Questions tagged [выбор-имени]

Questions related to the correct name selection as well as about name spelling.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
1 vote
5 answers
262 views

Is my understanding of the surname suffix -ов correct?

I have two questions about the suffix -ов in Russian surnames. Is the -ов surname suffix the most common one in Russia? Does the -ов surname suffix in modern Russian mean "a descendant of the ...
Alex's user avatar
  • 161
2 votes
1 answer
194 views

Etymology of -ова in Russian surnames

How should the suffix of feminine surnames, e.g. Морозова, be considered from an etymological perspective? Are -ов and -а etymologically distinct morphemes or parts of a single one?
Kohjah Breese's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
362 views

Diminutive Short Form for Russian Male Names

I heard that in Russian, the diminutive short form of girl names often ends in "а" or "ка", but how do the diminutive short forms (I don't mean the endearing form) of male names ...
user87626's user avatar
  • 221
-2 votes
2 answers
225 views

Best transliteration of Каврайский [closed]

I'm investigating the most accurate English transliteration of the family name "Каврайский", which is from Владимир Владимирович Кавра́йский, and is used to describe a series of named map ...
Mike T's user avatar
  • 105
-1 votes
1 answer
174 views

Kaliningrad ... may it be referred to as Kalinograd?

Kaliningrad is the Russian exclave sandwiched in between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic coast. Every time I think of it I find myself saying "Kalinograd" because in English usage ...
Bill Stremmel's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
203 views

Do you transliterate service names?

Is it usual to use Latin or Cyrillic letters to spell the names of companies, online services etc.? For example, do you say разговаривать по Зуму or по Zoom? If the answer depends on the individual ...
Bubaya's user avatar
  • 257
10 votes
2 answers
3k views

Why is Max Verstappen's last name transliterated with a Ф ('F') instead of a В ('V')?

Russian news articles about Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen, for example this recent one, always seem to transliterate his last name as Ферстаппен instead of (what I would expect) Верстаппен. What is ...
Glorfindel's user avatar
  • 1,021
1 vote
1 answer
292 views

Do Russian speakers in the former USSR countries use patronymics?

Can the general calling conventions in Russian (for example - Dimitri Ivanovich Petrov will be formally referred to as Dimitri Ivanovich) be extended to the countries of the former Soviet Union (...
user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
951 views

Is "Ilana" a Russian name? And does it have nicknames?

My name is Ilana, and over the years, many Russians have told me I have a Russian name. I am not Russian. Is Ilana a Russian name? I couldn't find it as a Russian name on Google. (I did find that "...
codi6's user avatar
  • 131
8 votes
3 answers
1k views

If Spider-Man is Человек-Паук, what would make a good Russian name for Batman?

In Russian translations of stories about Spider-Man, the name of that superhero is translated as Человек-Паук (Chelovek-Pauk), which is a composition of the Russian words for man and spider, but you ...
Mitsuko's user avatar
  • 11.3k
6 votes
3 answers
706 views

Transliteration of the name "Seraphina"

I would like to translate that name as "Зерафина" but a Russian speaking friend tells me that you can only translate "Seraphina" as Серафина. So are both transliterations for Seraphina correct, or ...
Féileacán's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
772 views

What is the Russian diminutive of mouse?

Just a simple question as I am not sure of the right form. What is the Russian diminutive of mouse? мышонок ?
Oliver's user avatar
  • 123
24 votes
4 answers
6k views

How frequently do Russian people still refer to others by their patronymic (отчество)?

I'm American, and so almost all of the Russian people I know are ex-Soviets, most of whom are very traditional and many of whom have impeccable manners. As such, I think that I may have an overblown ...
Fred E's user avatar
  • 343
14 votes
6 answers
5k views

Why is the Turkish president's surname spelt in Russian as Эрдоган, with г?

I recently got puzzled as to why the Russian journalists spell the surname of the current Turkish president as Эрдоган, with г. We spell his surname as エルドアン, which does not include any sound similar ...
Mitsuko's user avatar
  • 11.3k
9 votes
2 answers
674 views

What should I do with non-Russian proper names that sound like Russian swear words?

Let's suppose I am writing a serious article in Russian about a person, a business, or a geographic object whose proper name sounds in the original language like a Russian swear or obscene word. Of ...
6 votes
2 answers
228 views

Adjective gender for terms of endearment

When addressing someone with a term of endearment, should the gender of "my" match the word or the person? For example, when addressing a male as "my star", would you say Звездочка моя or Звездочка ...
Sagebrush Gardener's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
302 views

Почему Фёдор Достоевский, но Чарльз Буковски?

Почему мы читаем романы Фёдора Достоевского, но читаем стихи Чарльза Буковски?
rapt's user avatar
  • 557
2 votes
4 answers
707 views

What is the correct diminutive for Inna?

