The most common surname in Russia - list, history of origin. Rus' family Most common surname

Content

Every year, historians expand the list of personal nicknames of Slavic origin. Many people would be interested to know their origins. But sometimes it is impossible to determine this by the sound itself, since various suffixes, prefixes and prefixes have been added to the derived word over the years, distorting its original meaning.

Russian names and surnames

To determine the origin of a person’s family, his passport data is used. The key points are the root of the word, which forms Russian names and surnames. They differ in prevalence. By the sound, you can determine the eminence of the family or the belonging of ancestors to different social groups and castes of society: peasants, boyars, clergy. The etymology of some includes archaisms and strange stems; you can use a reference book to determine these yourself.

Origin

Derivatives and roots can originate from the nicknames of ancestors, funny nicknames, names, areas of activity. The origin of Russian surnames, in most cases, is unraveled in its etymology. You should take an interest in this clue, because through it you can find out about an outstanding ancestor or the eminence of the family. For those who want to determine the origins of their family nickname, there are alphabetical collections that are replenished and updated annually; on their pages, almost everyone can find out the history of their name.

The most popular derivatives:

• On behalf of the ancestor (whose? Whose will you be?) - Ivanov, Sidorov, Kuzmin, Petrov.
• From the geographical names - Vyazemsky, Stroganov, Smolensky.
• From the nicknames of the clergy - Rozhdestvensky, Preobrazhensky, Uspensky.
• From the names of plants and animals - Sokolova, Orlova, Hare, Lebedeva, Golubeva.
• From count and boyar titles - Minin, Tikhomirov, Tikhonravov, Godunov.

Meaning

Etymology and the formation of a proper genus name are of interest to an increasing number of people. The meaning of Russian surnames is determined by determining the root part of the word; it indicates the meaning. The meaning of family names like Bondarev, Kovalev, Shevtsov - indicate the craft that someone from the family was engaged in. Muzzle, Stoyan, Brave - on the external or internal characteristics of an individual person. All members of the family were called by the nickname of the head of the family, and this was passed down from generation to generation.

When did surnames appear in Russia?

The assignment of a generic nickname to identify each clan began to take shape in the 15th century. When surnames appeared in Russia, they initially referred to representatives of the upper strata of society: boyars and aristocrats, and later, in the 18th century, to church ministers. Until the 19th century, peasants and artisans received their nicknames. Their genus names were derived from the nicknames of one of the members of the family or occupation. In historical scrolls and records, listings were found that explain this phenomenon: “Vasily, son of the Kuznetsov... Ivan, son of the Khlebnikov”

How many surnames are there in Russia

The study of these data is still in question. There is no absolutely correct numerical value that could accurately answer the question of how many surnames exist in Russia today. Researchers have taken on such a complex task only a few times; officially, about 250 thousand meanings have been included in the collection, and these lists are constantly replenished with new forms of nicknames that were once given.

Declension of surnames in Russian

The rules of the Russian language strictly determine the writing and pronunciation of passport data. Declension of surnames in Russian occurs according to the following basic rules: standard ones are declined as adjectives, and those of foreign origin are declined as nouns. They do not decline with a zero ending, or ending in a consonant (Bondar, Nitsevich, Ponomar), ending in -o (Petrenko, Shevchenko, Kovalenko), foreign ones ending in -a, -ya (Varnava, Okidzhava, Zola).

The most common surname in Russia

Boris Ubengaun was the first to begin compiling a directory that lists the names of Russia. It contains various variations due to the process of transformation of folk nicknames. Each position has an explanation (highlighted parts of word formation that explain the essence of a particular word). There are positions that can be found more often, and there are those that are very rare. The data was taken based on the population census of the city of St. Petersburg.

Common surnames in Russia:

• Vladimirov;
• Sergeev;
• Petrov;
• Ivanov.

Beautiful Russian surnames

There are people whose generic nicknames captivate with their sound. These include those derived from geographical names or long nicknames given to church ministers. This etymology is rare and sounds aristocratically melodic. Many people change their birth details in their passports in order to get a name that is beautiful and stands out from the crowd. People to whom it was inherited are considered lucky.

The most beautiful surnames in Russia:

• Preobrazhensky;
• Caesar;
• Christmas;
• Vyazemsky;
• Uspensky.

Slavic

There are genus names that originate from the ancient Slavs. These nicknames are very rare and therefore valuable to historians. Their small number is due to the fact that derivatives originate from the names of pagan gods or Old Slavonic names. With the advent of Christianity, such nicknames were categorically prohibited, people were baptized and renamed en masse, therefore those who have preserved them to this day are a godsend, a shining example of pagan culture.

Old Slavonic surnames, examples:

• Yarilo;
• Dovbush;
• Putyata;
• Lada;
• Saint;
• Dobrynin;
• Peaceful.

Popular

According to the population census conducted in the 80s of the last century, under the former USSR, about 50% of the rural and 35% of the urban population bear generic nicknames, formed on the principle of patronymics with the addition of suffixes. This study is recognized as the highest quality and most detailed up to our times. Popular Russian surnames: Sidorov, Smirnov, Kuzmin, Vasiliev. The second place in frequency is occupied by nicknames that indicate the type of activity: Kuznetsov, Bondarev, Reznikov, Khlebnikov, etc.

Rare Russian surnames

It is difficult to create a reliable list that includes all items. But the main ones have been selected. It is not often that you meet people who have a family nickname that completely coincides with a geographical name or is formed from a combination of two words. There are few who are lucky enough to become the namesake of famous historical figures and heroes of literary novels.

Rare surnames in Russia:

• Astrakhan;
• Kamchatka;
• Goddess;
• Krutiperets;
• Crusoe;
• Karenin.

funny

Sometimes among acquaintances there are family nicknames that involuntarily make you smile with their comical nature. They surprise fellow citizens, and especially foreigners, with their pronunciation, they consist of adding the stems of some nouns or verbs, they can denote a funny or strange action, name objects whose names sound strange in a human name. A person who has to wear them can hardly be called lucky.

Funny Russian surnames:

• Kostogryzov;
• Mozgoedov;
• Popkin;
• Rzhach;
• Login;
• Khachapuri;
• Shit grandfathers;
• Snot.

