Russian personal name
Encyclopedia
Russian personal name in Russian naming tradition is a first name that is given to a person at birth or name change. Russian personal names do not amount to orthodox christian
names, though the latter constitute a fair proportion of Russian names. Personal names form a distinct body within Russian language with some unique features.
Evolution of Russian personal names dates back to pre-christian era, though name list had drastically changed after adoption of Christianity. In medieval Russia
two types of names were in use: canonical names given at baptism
(calendar or Christian names, usually modified) and non-canonical. XIV century was marked by elimination of non-canonical names, that ended by XVIII century. In XX century after October Revolution
the whole idea of name was changed. It was a completely new era in history of Russian personal name, marked by significant changes in name list.
Modern Russian-speaking people use calendar names (Ivan
Иван, Andrew Андрей, Jacob
Яков, Юрий,Татьяна, Mary
Мария,Авдотья, Elizabeth
Елизавета), as well as non-calendar names - ancient slavonic
(Stanislav Станислав, Radomir Радомир, Dobromila Добромила, Рада), old Russian (Ждан, Пересвет, Лада, Любава), Soviet-era names (Вилен, Авангард, Нинель, Эра), and names borrowed from European and eastern languages (Альберт, Руслан, Жанна, Лейла).
Group of calendar names includes traditional names, that used to be listed in orthodox menologia
prior to October Revolution
and in popular calendars of the Soviet era that were printed since the second half of XIX century. 95 % of Russian-speaking population in Soviet Union in 1980s had calendar names.
Number of actually used names is relatively small. According to various estimations no more than 600 masculine and feminine names more or less regularly appear in several generation: the main body of personal names doesn't exceed 300-400.
, Ukrainians
and Belarusians
) used almost exclusively Slavonic names which were given at birth. No distinction between first name and nick name were made during this period. Personal name in Old East Slavonic language (nickname, epithet, handle) is 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 XVII century.
Old slavonic names are exceptionally diverse. Dictionary of Old Slavonic names by N.M. Tupikov, printed in 1903, comprized 5300 masculine and 50 feminine names. Old Slavonic names fall in several categories:
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 nicknames 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 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 XV century).
s with brief listing of religious celebrations and Saints days.
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 Christiana and pagan names and to active assimilation and transformation of christian names.
A practice established in XIV-XVI supposed giving two names: a baptismal name (usually modified) and a nick. For example: Trofimko Czar (Torpes
the Czar), Fedka Knyazets, Karp Guba, Prokopiy Gorbun (Proсopius the Humpback), Amvrosiy Kovyazin, Sidorko Litvin. This practice was wideapread in all stratas
. Boyar
Andrei Kobyla
(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
), Aleksandr Yolka (Alexandre the Spruce
), Fyodor Koshka (Fyodor the Cat
). 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 (Иван Фёдоров сын Москвитин).
Influence of Russian Orthodox church steadily grew in XI-XiV centuries, its influence as a consolidating religious force after Mongol invasion of Rus
and during period of feudal fragmentation in Kiev Rus 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
es, descendants of Rurik
, began to abandon their pagan names in favor of Christian names.
. 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.
.
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. Thus Russian naming tradition became similar to protestant one.
Effect was not immediate, but continuous atheistic
propaganda, suppression of church, public reproach against giving orthodox names led to changes in Russian naming tradition. Social innovations gave incentive to develop "new names for new life". Mikhail Frunze, 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
, a well-known atheistic activist who named his son Svet. Daughter of soviet writer Artem Veseliy got name Volga.
Since 1924 Gosizdat 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".
In 1924 a movement for new names emerged, but fashion for unusual names conquered a minor proportion of population and vanished by late 1930s. Nevertheless, many traditional names were compromised. People began to consider them stale, bourgeois, clichéd. A common practice in 1920-1930 was to change names (and family names), and publish notification in a newspaper. Women would abandon names like Matryona, Fyokla, Akulina, Agafya, Evdokiya. Men would discard names Iban, Kuzyma, Stepan, Nikita, Foma, Afanasy. Instead women chose names Galina, Valentina, Nina, Tamara. Men chose Vladimir, Nicolai, Alexander, Leonid, Anatoly.
Sometimes previously rare baptismal names would become popular. For example, before the Revolution Margarita used to be a monastic name. Such names, being extremely rare, they were perceived as completely new names by general public.
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 didn't 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.
After the Revolution various forms of one 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 during assimilation acquired significant differences as in following cases:
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) → Valer|a,
Fyod(or) → Fed|ya, Rom(an) → Rom|a, Pyot(r) → Pet|ya, Ol(ga) → Ol|ya, Vic(toriya) → Vik|a.
