200+ Popular Russian Names: Meanings, Formats & English Equivalents

Meanings | Formatting | English Equivalents | Popular Russian Boys Names | Popular Russian Girls Names | 140+ Additional Names To Consider

For a strong baby name with an international flair, a Russian name is worth considering.

Whether the appellation is the Russian version of a common name like “Michael,” “Joseph,” “Mary,” or “Margaret” or a name native to the region, these names are full of character and meaning.

Bestowing a Russian name on a child can celebrate family roots ranging from Slavic, Christian, Soviet, and post-Soviet influences.

What Is The Meaning Behind Russian Names?

While many Russian names are beautiful, they also powerfully depict characteristics such as birth order, desired personality or physical traits, or even attributes of nature or the season of birth.

Giving names that mean “unloved,” “anger,” or “sorrow” is not intended to be a self-fulfilling prophecy but an attempt by solicitous parents to ward off these evils. When choosing a Russian name, it pays to research the meaning. 

Formatting A Russian Name

In Russia, there are three parts to a name: the given name, the patronymic, and the surname;

• The given name is the first name that people go buy. In Russian, there is usually a diminutive formor secret nickname that adds “-sha” to the first syllable of a given name This turns “Mikhail” into “Misha,” and “Pavel” into “Pasha.”
• The middle name or patronymic adds on “ovich” or “evich”‘ for boys, and “ovna” or “evna” for girls to the father’s name. The suffix indicates “son of” or “daughter of,” so “Alexeyevich”means “son of Alexey, while “Alexeyevna” means “daughter of Alexey.”
• The last name or surname often ends in “ov.”

Some appealing Russian baby names might be typically used as nicknames or middle names in the country of origin. Names which end in “-ya,” “-sha,” and “-ka” such as Kostya (from Konstantin), Sasha (from Aleksandr), and Vovka (from Vladimir) would not be given names in Russia. In the US, “Sasha” is a popular unisex name meaning “man’s defender.”

In the homeland, there are strict rules for using forms of the name. For example, someone named “Ekaterina” (“Katherine”) would be called by a shorter, more familiar version of their name: 

• “Katya” by friends and work colleagues
• “Katen’ka” by close friends, family, and lovers. Often used as a pet name for children.
• Nicknames such as “Kat’ka” (basically “Stupid Kate: or “that Kate chick”) or “Katyusha”- (“Katie”) for a type of rocket launcher. There are more than 50 nicknames for “Ekaterina.”

In the US, where the trend is for parents to go straight for the diminutive when naming their kids “Nate,” not “Nathaniel” or “Becky,” not “Rebecca,” a Russian diminutive might be an appealing and acceptable given name.

Russian Equivalents For Classic Names

For those who love traditional names with a trendy twist, Russian versions might fill the bill.

For example: 

1.     “Aleksander” is “Alexander” (“defender of men”)

2.     “Danill” or “Daniil” is “Daniel” (“God is my judge”)

3.     “Daveed,” “Davýd,” or “Dévid” is “David” (“beloved”)

4.     “Yakov” is “James” (“supplanter)

5.     “Ivan” is “John” (“God is Gracious”)

6.     “Matvey” is “Matthew” (“gift of God”)

7.     “Mikhail” is “Michael” (“who resembles God”)

8.     “Uil’yam” or “Vil’yam” is “William” (“vehement protector”)

For girls,

1.     “Mary” is “Marie” (“wished-for child”)

2.     “Sharlotta” is “Charlotte” (“free man” or “petite”)

3.     “Sofia” with diminutive forms “Sonia” or “Sonyah” is “Sophia” (“wisdom)”

4.     “Elizaveta” is “Elizabeth” (“God is my oath”)

5.     “Viktoria” or “Viktoriya” is Victoria (“Victory”)

6.     “Anya” is “Hannah” or “Anna” (“grace” or favor”)

7.     “Yulia” is Julia or Julie ” (“youthful” or “love’s child”)

8.     “Yekaterina” is “Katherine” (“pure”)

NOTE: Many names popular in the West have no Russian equivalent.

Popular Names In Russia

In Russia, names like “Polina” (small”), “Varvara” (a form of “Barbara” meaning foreign woman”) and “Ksenia” (“welcoming”) rank high for girls, and “Mikhail” (Russian for Michael “who is like God”), “Lev” (“heart” or “lion”), and “Artem” (from “Artemis,” goddess of the moon and hunting) top favorites for boys.

These names may not appear on US lists, but “Alina” (“bright, beautiful”), “Kira” (“leader of the people”), “Mila” {“favored”), “Nadia”(“hope”), and “Nina” (“little girl”) are trendy for girls, while include “Ivan” (“God is gracious”), “Nikolai” (“people of victory”) and “Valentin” (“strong”) are among the top 1000 names for each sex in here.