Russian noble families

Their owners can have no doubt about the high title of someone from their family; they were assigned exclusively to nobles, boyars, and high-ranking officials. People close to high positions and ruling power. They can also be merchants. The presence of such titular nicknames among the peasantry, ordinary workers or artisans is excluded; their mere presence indicated the high social status of their owner.

Russian noble families:

• Stroganov;
• Godunov;
• Tikhomirov;
• Minin;
• Novgorodtsev;
• Tikhonravov;
• Ventsenostsev.

Old Russian

This term denotes not only Old Slavonic nicknames from the times of paganism, but also those that, by their etymology, designate outdated concepts and words of ancient use, eradicated from modern speech. Interesting to consider are generic nicknames that name old monetary units, household items, and crafts that are not found in the modern world. All these signs indicate a long history of the family and roots that go far.

Old Russian surnames:

• Kunin;
• Altynov;
• Kalita;
• Zlatnikov;
• Pryalkin;
• Kozhemyaka;
• Bandurov.

Rating of surnames in Russia

The top 100 items that can often be found in the passports of fellow citizens have been compiled. All of them were selected based on the directory and ordered during the census during the year. This information will be especially interesting for girls, because everyone dreams of meeting her man and getting married. Statistics say that in 89% of cases, women switch to a male generic nickname upon marriage. Such a top will clearly show the most likely options that everyone may encounter. The section includes the first 10 positions.

• Ivanov;
• Smirnov;
• Kuznetsov;
• Popov;
• Sokolov;
• Vasiliev;
• Fedorov;
• Novikov;
• Egorov;
• Kozlov.

Famous Russian surnames

Their list is compiled based on the frequency of use among the population. The most popular surname in Russia is Ivanov. Even foreigners know about this, associating with her all the names of Russian compatriots. It went down in history and became a classic. For example, in German this nickname became Muller, in America and Britain - Smith, in Poland - Novak or Kowalski, in Georgia - Mamedov.

Famous Russian surnames:

• Sidorov;
• Ivanov;
• Petrov;
• Kozlov;
• Smirnov;
• Popov;
• Sokolov.

Video

Here is a list of the 100 most popular Russian surnames. It should be noted that this ranking used data collected several decades ago. But this is even better, because... There is no point in trusting the results of the modern population census at all.

First, the top 10 popularity leaders. These 10 surnames, according to researchers, in 1970-1980 were borne by about 50% of the rural population of Russia, and about 30% of the urban population of our country.

1. Ivanov. This surname is the undisputed leader of our rating. It is not difficult to guess that its origin is directly related to the most popular Russian name Ivan, so the first place on our list is beyond doubt. There is a well-known folk joke that confirms the widespread use of this name: “In Rus', Ivanov is like filthy mushrooms.”

2. Kuznetsov. The origin of the surname is associated with the most common and most respected peasant profession. There was a blacksmith in every village, he was respected and, as a rule, had a large family, the male part of which was provided with a profession and, as a result, a means of subsistence. This can also explain the wide distribution of this surname. The Kuznetsovs could well have taken first place in our ranking if not for the influence of the linguistic cultures of neighboring fraternal states in the west and southwest of Russia. In the dialects of the southern and western regions of Russia, instead of blacksmith, the word koval is present, which was the reason for the transformation of Kuznetsov into Kovalev.

3. Smirnov. There is no clear opinion about the origin of the Smirnov surname. A variety of versions are offered, from nomadic wanderers-educators, bringing culture to the people, introducing backward village men “to the new world,” to linking it to the Old Slavonic name Smirna, which characterizes a quiet and docile person. However, the most prosaic (and most probable) version is based on the naming of people “humble before God” by this surname. Recent statistical studies claim that in our time the surname Smirnov has surpassed the Ivanovs and Kuznetsovs in popularity and is the most common Russian surname.

4. Vasiliev. It is not difficult to guess that this surname is based on the very popular name Vasily in Rus'. Recently, the popularity of the name Vasily continues to decline steadily, but the surname Vasilyev is firmly entrenched in the top 10.

5. Novikov. The prevalence of this surname is explained by the fact that in the old days every newcomer, newcomer, new resident was called Novik. This definition quickly became a permanent nickname and was passed on to descendants in the form of a surname.

6. Yakovlev. Another surname derived from a popular male name. The name Jacob is the secular analogue of the church name Jacob. Since the majority of surnames have precisely this origin, based on the name of the head of the family, we can judge from them the distribution of certain names in Rus'.

7. Popov. Initially, the nickname “Popov” meant: “son of a priest” or “son of a priest.” In addition, the same word was used to designate a priest's worker, a farm laborer. In addition to this, in Rus' there was a proper name “Pop”, which could also form the basis of this surname.

8. Fedorov. The basis of the Fedorov surname was the church name Fedor, which was very common in Rus' in the 16th and 17th centuries. Not all areas of our vast country have adopted the difficult-to-use letter F, so the name Khodor and the surname Khodorov have the same roots.

9. Kozlov. Before the introduction of Christianity in Rus', our ancestors were pagans and naming a child with a name that was the name of an animal or plant was a very common tradition. Since ancient times, the Goat was considered a symbol of vitality and fertility. The Scandinavians considered the goat to be Thor's sacred animal. The goat was a favorite character in ancient Slavic pagan legends, a purely positive character. However, with the advent of Christianity, the goat became a symbol of the devil, the damned, the sinner. At the same time, the expression “scapegoat” was born and a general negative attitude towards this proud animal began to form.

10. Morozov. Oddly enough, Moroz is also a very common secular (non-church) name in Rus'. Typically given to a child born during the harsh winter months. The image of Frost is the image of a hero, a blacksmith, who fetters rivers and has unlimited power for several months a year. Parents wanted, by naming the child the name Moroz, to convey exactly these qualities to him.

…and:

The famous Russian linguist A.F. Zhuravlev, Doctor of Philology, Head of the Department of Etymology and Onomastics at the Institute of Russian Language, also made his contribution to the study of statistics of Russian surnames. V. V. Vinogradov RAS (Moscow).

A.F. Zhuravlev used telephone directories of several cities in Russia and other former Soviet territories, library catalogues, personal lists of institutions, lists of applicants for some Moscow universities, diverse arrays of onomastic (family) material on the Internet, etc. the territory is not clearly delineated by him, the list of cities whose telephone directories were used is not given in full (among those named by A.F. Zhuravlev are Moscow, Ryazan, Vladimir, Krasnoyarsk, in Ukraine - Greater Yalta). The principles for selecting cities are not sufficiently substantiated. The very nature of obtaining material is debatable. A.F. Zhuravlev himself admits that he cannot “estimate with any accuracy the total volume of onomastic units that came into view, and, consequently, the share in it of those surnames that were included in the final list.