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:
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.
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, short form is generally used in spoken conversation between acquainted people and usually doesn't act like official or public name. However starting from late 1980-s 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
, 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.
Diminutive forms generally are used by close relatives and good friends. This kind of names is often used be parents addressing their children.
Diminutive and affectionate forms are derived by adding various diminutive suffixes (-ochk-, -echk-, -onyk-, -enyk-, -ushk-, -yushk-, -yush-, -yash-, -ul-, -ush-, -un-, -us-, -k-, -ik- &c.). Diminutive forms can be derived from both short and full names.
For example: from Maria (full form) following diminutive forms can be derived:
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.
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
names, though the latter constitute a fair proportion of Russian names. Personal names form a distinct body within Russian language with some unique features.
Evolution of Russian personal names dates back to pre-christian era, though name list had drastically changed after adoption of Christianity. In medieval Russia
History of Russia
The history of Russia begins with that of the Eastern Slavs and the Finno-Ugric peoples. The state of Garðaríki , which was centered in Novgorod and included the entire areas inhabited by Ilmen Slavs, Veps and Votes, was established by the Varangian chieftain Rurik in 862...
two types of names were in use: canonical names given at baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
(calendar or Christian names, usually modified) and non-canonical. XIV century was marked by elimination of non-canonical names, that ended by XVIII century. In XX century after October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
the whole idea of name was changed. It was a completely new era in history of Russian personal name, marked by significant changes in name list.
Modern Russian-speaking people use calendar names (Ivan
Ivan (name)
Ivan is a Christian male given name that is primarily associated with Slavic languages.-Etymology:Ivan is the common Slavic Latin spelling, while Cyrillic spelling is two-fold: in Bulgarian, Russian, Macedonian, Serbian it is Иван, while in Belarusian and Ukrainian it is Iван.It is the Slavic...
Иван, Andrew Андрей, Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
Яков, Юрий,Татьяна, Mary
Mary (given name)
Mary is a feminine given name, the English form of the name Maria, which was in turn a Latin form of the Greek names Μαριαμ, or Mariam, and Μαρια, or Maria, found in the New Testament. Both New Testament names were forms of the Hebrew name מִרְיָם or Miryam.The usual meaning given by various...
Мария,Авдотья, Elizabeth
Elizabeth (given name)
Elizabeth is a feminine given name derived from the Greek Elisávet , which is a form of the Hebrew name Elisheva , meaning "My God is an oath" or"My God is abundance."...
Елизавета), as well as non-calendar names - ancient slavonic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
(Stanislav Станислав, Radomir Радомир, Dobromila Добромила, Рада), old Russian (Ждан, Пересвет, Лада, Любава), Soviet-era names (Вилен, Авангард, Нинель, Эра), and names borrowed from European and eastern languages (Альберт, Руслан, Жанна, Лейла).
Group of calendar names includes traditional names, that used to be listed in orthodox menologia
Menologium
Menologion , also written menology and menologe, is a service-book used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Rite of Constantinople.From its derivation, menologium means "month-set"; in other words, a book arranged according to the months...
prior to October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
and in popular calendars of the Soviet era that were printed since the second half of XIX century. 95 % of Russian-speaking population in Soviet Union in 1980s had calendar names.
Number of actually used names is relatively small. According to various estimations no more than 600 masculine and feminine names more or less regularly appear in several generation: the main body of personal names doesn't exceed 300-400.
History
History of Russian personal 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.
Pre-christian era
Before adoption of Christianity till the end of the X century eastern Slavs (ancestors of modern RussiansRussians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
, Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
and Belarusians
Belarusians
Belarusians ; are an East Slavic ethnic group who populate the majority of the Republic of Belarus. Introduced to the world as a new state in the early 1990s, the Republic of Belarus brought with it the notion of a re-emerging Belarusian ethnicity, drawn upon the lines of the Old Belarusian...
) used almost exclusively Slavonic names which were given at birth. No distinction between first name and nick name were made during this period. Personal name in Old East Slavonic language (nickname, epithet, handle) is 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 XVII century.
Old slavonic names are exceptionally diverse. Dictionary of Old Slavonic names by N.M. Tupikov, printed in 1903, comprized 5300 masculine and 50 feminine names. Old Slavonic names fall in several categories:
- Numerical names. They comprise (ordinal) numbers from 1 to 10 and represent the order of birth in family: Perva, Pervoy Перва и Первой (The first), Vtorak Вторак (The second), Третьяк, Четвертак, Пятой и Пятак, Шестак, Семой и Семак, Осьмой и Осьмак, Девятко (Nine), Десятой (The tenth).
