Karp Guba, Prokopiy Gorbun (

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman ge ...

the Humpback), Amvrosiy Kovyazin, Sidorko Litvin. This practice was widespread in all

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as e ...

Boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were s ...

Andrei Kobyla Andréi Ivánovich Kobýla (russian: Андре́й Ива́нович Кобы́ла) was the earliest-known agnatic ancestor of the Romanov dynasty of Russian tsars and many Russian noble families. Biography This boyar was documented in cont ...

(lit. Andrew the Mare) a progenitor of Romanov dynasty and some other boyar families man serve as an example as well his sons' names: Semyon Zherebets (Semyon the

Stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

), Aleksandr Yolka (Alexandre the

Spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ( taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the sub ...

), Fyodor Koshka (Fyodor the

Cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

). Craftsmen did name their children in the same manner. For example, Ivan Fyodorov the first man to print a book often signed as Ivan Fyodorov, son of Moskvit ( may also be translated as Ivan son of Fyodor, the moscovite). Influence of Russian Orthodox church steadily grew in 11th–14th centuries, its influence as a consolidating religious force after

Mongol invasion of Rus The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered Kievan Rus' in the 13th century, destroying numerous southern cities, including the largest cities, Kiev (50,000 inhabitants) and Chernihiv (30,000 inhabitants), with the only major cities escaping destr ...

and during period of feudal fragmentation in

Kiev Rus Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas o ...

became especially important. Unification of Russian feudal states also contributed to raise of church's influence on policy and society. Under influence of the church many

knyaz , or (Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependi ...

es, descendants of Rurik, began to abandon their pagan names in favor of Christian names.

Separation of Baptismal, Popular and Literary forms

In XVII names divided in the three distinct forms: popular (spoken), literary and baptismal (church form). This process was boosted by Patriarch Nikon's reform. One of the ventures he undertook was to correct religious books, which had accumulated a lot of errors and misreading as they used to be copied by sometimes illiterate scribes. As a result, religious services differed in different parts of the country. Patriarch Nikon set goal to unify service in Russia and to correct errors in religious books (including menologia). New translations from Greek were made to achieve this goal. Corrected versions were printed in 1654.

Early Soviet Union

Modern era begins right after October Revolution. The decree "On Separation of Church from State and Schools from Church" outlawed connection of any public and social acts with religious ceremonies. Since that baptism ceased to be a legally binding act. The right to register names was handed to civil authorities, namely

civil registry Civil registration is the system by which a government records the vital events ( births, marriages, and deaths) of its citizens and residents. The resulting repository or database has different names in different countries and even in diffe ...

. As a result, the whole conception of name changed. Naming no longer depended on religious traditions and rules. Direct and tight connection with orthodox saints names was lost. Any citizen was free to choose a name he wished for himself and his children. As a matter of fact, any word could be used as a name; function of civil registry was reduced to proper registration of citizens. Social innovations gave incentive to develop "new names for new life".

Mikhail Frunze Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze (russian: Михаил Васильевич Фрунзе; ro, Mihail Frunză; 2 February 1885 – 31 October 1925) was a Bolshevik leader during and just prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Born in the modern-da ...

, a high-ranked soviet officer, Civil war veteran was among the first to use a new name, naming his son Timur. Another example is the case of

Demyan Bedny Yefim Alekseevich Pridvorov ( rus, Ефи́м Алексе́евич Придво́ров, p=jɪˈfʲim ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ prʲɪˈdvorəf, a=Yefim Alyeksyeyevich Pridvorov.ru.vorb.oga; – May 25, 1945), better known by the pen name D ...

, a well-known atheistic activist who named his son Svet. The Soviet writer Artem Veseliy named his daughter Volga. Since 1924

Gosizdat State Publishing House of the RSFSR (Russian: Госуда́рственное изда́тельство РСФСР), also known as Gosizdat (Госиздат), was the State Publishing House founded in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Repu ...

started issuing calendars similar to those that had existed prior to the Revolution. This new kind of calendars included traditional but rare names given without reference to saints as well as new names. New names comprised non-baptismal names, both Russian and Slavic, borrowed names and newly formed names. Calendars of 1920-30 being a good reference wasn't the only source of names. As mentioned above, parents were free to pick any name they wished, and this freedom led to active name formation, which later was dubbed "anthroponymic bang".

Formal Russian name and its derivative forms

Legal given name

According to Russian naming tradition, people are addressed by their name followed by a patronymic in official speech. In official situations, one's given name is always written or spoken in its legal form (name given at birth and documented in papers like birth certificate and passport). Prior to October Revolution, canonical form was considered official. It was documented in baptismal register books. However, in birth certificate and other documents a secular form was used. Arising ambiguity was not considered important and did not cause any legal consequences. In baptismal register books, people bearing names Yuriy and Egor appeared as Georgy, but in other documents, they could use the variant they were used to. Pasport RF

After the Revolution, various forms of one's name started being considered as different names. Names from the example above – Georgy, Yegor and Yuriy became legally different names after the Revolution. Generally, names are considered to be different if they acquired significant differences during assimilation, as in following cases: * Names have different

initials In a written or published work, an initial capital, also referred to as a drop capital or simply an initial cap, initial, initcapital, initcap or init or a drop cap or drop, is a letter at the beginning of a word, a chapter, or a paragraph that ...