From the flow of surnames flowing into our hands, only those were selected that were included in the preliminary 800-unit list (further shortened to 500 surnames with the most reliable statistics).” The list itself of 800 units (i.e., surnames) was compiled intuitively. All this reduces the significance of the results obtained, but nevertheless the list of the 500 most common Russian surnames is interesting. The number of all carriers of the first 500 most common Russian surnames, recorded according to various sources, is several hundred thousand. Obviously, this list will still be refined, since according to A.F. Zhuravlev himself, the statistics given “can be considered to be only of a very preliminary nature, but in any case better than Unbegaun’s table” (meaning the appendix to the book “Russian surnames” with a list of the most common surnames in St. Petersburg in 1910).

I decided to list these 500 names so that site visitors can familiarize themselves with them. Two columns with data for comparison of statistics of the same surnames in St. Petersburg in 1910 were excluded from the material of A.F. Zhuravlev (they were taken from the work of B.O. Unbegaun). In the final table, to the right of the surname there is a number showing the relative occurrence of the surname. It was obtained by relating the total absolute frequency of a given surname to the total absolute frequency of the most common Russian surname Ivanov.

So, the list compiled by A.F. Zhuravlev. During preparation for posting on the site, it was discovered that there were three more surnames (they are given without a serial number). To find the desired surname, use the search function of your browser.

