Family/Surnames

Below is a glossary of many common surnames that are found in the countries formerly part of the Russian Empire and/or USSR. This is not an exhaustive list, nor does it catalog the many possible spellings or variations that can be found in old records; however, it should help as you attempt to identify names you come across. The meanings listed below are only possible origins for Russian surnames as various sources indicate multiple possible origins for these names. If you are interested in doing further research, FamilySearch provides great resources that suggest possible name origins, when these names first appeared in the historical record, and the distribution of these surnames today

The following tips should help you to effectively use this and other name lists:

• Use the keyboard shortcut control+F (Windows) or command+F (Mac) to search for a specific name on this page.
• If you do not have a Russian keyboard on your computer, you can use Russian TypeIt to search for a name in Cyrillic letters.
• Remember that some letters might have been used interchangeably, even if they do not produce the exact same sound. Some examples of this include the vowel ы for и and е for э (or vice versa).
• If you search by the English version of a name or a transliteration, be creative with your spelling if you don't find what you are looking for at first.
• As was mentioned on the Names page, you should not assume that the English names provided below were the names your ancestors used if they moved to an English-speaking country. These are rather possible names they might have used.
• Try searching for a partial name if you don't find a name you are looking for immediately. Perhaps it is simply spelled differently on the website than in the document you are studying.

Some of the names included in this list were used by certain populations within the former Russian Empire and USSR. The symbols below can be used to identify some popular names among a few of those groups:
*- This name is typically found among people with Jewish origins.
#- This name is typically found among people with German origins.

А - Б - В - Г - Д - Е - Ё - Ж - З - И - Й - К - Л - М - Н - О - П - Р - С - Т - У - Ф - Х - Ц - Ч - Ш - Щ - Э - Ю - Я

А

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Б

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В

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Г

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Д

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Е

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Ё

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Ж

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З

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И

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Й

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К

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Л

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М

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Н

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О

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П

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Р

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С

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Т

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У

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Ф

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Х

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Ц

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Ч

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Ш

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Щ

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Э

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Ю

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Я

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Additional Resources:

• See this Wiktionary Index or Толковые словари for a more comprehensive list of Russian surnames.