: Elena and Alyona, Irina and Arina, Anastasia and Nastasya, Iosif and Osip, Yuliania and Ulyana. * Differing in stem: Georgiy and Yuriy, Cyprian and Cupryan, Evstafiy and Ostap. There are names which, being legally different, are considered the same in common usage and share short forms, like Nataliya and Natalya (short form – Natasha).

Full (formal) and short forms

As opposed to full forms used in formal situations, short forms of a name are used in communication between well-acquainted people, usually relatives, friends and colleagues. Short forms emerged in spoken language for convenience as majority of formal names are cumbersome. They are often multi-syllabic or otherwise phonetically aberrant. Short forms, being stylistically neutral, demonstrate that people using them are in close relationships and equal statuses. In cases where elder people address younger ones, short names also are stylistically neutral. Short form were derived from truncated stems of full forms, sometimes preserving very little in common. There are traditional short form, formed by adding -a or -ya suffix to a truncated stem of a name: Valer(y) → Valera, Fyod(or) → Fedya, Rom(an) → Roma, Pyot(r) → Petya, Ol(ga) → Olya, Vic(toriya) → Vika. Such transformation results in a short word ending with an open syllable, convenient to address or call a person. Russian language has neutral suffixes that are used (sometimes with -a and -ya) with more radically truncated stems: * -sh-: Ma(ria) → Masha, Pa(vel) → Pasha, Mi(khail) → Misha, Da(rya) → Dasha, (A)le(ksey) → Lyosha, (Alek)sa(ndr) → Sasha; * -n-: Ma(ria) → Manya, So(fya) → Sonya, Ta(tyana) → Tanya, Ga(vriil) → Ganya, Ge(nnadiy) → Gena, (An)to(nina) → Tonya, A(nna) → Anya; * -k-: (Fe)li(zia) → Lika, I(gor') → Ika, Mi(khail) → Mika; * -s- and -us-: Lyud(mila) → Lyuda, (A)ga(fya) → Gasya, (Ev)d(okiya) → Dusya etc.. Unrestrained derivation of new names made possible coexistence of multiple short forms of the same name. For example, Irina → Rina, Risha, Irisha, Ina; Vitaliy → Vitalya, Vita, Vitya, Talya, Vitasha. On the other hand, extremely faint phonetic connection between short and full forms permits to associate one short form with many full names. For example "Dictionary of Russian personal names" by N.A. Petrovskiy corresponds Alya to 19 masculine and 18 feminine names including Aleksey, Oleg, Yuvenaliy, Aleksandr and Aleksandra, Alisa, Alla, Galina. Наташа Королёва

There are names for which a short form is difficult to produce. These are usually rare names like Erast, Orest, Toviy, Radiy, Rosa and suchlike. Also some (usually two-syllable) names in are traditionally used in full form even in informal conversation disregarding their short forms (Andrey, Igor, Oleg, Vera, Inna, Nina). As already stated above, the short form is generally used in spoken conversation between acquainted people and usually doesn't act as an official or public name. However starting from the late 1980s in popular culture, in artistic circles short names gained new status. They appear on posters, disk covers and are widely used in mass media. Dima Malikov,

Dima Bilan Dima Nikolayevich Bilan (russian: Ди́ма Никола́евич Била́н; born Viktor Nikolayevich Belan, russian: Ви́ктор Никола́евич Бела́н, links=no; 24 December 1981) is a Russian singer, songwriter and acto ...

, Vlad Topalov, Nastya Poleva, Tanya Bulanova, Vika Tsyganova, Lyuba Uspenskaya, Masha Rasputina, Natasha Koroleva became known under their short names. This approach is perceived as accepted part of artistic freedom. Many Russian short names are used, in slightly adapted form, as full legal given names in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

and

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. For example: Anja, Feđa, Katja/Kaća, Maša, Nataša, Olja, Saša, Sonja, Tanja.

Diminutive forms

Diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A ( abbreviated ) is a word-form ...

forms constitute a distinct body among various derivative forms. As opposed to full, formal names, their short forms are emotional. They demonstrate warm and tender attitude towards addressee, although some diminutive forms can bear slighting or pejorative emotions. Diminutive forms generally are used by close relatives and good friends. They are often used by parents addressing their children. Diminutive and affectionate forms are derived by adding various diminutive suffixes (). Diminutive forms can be derived from both short and full names. For example: from Maria (full form) following diminutive forms can be derived: *Maria → Maryunya, Marunya, Marusya, Maryusha, Maryushka and Maryasha. *Masha (short form) → Mashka, Mashenyka, Mashulya. *Manya (another short form) → Manechka, Manyusya, Manyusha, Manyasha etc. Diminutives derived with -k- suffix carry a pejorative tint, (Sashka, Grishka, Svetka etc.) This is related to a historical tradition to use semi-names to refer to oneself when speaking with a person of higher social status. However, among peers this form didn't have such a tint, indicating only simplicity in communication and close relation. Nonetheless, in modern Russian diminutives like Vasyka, Marinka, Alka are considered stylistically lowered.

References

{{reflist Names by culture

History

Before the Christian era

Establishment of Russian naming tradition

Coexistence of old and new names

Separation of Baptismal, Popular and Literary forms

Early Soviet Union

Formal Russian name and its derivative forms

Legal given name

Full (formal) and short forms

Diminutive forms

See also

References