Rank	Surname	Frequency
1	Ivanov	1,0000
2	Smirnov	0,7412
3	Kuznetsov	0,7011
4	Popov	0,5334
5	Vasiliev	0,4948
6	Petrov	0,4885
7	Sokolov	0,4666
8	Mikhailov	0,3955
9	Novikov	0,3743
10	Fedorov	0,3662
11	Morozov	0,3639
12	Volkov	0,3636
13	Alekseev	0,3460
14	Lebedev	0,3431
15	Semenov	0,3345
16	Egorov	0,3229
17	Pavlov	0,3226
18	Kozlov	0,3139
19	Stepanov	0,3016
20	Nikolaev	0,3005
21	Orlov	0,2976
22	Andreev	0,2972
23	Makarov	0,2924
24	Nikitin	0,2812
25	Zakharov	0,2755
26	Zaitsev	0,2728
27	Soloviev	0,2712
28	Borisov	0,2710
29	Yakovlev	0,2674
30	Grigoriev	0,2541
31	Romanov	0,2442
32	Vorobiev	0,2371
33	Sergeev	0,2365
34	Kuzmin	0,2255
35	Frolov	0,2235
36	Alexandrov	0,2234
37	Dmitriev	0,2171
38	Korolev	0,2083
39	Gusev	0,2075
40	Kiselev	0,2070
41	Ilyin	0,2063
42	Maksimov	0,2059
43	Polyakov	0,2035
44	Sorokin	0,1998
45	Vinogradov	0,1996
46	Kovalev	0,1978
47	Belov	0,1964
48	Medvedev	0,1953
49	Antonov	0,1928
50	Tarasov	0,1896
51	Zhukov	0,1894
52	Baranov	0,1883
53	Filippov	0,1827
54	Komarov	0,1799
55	Davydov	0,1767
56	Belyaev	0,1750
57	Gerasimov	0,1742
58	Bogdanov	0,1706
59	Osipov	0,1702
60	Sidorov	0,1695
61	Matveev	0,1693
62	Titov	0,1646
63	Markov	0,1628
64	Mironov	0,1625
65	Krylov	0,1605
66	Kulikov	0,1605
67	Karpov	0,1584
68	Vlasov	0,1579
69	Melnikov	0,1567
70	Denisov	0,1544
71	Gavrilov	0,1540
72	Tikhonov	0,1537
73	Kazakov	0,1528
74	Afanasiev	0,1516
75	Danilov	0,1505
76	Savelyev	0,1405
77	Timofeev	0,1403
78	Fomin	0,1401
79	Chernov	0,1396
80	Abramov	0,1390
81	Martynov	0,1383
82	Efimov	0,1377
83	Fedotov	0,1377
84	Shcherbakov	0,1375
85	Nazarov	0,1366
86	Kalinin	0,1327
87	Isaev	0,1317
88	Chernyshev	0,1267
89	Bykov	0,1255
90	Maslov	0,1249
91	Rodionov	0,1248
92	Konovalov	0,1245
93	Lazarev	0,1236
94	Voronin	0,1222
95	Klimov	0,1213
96	Filatov	0,1208
97	Ponomarev	0,1203
98	Golubev	0,1200
99	Kudryavtsev	0,1186
100	Prokhorov	0,1182
101	Naumov	0,1172
102	Potapov	0,1165
103	Zhuravlev	0,1160
104	Ovchinnikov	0,1148
105	Trofimov	0,1148
106	Leonov	0,1142
107	Sobolev	0,1135
108	Ermakov	0,1120
109	Kolesnikov	0,1120
110	Goncharov	0,1115
111	Emelyanov	0,1081
112	Nikiforov	0,1055
113	Grachev	0,1049
114	Kotov	0,1037
115	Grishin	0,1017
116	Efremov	0,0995
117	Arkhipov	0,0993
118	Gromov	0,0986
119	Kirillov	0,0982
120	Malyshev	0,0978
121	Panov	0,0978
122	Moiseev	0,0975
123	Rumyantsev	0,0975
124	Akimov	0,0963
125	Kondratiev	0,0954
126	Biryukov	0,0950
127	Gorbunov	0,0940
128	Anisimov	0,0925
129	Eremin	0,0916
130	Tikhomirov	0,0907
131	Galkin	0,0884
132	Lukyanov	0,0876
133	Mikheev	0,0872
134	Skvortsov	0,0862
135	Yudin	0,0859
136	Belousov	0,0856
137	Nesterov	0,0842
138	Simonov	0,0834
139	Prokofiev	0,0826
140	Kharitonov	0,0819
141	Knyazev	0,0809
142	Tsvetkov	0,0807
143	Levin	0,0806
144	Mitrofanov	0,0796
145	Voronov	0,0792
146	Aksenov	0,0781
147	Sofronov	0,0781
148	Maltsev	0,0777
149	Loginov	0,0774
150	Gorshkov	0,0771
151	Savin	0,0771
152	Krasnov	0,0761
153	Mayorov	0,0761
154	Demidov	0,0756
155	Eliseev	0,0754
156	Rybakov	0,0754
157	Safonov	0,0753
158	Plotnikov	0,0749
159	Demin	0,0745
160	Khokhlov	0,0745
161	Fadeev	0,0740
162	Molchanov	0,0739
163	Ignatov	0,0738
164	Litvinov	0,0738
165	Ershov	0,0736
166	Ushakov	0,0736
167	Dementiev	0,0722
168	Ryabov	0,0722
169	Mukhin	0,0719
170	Kalashnikov	0,0715
171	Leontyev	0,0714
172	Lobanov	0,0714
173	Kuzin	0,0712
174	Korneev	0,0710
175	Evdokimov	0,0700
176	Borodin	0,0699
177	Platonov	0,0699
178	Nekrasov	0,0697
179	Balashov	0,0694
180	Bobrov	0,0692
181	Zhdanov	0,0692
182	Blinov	0,0687
183	Ignatiev	0,0683
184	Korotkov	0,0678
185	Muravyov	0,0675
186	Kryukov	0,0672
187	Belyakov	0,0671
188	Bogomolov	0,0671
189	Drozdov	0,0669
190	Lavrov	0,0666
191	Zuev	0,0664
192	Petukhov	0,0661
193	Larin	0,0659
194	Nikulin	0,0657
195	Serov	0,0657
196	Terentyev	0,0652
197	Zotov	0,0651
198	Ustinov	0,0650
199	Fokin	0,0648
200	Samoilov	0,0647
201	Konstantinov	0,0645
202	Sakharov	0,0641
203	Shishkin	0,0640
204	Samsonov	0,0638
205	Cherkasov	0,0637
206	Chistyakov	0,0637
207	Nosov	0,0630
208	Spiridonov	0,0627
209	Karasev	0,0618
210	Avdeev	0,0613
211	Vorontsov	0,0612
212	Zverev	0,0606
213	Vladimirov	0,0605
214	Seleznev	0,0598
215	Nechaev	0,0590
216	Kudryashov	0,0587
217	Sedov	0,0580
218	Firsov	0,0578
219	Andrianov	0,0577
220	Panin	0,0577
221	Golovin	0,0571
222	Terekhov	0,0569
223	Ulyanov	0,0567
224	Shestakov	0,0566
225	Ageev	0,0564
226	Nikonov	0,0564
227	Selivanov	0,0564
228	Bazhenov	0,0562
229	Gordeev	0,0562
230	Kozhevnikov	0,0562
231	Pakhomov	0,0560
232	Zimin	0,0557
233	Kostin	0,0556
234	Shirokov	0,0553
235	Filimonov	0,0550
236	Larionov	0,0549
237	Ovsyannikov	0,0546
238	Sazonov	0,0545
239	Suvorov	0,0545
240	Nefedov	0,0543
241	Kornilov	0,0541
242	Lyubimov	0,0541
243	Lviv	0,0536
244	Gorbachev	0,0535
245	Kopylov	0,0534
246	Lukin	0,0531
247	Tokarev	0,0527
248	Kuleshov	0,0525
249	Shilov	0,0522
250	Bolshakov	0,0518
251	Pankratov	0,0518
252	Rodin	0,0514
253	Shapovalov	0,0514
254	Pokrovsky	0,0513
255	Bocharov	0,0507