- Names based on individual characteristics, like hair and skin color. Names like Черныш, Черняй, Чернява, Бел, Беляй, Беляк, Белуха were widely used. Constitution features also could be reflected in a name: Мал (Small), Малюта, Малой (Smaller), Долгой (Tall), Сухой, Толстой (Fat one), Голова (Head), Головач, Лобан, Беспалой (Fingerless).
- Names describing personality, habits and behaviour. Among them Забава, Истома, Крик, Скряба, Молчан, Неулыба, Булгак (беспокойный), Смеяна и Несмеяна.
- Names, reflecting attitude toward child, whether she was longed for: Богдан и Богдана, Бажен (желанный), Голуба, Любава, Ждан и Неждан, Хотен, Чаян и Нечай.
- Seasonal names: Veshnyak Вешняк, Zima Зима(winterWinterWinter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...
), Moroz Мороз (frost). - Animal and plant-related names: BullBullBull usually refers to an uncastrated adult male bovine.Bull may also refer to:-Entertainment:* Bull , an original show on the TNT Network* "Bull" , an episode of television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation...
, Волк, Щука, Кот, Кошка, Жеребец, Корова, Щавей (от щавель), Трава, Пырей. It is believed that this kind of names is a relic of totemTotemA totem is a stipulated ancestor of a group of people, such as a family, clan, group, lineage, or tribe.Totems support larger groups than the individual person. In kinship and descent, if the apical ancestor of a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem...
beliefs. - Names related to beliefs that "bad" words can deflect evil spirits, deceases and even death: Горяин, Немил, Некрас, Нелюба, Неустрой, Злоба, Тугарин (от туга — печаль).
- Names related to other nations : Chudin Чудин (after ChudChudChud or Chude is a term historically applied in the early Russian annals to several Finnic peoples in the area of what is now Finland, Estonia and Northwestern Russia....
people, чудь), Karel Карел, Tatarin Татарин, Kozarin Козарин (от названия хазар), Ontoman Онтоман (after Turks 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 nicknames 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 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 XV 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 Месячные минеи, 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 (Месяцеслов, святцы) - calendarCalendar
A calendar is a system of organizing days for social, religious, commercial, or administrative purposes. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months, and years. The name given to each day is known as a date. Periods in a calendar are usually, though not...
s with brief listing of religious celebrations and Saints days.
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 Christiana 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 XVII century. One of the reasons is that parents could not choose a name for a child freely - a newborn was baptized according to menoligium. Sometimes several children in one family would bear one name. Furthermore total number of names in 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 XIV-XVI supposed giving two names: a baptismal name (usually modified) and a nick. For example: Trofimko Czar (Torpes
Torpes
Torpes may refer to:*Torpes of Pisa, early Christian martyr*Torpes, Doubs, a commune in the French region of Franche-Comté*Torpes, Saône-et-Loire a commune in the French region of Bourgogne...
the Czar), Fedka Knyazets, Karp Guba, Prokopiy Gorbun (Proсopius the Humpback), Amvrosiy Kovyazin, Sidorko Litvin. This practice was wideapread in all stratas
STRATA
Strata Marketing Inc. is a Chicago, Illinois-based software company involved in connecting media buyers and sellers. It is owned by Comcast. As of 2010, it processes about $50 billion worth of media buys annually.-History:...
. Boyar
Boyar
A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....
Andrei Kobyla
Andrei Kobyla
Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla was a progenitor of the Romanov dynasty of Russian tsars and many Russian noble families.This boyar was documented in contemporary chronicles only once, in 1347, when he was sent by Grand Duke Simeon the Proud to Tver with the purpose of meeting Simeon's bride, who was a...
(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
Stallion
A Stallion is a male horse.Stallion may also refer to:* Stallion , an American pop rock group* Stallion , a figure in the Gobot toyline* Stallion , a character in the console role-playing game series...
), Aleksandr Yolka (Alexandre the Spruce
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 regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
), Fyodor Koshka (Fyodor the Cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
). 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 (Иван Фёдоров сын Москвитин).
