Russian Names, Patronymics and Forms of Address

A full Russian name has three parts: a given name, a patronymic and a surname.

The three parts

For example, Иван Петрович Смирнов:

• Иван is the given name.
• Петрович is the patronymic, from the father's name Пётр.
• Смирнов is the surname.

How the patronymic is formed

It comes from the father's first name and ends in a gender-specific suffix:

Father	Son	Daughter
Пётр	Петрович	Петровна
Иван	Иванович	Ивановна
Александр	Александрович	Александровна

Surnames and gender

Many surnames have male and female forms. Иванов is male, and Иванова is female.

Polite address

Use the given name and patronymic with вы, as in Иван Петрович or Мария Ивановна. It shows respect and is common with teachers, colleagues and older people.

Informal address

Friends use short forms (diminutives):

Full name	Short form
Александр	Саша
Мария	Маша
Екатерина	Катя
Дмитрий	Дима
Анна	Аня

Warmer forms also exist, such as Машенька.

Titles

Russian has no everyday equivalent of Mr or Mrs. People typically use the name and patronymic, or a job title such as доктор (doctor).

Tips

1. Learn how patronymics are formed.
2. Ask how a person prefers to be addressed.
3. Use the dictionary to look up name forms.

Look up any Russian word with English Russian Dictionary →