256	Nikolsky	0,0507
257	Markin	0,0506
258	Gorelov	0,0500
259	Agafonov	0,0499
260	Berezin	0,0499
261	Ermolaev	0,0495
262	Zubkov	0,0495
263	Kupriyanov	0,0495
264	Trifonov	0,0495
265	Maslennikov	0,0488
266	Kruglov	0,0486
267	Tretyakov	0,0486
268	Kolosov	0,0485
269	Rozhkov	0,0485
270	Artamonov	0,0482
271	Shmelev	0,0481
272	Laptev	0,0478
273	Lapshin	0,0468
274	Fedoseev	0,0467
275	Zinoviev	0,0465
276	Zorin	0,0465
277	Utkin	0,0464
278	Stolyarov	0,0461
279	Zubov	0,0458
280	Tkachev	0,0454
281	Dorofeev	0,0450
282	Antipov	0,0447
283	Zavyalov	0,0447
284	Sviridov	0,0447
285	Zolotarev	0,0446
286	Kulakov	0,0446
287	Meshcheryakov	0,0444
288	Makeev	0,0436
289	Dyakonov	0,0434
290	Gulyaev	0,0433
291	Petrovsky	0,0432
292	Bondarev	0,0430
293	Pozdnyakov	0,0430
294	Panfilov	0,0427
295	Kochetkov	0,0426
296	Sukhanov	0,0425
297	Ryzhov	0,0422
298	Starostin	0,0421
299	Kalmykov	0,0418
300	Kolesov	0,0416
301	Zolotov	0,0415
302	Kravtsov	0,0414
303	Subbotin	0,0414
304	Shubin	0,0414
305	Shchukin	0,0412
306	Losev	0,0411
307	Vinokurov	0,0409
308	Lapin	0,0409
309	Parfenov	0,0409
310	Isakov	0,0407
311	Golovanov	0,0402
312	Korovin	0,0402
313	Rozanov	0,0401
314	Artemov	0,0400
315	Kozyrev	0,0400
316	Rusakov	0,0398
317	Aleshin	0,0397
318	Kryuchkov	0,0397
319	Bulgakov	0,0395
320	Koshelev	0,0391
321	Sychev	0,0391
322	Sinitsyn	0,0390
323	Black	0,0383
324	Rogov	0,0381
325	Kononov	0,0379
326	Lavrentiev	0,0377
327	Evseev	0,0376
328	Pimenov	0,0376
329	Panteleev	0,0374
330	Goryachev	0,0373
331	Anikin	0,0372
332	Lopatin	0,0372
333	Rudakov	0,0372
334	Odintsov	0,0370
335	Serebryakov	0,0370
336	Pankov	0,0369
337	Degtyarev	0,0367
338	Orekhov	0,0367
339	Tsarev	0,0363
340	Shuvalov	0,0356
341	Kondrashov	0,0355
342	Goryunov	0,0353
343	Dubrovin	0,0353
344	Golikov	0,0349
345	Kurochkin	0,0348
346	Latyshev	0,0348
347	Sevastyanov	0,0348
348	Vavilov	0,0346
349	Erofeev	0,0345
350	Salnikov	0,0345
351	Klyuev	0,0344
352	Noskov	0,0339
353	Ozerov	0,0339
354	Koltsov	0,0338
355	Commissioners	0,0337
356	Merkulov	0,0337
357	Kireev	0,0335
358	Khomyakov	0,0335
359	Bulatov	0,0331
360	Ananyev	0,0329
361	Burov	0,0327
362	Shaposhnikov	0,0327
363	Druzhinin	0,0324
364	Ostrovsky	0,0324
365	Shevelev	0,0320
366	Dolgov	0,0319
367	Suslov	0,0319
368	Shevtsov	0,0317
369	Pastukhov	0,0316
370	Rubtsov	0,0313
371	Bychkov	0,0312
372	Glebov	0,0312
373	Ilyinsky	0,0312
374	Uspensky	0,0312
375	Dyakov	0,0310
376	Kochetov	0,0310
377	Vishnevsky	0,0307
378	Vysotsky	0,0305
379	Glukhov	0,0305
380	Dubov	0,0305
381	Bessonov	0,0302
382	Sitnikov	0,0302
383	Astafiev	0,0300
384	Meshkov	0,0300
385	Sharov	0,0300
386	Yashin	0,0299
387	Kozlovsky	0,0298
388	Tumanov	0,0298
389	Basov	0,0296
390	Korchagin	0,0295
391	Boldyrev	0,0293
392	Oleynikov	0,0293
393	Chumakov	0,0293
394	Fomichev	0,0291
395	Gubanov	0,0289
396	Dubinin	0,0289
397	Shulgin	0,0289
398	Kasatkin	0,0285
399	Pirogov	0,0285
400	Semin	0,0285
401	Troshin	0,0284
402	Gorokhov	0,0282
403	Old people	0,0282
404	Shcheglov	0,0281
405	Fetisov	0,0279
406	Kolpakov	0,0278
407	Chesnokov	0,0278
408	Zykov	0,0277
409	Vereshchagin	0,0274
410	Minaev	0,0272
411	Rudnev	0,0272
412	Trinity	0,0272
413	Okulov	0,0271
414	Shiryaev	0,0271
415	Malinin	0,0270
416	Cherepanov	0,0270
417	Izmailov	0,0268
418	Alekhine	0,0265
419	Zelenin	0,0265
420	Kasyanov	0,0265
421	Pugachev	0,0265
422	Pavlovsky	0,0264
423	Chizhov	0,0264
424	Kondratov	0,0263
425	Voronkov	0,0261
426	Kapustin	0,0261
427	Sotnikov	0,0261
428	Demyanov	0,0260
429	Kosarev	0,0257
430	Belikov	0,0254
431	Sukharev	0,0254
432	Belkin	0,0253
433	Bespalov	0,0253
434	Kulagin	0,0253
435	Savitsky	0,0253
436	Zharov	0,0253
437	Khromov	0,0251
438	Eremeev	0,0250
439	Kartashov	0,0250
440	Astakhov	0,0246
441	Rusanov	0,0246
442	Sukhov	0,0246
443	Veshnyakov	0,0244
444	Voloshin	0,0244
445	Kozin	0,0244
446	Khudyakov	0,0244
447	Zhilin	0,0242
448	Malakhov	0,0239
449	Sizov	0,0237
450	Yezhov	0,0235
451	Tolkachev	0,0235
452	Anokhin	0,0232
453	Vdovin	0,0232
454	Babushkin	0,0231
455	Usov	0,0231
456	Lykov	0,0229
457	Gorlov	0,0228
458	Korshunov	0,0228
459	Markelov	0,0226
460	Postnikov	0,0225
461	Black	0,0225
462	Dorokhov	0,0224
463	Sveshnikov	0,0224
464	Gushchin	0,0222
465	Kalugin	0,0222
466	Blokhin	0,0221
467	Surkov	0,0221
468	Kochergin	0,0219
469	Grekov	0,0217
470	Kazantsev	0,0217
471	Shvetsov	0,0217
472	Ermilov	0,0215
473	Paramonov	0,0215
474	Agapov	0,0214
475	Minin	0,0214
476	Kornev	0,0212
477	Chernyaev	0,0212
478	Gurov	0,0210
479	Ermolov	0,0210
480	Somov	0,0210
481	Dobrynin	0,0208
482	Barsukov	0,0205
483	Glushkov	0,0203
484	Chebotarev	0,0203
485	Moskvin	0,0201
486	Uvarov	0,0201
487	Bezrukov	0,0200
488	Muratov	0,0200
489	Rakov	0,0198
490	Snegirev	0,0198
491	Gladkov	0,0197
492	Zlobin	0,0197
493	Morgunov	0,0197
494	Polikarpov	0,0197
495	Ryabinin	0,0197
496	Sudakov	0,0196
497	Kukushkin	0,0193
498	Kalachev	0,0191
499	Gribov	0,0190
500	Elizarov	0,0190
	Zvyagintsev	0,0190
	Korolkov	0,0190
	Fedosov	0,0190