Influence of Russian Orthodox church steadily grew in XI-XiV centuries, its influence as a consolidating religious force after Mongol invasion of Rus
Mongol invasion of Rus
The Mongol invasion of Russia was resumed on 21 December 1237 marking the resumption of the Mongol invasion of Europe, during which the Mongols attacked the medieval powers of Poland, Kiev, Hungary, and miscellaneous tribes of less organized peoples...
and during period of feudal fragmentation in Kiev Rus 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
Knyaz
Kniaz, knyaz or knez is a Slavic title found in most Slavic languages, denoting a royal nobility rank. It is usually translated into English as either Prince or less commonly as Duke....
es, descendants of Rurik
Rurik
Rurik, or Riurik , was a semilegendary 9th-century Varangian who founded the Rurik dynasty which ruled Kievan Rus and later some of its successor states, most notably the Tsardom of Russia, until 1598....
, 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 Patriach Nikon's reformRaskol
Raskol |schism]]') was the event of splitting of the Russian Orthodox Church into an official church and the Old Believers movement in mid-17th century, triggered by the reforms of Patriarch Nikon in 1653, aiming to establish uniformity between the Greek and Russian church practices.-The Raskol:...
. 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.
Modern era
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 registryCivil registry
Civil registration is the system by which a government records the vital events of its citizens and residents. The resulting repository or database is called civil register or registry, or population registry. The primary purpose of civil registration is to create legal documents that are used to...
.
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. Thus Russian naming tradition became similar to protestant one.
Effect was not immediate, but continuous atheistic
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
propaganda, suppression of church, public reproach against giving orthodox names led to changes in Russian naming tradition. Social innovations gave incentive to develop "new names for new life". Mikhail Frunze, 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
Demyan Bedny
Demyan Bedny, was the pen name of Soviet Russian poet, Bolshevik and satirist Yefim Alekseevich Pridvorov .-Life:Efim Pridvorov was born to a poor family in Gubovka, in what is now Kirovohrad Oblast in Ukraine. He attended the village school followed by a feldsher training college in Kiev. This...
, a well-known atheistic activist who named his son Svet. Daughter of soviet writer Artem Veseliy got name Volga.
Since 1924 Gosizdat 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".
Sometimes previously rare baptismal names would become popular. For example, before the Revolution Margarita used to be a monastic name. Such names, being extremely rare, they were perceived as completely new names by general public.
Legal personal name
According to Russian naming tradition in official speech people are addressed by their name followed by a patronymic. In official situations one's personal 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 didn't 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.
After the Revolution various forms of one 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 during assimilation acquired significant differences as in following cases:
- Names have different initials: Elena and Alyona, Irina and Arina, Anastasia and Nastasiya, Iosif and Osip, Yuliana and Ulyana.
- Differing in stem: Georgiy and Yuriy, Cyprian and Cupryan, Evstafiy and Ostap.
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 multi-syllabic, their phonetical structure sometimes doesn't comply with Russian phonetics, as they contain unusual sequences of phonems. Short forms being stylistically neutral, demonstrate that people using them are in close relationships and equal statuses. In case when 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) → Valer|a,
Fyod(or) → Fed|ya, Rom(an) → Rom|a, Pyot(r) → Pet|ya, Ol(ga) → Ol|ya, Vic(toriya) → Vik|a.
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) → Ma|sh|а, Pa(vel) → Pa|sh|a, Mi(khail) → Mi|sh|a, (An)to(nina) → To|sh|a, Da(rya) → Da|sh|a, (A)le(ksey) → Lyo|sh|a, (Alek)sa(ndr) → Sa|sh|a;
- -n-: Ma(ria) → Ma|n|ya, So(fya) → So|n|ya, Ta(tyana) → Ta|n|ya, Ga(vriil) → Ga|n|ya;
- -k-: (Fe)li(zia) → Li|k|a, Ge(nnadiy) → Ge|k|a, I(gor') → I|k|a, Mi(khail) → Mi|k|a;
- -s- and -us-: Lyu(dmila) → Lyu|s|ya, A(nna) → A|s|ya, (A)ga(fya) → Ga|s|ya, (Ev)d(okiya) → D|us|ya 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.
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, short form is generally used in spoken conversation between acquainted people and usually doesn't act like official or public name. However starting from late 1980-s 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 Bilan
' is a Russian actor and pop singer . Bilan represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with "Never Let You Go", finishing second, and he won the contest in 2008 in Belgrade, with the song "Believe". He has had several Russian no. 1 hits....
, 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.
Diminutive forms
Diminutive forms constitute a distinct body among various derivative forms. As opposed to full, formal names and 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. This kind of names is often used be parents addressing their children.
Diminutive and affectionate forms are derived by adding various diminutive suffixes (-ochk-, -echk-, -onyk-, -enyk-, -ushk-, -yushk-, -yush-, -yash-, -ul-, -ush-, -un-, -us-, -k-, -ik- &c.). 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 from) → 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.