Most Popular Russian Boy Names

1. Aleksandr (“defender of men”)
2. Boris (“fight” and “fighter”)
3. Alexei (“‘defender.”
4. Daniil (“God is my judge”)
5. Leonid (“lion-like”)
6. Nikita (“‘winner”)
7. Anatoly (“sunrise”)
8. Dmitri (“earth lover”)
9. Igor (“warrior”)
10. Ivan (“God is gracious”)
11. Luka (“‘bringer of light”)
12. Mikhail (“who is like God”)
13. Matvey (“God’s gift”)
14. Lev (“lion”)
15. Yuri (“‘the light of God”)
16. Rodion (“song of the hero”)
17. Maxim (“greatest”)
18. Nikolai (“victorious”)
19. Andrei (“‘brave”)
20. Valentin (“healthy’ and ‘strong”)
21. Pasha (“small”)
22. Viktor (“man of victory”)
23. Artem (“unharmed, perfect health”)
24. Mark (“God of war”)

Most Popular Russian Girl Names

1. Sofia (“wisdom”)
2. Anastasia (“resurrection”)
3. Maria (“wished-for child,” “of the sea,” “bitter”)
4. Anya (“bright,” “beautiful”)
5. Ekaterina (“perfect”)
6. Alyona (“bright and shining light”) Russian variation of the Greek name Helen.
7. Inessa (“chaste”)
8. Mila (“loved by the people”)
9. Mischa (“who is like God”)
10. Polina (“small”)
11. Alisa (“great happiness”)
12. Kira “leader of the people”)
13. Yana (“gift from God”)
14. Natalya’ (“birthday of Christ”)
15. Miroslava (“peaceful glory”)
16. Viktoria (“victory”)
17. Luda (“love of the people”)
18. Yulia (“youthful”)
19. Ulyana (“youthful”
20. Oksana (“praise to God”)
21. Sasha (“defender of mankind”)

Many unusual Russian names might be a perfect choice for a parent in search of a name that is beautiful, meaningful, and not too hard to say or spell. Our expanded curated list below offers some interesting choices to a new parent.

140+ Russian Names To Consider

Russian Baby Girl Names

1. Afya
2. Akilina
3. Alla
4. Anfisa
5. Anja
6. Antonina
7. Anya
8. Czarina
9. Darya
10. Dasha
11. Dessa
12. Ekaterina
13. Elena
14. Elizaveta
15. Evgeniya
16. Fedora
17. Feodora
18. Galina
19. Gasha
20. Gavrilla
21. Glafira
22. Inna
23. Irina
24. Ivana
25. Ivanka
26. Katya
27. Keesa
28. Kesha
29. Klavdiya
30. Ksenia
31. Lara
32. Lena
33. Lida
34. Liliya
35. Liubov
36. Lyusya
37. Marfa
38. Melora
39. Micha
40. Milena
41. Mischa
42. Misha
43. Nadezhda
44. Nastia
45. Nasya
46. Natasha
47. Nesha
48. Oktyabrina
49. Olesia
50. Orya
51. Pascha
52. Pasha
53. Polina
54. Rasia
55. Rimma
56. Ruslana
57. Sasha
58. Satanaya
59. Scriabin
60. Sezja
61. Sonya
62. Stasia
63. Svetlana
64. Taisiya
65. Tamara
66. Tania
67. Tanya
68. Tatiana
69. Ulyana
70. Yelena

Russian Baby Boy Names

1. Alexei
2. Alexey
3. Anatoliy
4. Andrei
5. Andrey
6. Arkadiy
7. Artyom
8. Czar
9. Daniil
10. Danik
11. Danila
12. Dima
13. Dmitry, Dimitri, Dmitry, Dmitrii, Dmitriy
14. Dzon
15. Efim
16. Egor
17. Evegny
18. Evgeniy
19. Feodor
20. Feofan
21. Fyodor
22. Gennadiy
23. Georgiy
24. Gerasim
25. Gleb
26. Grigoriy
27. Igor
28. Ilya
29. Innokentiy
30. Ion
31. Ivan
32. Keesa
33. Kirill
34. Konstantin
35. Leonid
36. Liev
37. Matvey
38. Maxim, Maksim
39. Melor
40. Micha
41. Mikhail
42. Milek
43. Mischa
44. Misha
45. Nikolai
46. Pascha
47. Pasha
48. Pavel
49. Platon
50. Prokhor
51. Pyotr
52. Ruslan
53. Sasha
54. Sava
55. Savva
56. Scriabin
57. Sergei
58. Tchaikovsky
59. Tikhon
60. Timofey
61. Vadim
62. Valeriy
63. Vasha
64. Vasiliy
65. Viktor
66. Vitaliy

Neutral or Unisex Russian Names

1. Keesa
2. Micha
3. Mischa
4. Misha
5. Pascha
6. Pasha
7. Sasha
8. Scriabin
9. Vasha
10. Zasha
11. Zhenya
12. Zilya

For a bit more inspiration, peruse our list of 180+ Russian dog names.