If previously the collection and analysis of family names was mainly carried out by linguists, historians and ethnographers, now Russian geneticists have also joined this work. Currently, the Laboratory of Human Population Genetics of the Medical Genetic Research Center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences is actively collecting and genogeographically analyzing Russian surnames. First of all, geneticists are interested in the history of the formation of the Russian gene pool, and therefore they studied the distribution of tens of thousands of Russian surnames. This work has not yet been completed, but some results have already been summed up.

Since geneticists are interested in the past of the Russian gene pool, they study the names of the indigenous inhabitants of the “original” Russian area, that is, the territory in which the formation of the Russian people took place: Central Russia and the Russian North. In this area, they identified eight regions, grouped into five regions: Northern (Arkhangelsk region), Eastern (Kostroma region), Central (Kashinsky district of the Tver region), Western (Smolensk region) and Southern (Belgorod, Kursk and Voronezh regions). In each region, several rural areas were selected and the names of all their adult residents were examined. In total, the surnames of almost a million rural residents were taken into account and 67 thousand different surnames were discovered. But this list was trimmed by removing surnames supposedly brought into the “original” area by migrants. This was done in the following way: those surnames whose number of bearers was less than three were left out of sight. Here I would like to note that if geneticists had consulted with local linguists-dialectologists, then it would have been possible to leave at least those surnames that could be traced back to the words of local dialects. But be that as it may, after weeding out the “stray” surnames, 14,428 remained. About 700 thousand out of a million have them. These surnames are considered by geneticists as genetic markers in their population studies.

Study of the geography of Russian surnames

During the study, geneticists compiled a general list of all surnames, arranged in descending order of frequency for each of the five regions, as well as a general list. Then we added material on the additionally surveyed Siberian region (Kemerovo region). As it turned out, 250 surnames are commonly used. Below is just this list. The names are listed in descending order of frequency.

However, it should first be noted that in the study of the geography of Russian surnames, Russian geneticists are not pioneers. Priority in this area belongs to the prominent Soviet onomatologist V.A. Nikonov (1904-1988). It was he who first discovered that the most common surnames of Russians are Smirnov, Ivanov, Popov, Kuznetsov, and outlined the main areas in which these surnames predominate. Of course, V.A. Nikonov studied the geographical distribution of many other surnames of more than 3 million people (he collected materials from the funds of 52 archives). You can read more about this in the book by V.A. Nikonov “Geography of Surnames” (Moscow, 1988).

Top lists of Russian surnames are also not new. The first such list was compiled by B.O. Unbegaun based on the St. Petersburg address book for 1910 (“All Petersburg”), containing almost 200 thousand surnames. He singled out the 100 most frequent ones in a separate list, the carriers of which were 31,503 people. This list reflects the mixed ethnic composition of the former Russian capital. In particular, in 87th place is the surname Schmidt, in 75th place is Miller. The list can be found in the Supplement to the book by B.O. Unbegun “Russian surnames” (Moscow, 1989).

There are two more frequency lists of Russian surnames, made on extensive material, and on the same thing. First V.A. Nikonov, and then V.A. Mitrofanov identified the frequency of surnames from the Moscow telephone directory. Both released a list of the 100 most common surnames.

Results V.A. Nikonov can be found out from his article: Nikonov V.A. Russian surnames: Moscow XVI-XX centuries. // Ethnic groups in the cities of the European part of the USSR (formation, settlement, dynamics of culture), Moscow, 1987, pp. 5-15.

The results of V. A. Mitrofanov are contained in a much less accessible source, in his PhD thesis: Modern Russian surnames as an object of linguistics, onomastics and lexicography, Moscow, 1995.

So, the list of surnames compiled by Russian geneticists:

1. Smirnov
2. Ivanov
3. Kuznetsov
4. Popov
5. Sokolov
6. Lebedev
7. Kozlov
8. Novikov
9. Morozov
10. Petrov
11. Volkov
12. Soloviev
13. Vasiliev
14. Zaitsev
15. Pavlov
16. Semenov
17. Golubev
18. Vinogradov
19. Bogdanov
20. Vorobiev
21. Fedorov
22. Mikhailov
23. Belyaev
24. Tarasov
25. Belov
26. Komarov
27. Orlov
28. Kiselev
29. Makarov
30. Andreev
31. Kovalev
32. Gusev
33. Titov
34. Kuzmin
35. Kudryavtsev
36. Baranov
37. Kulikov
38. Alekseev
39. Stepanov
40. Yakovlev
41. Sorokin
42. Sergeev
43. Romanov
44. Zakharov
45. Borisov
46. ​​Korolev
47. Gerasimov
48. Ponomarev
49. Grigoriev
50. Lazarev
51. Medvedev
52. Ershov
53. Nikitin
54. Sobolev
55. Ryabov
56. Polyakov
57. Tsvetkov
58. Danilov
59. Zhukov
60. Frolov
61. Zhuravlev
62. Nikolaev
63. Krylov
64. Maximov
65. Sidorov
66. Osipov
67. Belousov
68. Fedotov
69. Dorofeev
70. Egorov
71. Matveev
72. Bobrov
73. Dmitriev
74. Kalinin
75. Anisimov
76. Petukhov
77. Antonov
78. Timofeev
79. Nikiforov
80. Veselov
81. Filippov
82. Markov
83. Bolshakov
84. Sukhanov
85. Mironov
86. Shiryaev
87. Alexandrov
88. Konovalov
89. Shestakov
90. Kazakov
91. Efimov
92. Denisov
93. Gromov
94. Fomin
95. Davydov
96. Melnikov
97. Shcherbakov
98. Blinov
99. Kolesnikov
100. Karpov
101. Afanasiev
102. Vlasov
103. Maslov
104. Isakov
105. Tikhonov
106. Aksenov
107. Gavrilov
108. Rodionov
109. Kotov
110. Gorbunov
111. Kudryashov
112. Bykov
113. Zuev
114. Tretyakov
115. Savelyev
116. Panov
117. Rybakov
118. Suvorov
119. Abramov
120. Voronov
121. Mukhin
122. Arkhipov
123. Trofimov
124. Martynov
125. Emelyanov
126. Gorshkov
127. Chernov
128. Ovchinnikov
129. Seleznev
130. Panfilov
131. Kopylov
132. Mikheev
133. Galkin
134. Nazarov
135. Lobanov
136. Lukin
137. Belyakov
138. Potapov
139. Nekrasov
140. Khokhlov
141. Zhdanov
142. Naumov
143. Shilov
144. Vorontsov
145. Ermakov
146. Drozdov
147. Ignatiev
148. Savin
149. Loginov
150. Safonov
151. Kapustin
152. Kirillov
153. Moiseev
154. Eliseev
155. Koshelev
156. Kostin
157. Gorbachev
158. Orekhov
159. Efremov
160. Isaev
161. Evdokimov
162. Kalashnikov
163. Kabanov
164. Noskov
165. Yudin
166. Kulagin
167. Lapin
168. Prokhorov
169. Nesterov
170. Kharitonov
171. Agafonov
172. Muravyov
173. Larionov
174. Fedoseev
175. Zimin
176. Pakhomov
177. Shubin
178. Ignatov
179. Filatov
180. Kryukov
181. Rogov
182. Kulakov
183. Terentyev
184. Molchanov
185. Vladimirov
186. Artemyev
187. Guryev
188. Zinoviev
189. Grishin
190. Kononov
191. Dementiev
192. Sitnikov
193. Simonov
194. Mishin
195. Fadeev
196. Commissioners
197. Mamontov
198. Nosov
199. Gulyaev
200. Sharov
201. Ustinov
202. Vishnyakov
203. Evseev
204. Lavrentiev
205. Bragin
206. Konstantinov
207. Kornilov
208. Avdeev
209. Zykov
210. Biryukov
211. Sharapov
212. Nikonov
213. Shchukin
214. Dyachkov
215. Odintsov
216. Sazonov
217. Yakushev
218. Krasilnikov
219. Gordeev
220. Samoilov
221. Knyazev
222. Bespalov
223. Uvarov
224. Shashkov
225. Bobylev
226. Doronin
227. Belozerov
228. Rozhkov
229. Samsonov
230. Myasnikov
231. Likhachev
232. Burov
233. Sysoev
234. Fomichev
235. Rusakov
236. Strelkov
237. Gushchin
238. Tetherin
239. Kolobov
240. Subbotin
241. Fokin
242. Blokhin
243. Seliverstov
244. Pestov
245. Kondratiev
246. Silin
247. Merkushev
248. Lytkin
249. Turov

What surnames are most common in Russia today? Which one is most common? You will probably say that the most common surname is Ivanov. And you can't go wrong. We have prepared a list for you that includes the most common surnames in Russia. We will also give several examples of the origin of the most common surnames in Russia.

Balanovskaya list

A group of researchers led by Elena Balanovskaya published a paper entitled “Family Portraits of Five Russian Regions” in the journal “Medical Genetics” in 2005.

The criterion for inclusion of a surname in the list was as follows: it was included if at least five bearers of this surname lived in the region for three generations. First, lists were compiled for five conditional regions - Northern, Central, Central-Western, Central-Eastern and Southern.

• The first 25 surnames from this list, the so-called “all-Russian surnames”:

Smirnov, Ivanov, Kuznetsov, Sokolov, Popov, Lebedev
Kozlov, Novikov, Morozov, Petrov, Volkov, Solovyov
Vasiliev, Zaitsev, Pavlov, Semenov, Golubev, Vinogradov
Bogdanov, Vorobyov, Fedorov, Mikhailov, Belyaev, Tarasov, Belov

A similar list was compiled by V. A. Nikonov based on the Moscow telephone directory in the 80s of the 20th century. Using extensive material (surnames of about 3 million people), he identified the most common Russian surnames (according to his data, Smirnov, Ivanov, Popov and Kuznetsov) and compiled a map of the distribution of these and other most common surnames.

At the end of the 20th century, Nazarov A.I. compiled a new list of the 100 most common surnames of residents of St. Petersburg, in which there are 17 new surnames compared to the previous list. Also, many of the names in it are not in the same places as at the beginning of the 20th century. The most popular: Ivanov, Vasiliev, Smirnov, Petrov, Mikhailov.

Zhuravlev's list is a modern edition.

Another list of the most popular Russian surnames (500 surnames), but more modern, was compiled at the beginning of the 21st century by a team of employees of the Department of Etymology and Onomastics of the Institute of Russian Language of the Russian Academy of Sciences under the leadership of A.F. Zhuravlev.

• The first 25 names from this list:

Ivanov, Smirnov, Kuznetsov, Popov, Vasiliev, Petrov, Sokolov, Mikhailov, Novikov, Fedorov, Morozov, Volkov, Alekseev, Lebedev, Semyonov, Egorov, Pavlov, Kozlov, Stepanov, Nikolaev, Orlov, Andreev, Makarov, Nikitin, Zakharov

The origin and meaning of some of them is curious.

The most common surname in Russia is Ivanov.

Initially, this is a patronymic from the form Ivan from the male name John. Ivanov is an original Russian surname, since the derivative name was in use for several centuries; among the peasantry it captured literally all men.

There are now thousands of Ivanovs in the Russian capital, among them there are even Ivan Ivanovichs. And this despite the fact that the surname Ivanov is not very typical for Moscow. But it is widespread in large centers. However, in some areas its absence, although not complete, is due to the fact that the name Ivan was used in other forms, from which patronymics became the progenitors of surnames.

There are more than a hundred of these forms. For example, the surname Ivin can be included here, since almost all Ivins received their surname not from the name of the Iva tree, but from Iva, a diminutive form of a popular male name. Another form of the name is Ivsha. Also diminutive forms of Ivan are Ishko and Itsko. The latter is more typical of Smolensk dialects or the Belarusian language. Ishko is a South Russian dialect or Ukrainian language.

Also, the ancient forms of the name Ivan are Ishunya and Ishuta. Previously, the surname Ivanov was used with an emphasis on the letter a. Nowadays the stress is often placed on the last syllable. It is worth noting that some bearers of this surname often insist on the emphasis on a. This seems nobler to them than the second pronunciation option.

In Moscow, the number of Ivanovs is relatively small. Much more of them live in regional centers. It is also necessary to note the huge number of forms of this surname: Ivanchikov, Ivankov and many others. By the way, other surnames that have names at their core were formed in absolutely the same way: Sidorovs, Egorovs, Sergeevs, Semenovs and many others.

No less common is the surname Smirnov.

About seventy thousand owners of this surname live in Moscow alone. Why so much? It's simple. Previously, in a large family, peasant parents sighed with relief if quiet, not noisy children were born. This is a rather rare quality and is captured in the name Smirna. It, therefore, was often the main name of a person in life, since the church name was immediately forgotten.

The Smirnovs went from the Smirnykhs. Researchers note that this is the most common surname over a fairly vast territory that covers the entire Northern Volga region, but most often the Smirnovs are found in Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Ivanovo and neighboring regions. As you move away from this zone, the surname is less common. The earliest mentions of this surname date back to the Vladimir tithe, when the following was written on birch bark: “Ivan Smirnov son of Samarin” or “Stepan the meek son of the Kuchuks.” Gradually the noun meek changed its emphasis. In addition to the usual surname, there are other derivatives that are less common, these are Smirenkin, Smirnitsky, Sminin, Smirensky.

It should also be added that the surname Smirnov is the ninth most common in the world. Today, more than 2.5 million people wear it. In Russia, most people have this surname in the Volga region and central regions: Kostroma, Ivanovo and Yaroslavl.

The surname Kuznetsov is the third most popular

It is easy to guess that the surname comes from the person’s type of activity. In ancient times, a blacksmith was a fairly respected and wealthy person. Moreover, blacksmiths were often considered almost sorcerers and were a little afraid. Of course: this man knew the secrets of fire, he could make a plow, a sword or a horseshoe from a piece of ore.

The surname Kuznetsov comes from the name of his father’s occupation. The blacksmith used to be a necessary and famous person in his village, so he was called by this surname everywhere. By the way, there are thousands of Kuznetsovs in Moscow, although they are inferior in number to the Ivanovs.

The surname was most often found in the Penza province. Well, in the country as a whole, the distribution of the Kuznetsovs is limited due to the use of Belarusian, Ukrainian and Russian dialects, but from the west to the southwest the surname with the stem “smith” still spreads. It is worth noting that other nations also have very common surnames where the stem means “blacksmith.” The British have the surname Smith, and the Germans have Schmidt.

Here it is worth noting such a fairly common Russian surname as Kovalev. Although the word “koval” does not exist in the Russian literary language. But in Ukraine and southern Russia this is what a blacksmith was called.

But Kuznechikhin and Kovalikhin are derived from the name of a woman - the wife of a blacksmith. Kovankov and Kovalkov are Russified Belarusian and Ukrainian surnames. The names of birds and animals are also one of the sources of surnames and nicknames.

The origin of the surname - Popov - is also quite obvious.

Initially, Popov meant “son of a priest,” “son of a priest.” And here it is worth noting that not all Popovs or Popkovs are descendants of priests. Pop (or Popko) as a personal name was quite common among the laity. Religious parents happily named their children Popili and Popko. However, sometimes the surname Popov was given to a priest's worker, a farm laborer.

This surname is common especially in the north of Russia. The Popovs' calculations showed that in the Arkhangelsk province quite often there is a person with such a surname per thousand people.

There are thousands of Popovs in the Russian capital. Researchers suggest that in the north of Russia the surname spread due to the fact that the election of the clergy there, including priests, took place among the residents.

The basis of the Vasiliev surname was the church name Vasily.

The male baptismal name Vasily goes back to the Greek word basileus - “ruler, king.” Among the patrons of the name are the holy martyr Basil the Athenian, the holy martyr of the 4th century Basil of Ankyria, the Novgorod saint Basil the Blessed, who accomplished the feat of foolishness and tirelessly denounced lies and hypocrisy.

It should be noted that surnames formed from the full form of the name were mainly owned by the social elite, the nobility, or families that enjoyed great authority in the area, whose representatives were respectfully called by their neighbors by their full name, in contrast to people from other classes, who were usually called , diminutive, derivative, everyday names.

In addition, some Vasilievs are of noble origin. Several noble families of Vasiliev are known in the history of Russia.

No less interesting is the origin of the surname - Petrov.

The surname Petrov goes back to the canonical male name Peter (translated from ancient Greek - “stone, rock”). Peter was one of the apostles of Christ, he founded the Christian church and was considered a very strong patron for man.

The surname Petrov is one of the 10 most common in Russia (in some territories up to 6-7 people per thousand).

The name Peter became especially widespread in the 18th century, when this name began to be given in honor of Emperor Peter I. Surnames formed from the full form of the name were mainly used by the social elite, the nobility, or families that enjoyed great authority in the area, whose representatives were respected by neighbors were called by their full name, in contrast to other classes, who were called, as a rule, by diminutive, derivative, everyday names.

The patron of the name Peter was the Christian saint, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ - Peter. In Catholicism, it is believed that the Apostle Peter was the first Roman bishop, that is, the first pope. He was canonized in both the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

In Rome, the feast of Saints Peter and Paul was introduced, as the two most revered apostles, called the supreme holy apostles for their especially zealous service to the Lord and the spread of the faith of Christ.

In Rus', they believed that if you give a child the name of a saint or great martyr, then his life will be bright, good or difficult, because there is an invisible connection between the name and the fate of a person. Peter, over time received the surname Petrov.

The surname Mikhailov is no less popular.

The basis of the surname was the church name Mikhail. The male baptismal name Michael translated from Hebrew means “equal, like God.” The surname Mikhailov was based on its ancient everyday form - Mikhailo.

Among the patrons of this name is the most revered biblical character. The Revelation of John the Theologian tells of the heavenly battle of the Archangel Michael and his angels with the seven-headed and ten-horned dragon, as a result of which the great dragon, the ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan, was cast down to earth.

Also in Russia, surnames that were based on the names of birds and animals have always been popular. Medvedevs, Volkovs, Skvortsovs, Perepelkins - this list can be continued endlessly. Among the top hundred most common Russian surnames, “animal” ones are very common.

According to researchers, Russian surnames are more often associated with birds than with animals or fish. This is partly justified by the Russian cult of birds.

However, on the other hand, the main reason is not the cult of birds, but the everyday and economic role of birds in the life of Russian people: this includes widespread industrial hunting, poultry farming, which was celebrated in every family, and much more.

Among the “birds,” the most common surname in Russia is Sokolov.

This is a patronymic from the non-church Russian male name Sokol. According to some estimates, in St. Petersburg the surname ranked 7th in frequency, and of the surnames that were formed from non-canonical names, Sokolov was second only to Smirnov.

However, this surname, as mentioned above, appeared not only thanks to the name of the bird, but also thanks to the old Russian name. In honor of the beautiful and proud bird, parents often gave their sons the name Falcon. It was one of the most common non-church names. In general, it should be noted that the Russians very often used the names of birds to create names. Some scientists even believe that this is due to the cult of birds that our ancestors had.

"Bird" surname Lebedev

Another “bird” surname that made it onto our list. Researchers debate its origin. The most plausible version of the appearance of the Lebedev surname is its origin from the non-church name Lebed.

Some scientists associate this surname with the city, which is located in the Sumy region.

There is a version that connects the origin of this surname with a special group of people - the “swan crowers”. These are the slaves who were supposed to deliver the swans to the prince's table. This was a special type of tax.

It is quite possible that this surname arose due to man’s admiration for this beautiful bird.

There is another theory regarding the Lebedev surname: it is believed that it was given to priests because of its euphony.