Would it be "Innusha or Innushka? On the one hand, the diminutive of Katya is Katyusha. I'm writing a poem to the tune of that song, likening her to the "rocket launchers" of the same ...
Tom Au's user avatar
  • 1,213
1 vote
1 answer
882 views

Why are some Russian names not used by Jews, and others are? [closed]

A (Hebrew) article at https://he.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2096985 mentions, incidentally, this detail (translation mine): “What's with this name Vasily?” he thought to himself. Now, ...
Meir's user avatar
  • 151
6 votes
4 answers
686 views

How do you address a university teacher whose father's name you don't know?

There is this Russian language teacher I knew way back, and took his classes. He's a bit of a stickler about forms of address. I expect to meet him again in person in a few months. How do I address ...
Abu Dhabi's user avatar
  • 163
0 votes
2 answers
182 views

I need help working out someone's first name and last name

I need to work out the first and last name of a Russian man,SEIDOV CHARY. Which is first and which is last?
vaheeds's user avatar
  • 103
3 votes
2 answers
337 views

Как правильнее транслитерировать/перевести имя Jian-Yang?

Как правильнее транслитерировать/перевести имя Jian-Yang ? (персонаж из "Silicon Valley")
yalov's user avatar
  • 288
6 votes
2 answers
365 views

Why are some city names, when named after people, given -sk suffix, but others aren't?

Two examples: Yekaterinburg was renamed to Sverdlovsk in 1924, after the man Yakov Sverdlov. Notice the -sk prefix. Orenburg was renamed to Chkalov in 1938, after the man Valery Chkalov. Notice this ...
DrZ214's user avatar
  • 551
4 votes
4 answers
505 views

Form of address when you don't know patronymic

If you don't know someone's отчество, how should you address them at the beginning of a letter/email? As господин/госпожа?
Zach's user avatar
  • 41
5 votes
3 answers
1k views

Transliterating double letters in names

Is there a specific reason that, when transliterating an English name, double letters are carried over into the Cyrillic? Specific example: My daughter's name is Tillie. This is an unusual name even ...
spoko's user avatar
  • 533
3 votes
2 answers
550 views

What is the first letter in the first name and in the surname in Cyrillic? [closed]

What is the equivalent letters in the Latin alphabet and what is the first letter in the first first and in the surname in Cyrillic?
peter 's user avatar
  • 31
2 votes
1 answer
742 views

What's the difference between the surname suffix -ов and patronimics in -ич?

Are the suffixes -ов and -ова in people's names equivalent to the suffix -son used in Germanic languages? The suffixes -ич, -ича also refer to the name of the father in patronymics. Are they ...
swrutra's user avatar
  • 2,543
9 votes
2 answers
1k views

What is the equivalent of 'whole wheat flour' in Russian?

In American English the standard term seems to be 'whole wheat flour', while in British English it seems that whole meal and whole wheat are used interchangeably (or perhaps whole meal refers to ...
user56416's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
91 views

Difference between "Меня зовут Фёдор" и "Меня звать Фёдором" [duplicate]

What's the difference between "Меня зовут Фёдор" и "Меня Фёдором звать"? At first I thought that the Nominal case ("Фёдор") is more appropriate for names and the Instrumental ("Фёдором") is for ...
brilliant's user avatar
  • 5,752
21 votes
4 answers
6k views

Does Russian have patronymics of foreign names?

Can foreign names be used as a basis for patronymics? If, for example, an Englishman whose first name is Donald becomes a citizen of Russia and has a son there, will that son have the patronymic ...
oz1cz's user avatar
  • 926
7 votes
2 answers
367 views

Pronunciation of "Иванов"

What is the correct way to stress the Russian surname Иванов? I have seen both Ивано́в and Ива́нов.
oz1cz's user avatar
  • 926
4 votes
2 answers
356 views

"Толстой" and "толстый"

Can one explain why the adjective толстый appears in the name of the famous writer as Толстой, i e with a different ending?
Martin Peters's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
256 views

What is the correct name of the ship, Il'men or Il'mena?

About 1814 the Russian-American Company renamed an old ship, called "Il'men" or "Il'mena" in works written in English. Ильмень is of course a famous lake. Boris Dralyuk suggested to Susan Morris that ...
Aaron Brick's user avatar
  • 1,365
9 votes
6 answers
8k views

In Russian is it more appropriate to refer to someone by their full name?

I've been watching a television show with scenes in Russian and I notice that several of the characters keep calling each other by their full names (first name and middle or surname), where in English ...
Hack-R's user avatar
  • 193
5 votes
3 answers
1k views

Are words for family members (e.g., "брат," "сестра," ...) ever used as names, and, if so, is the word then capitalized (as it would be in English)?

I recently learned that possessive pronouns are not used as often in Russian as they are in English and, therefore, this implies that a translation into English with a logical possessive might be ...
Lisa Beck's user avatar
  • 2,215
6 votes
3 answers
1k views

What's the relationship between the names "Alekséi" and "Aliosha"?

Is Aliosha a name by itself or just a way the relatives and friends of a child or boy whose name is Alekséi may refer to him? While we are at it, where can I find a list of Russian names and the ...
Iosiv's user avatar
  • 163
6 votes
5 answers
945 views

Do any transliterated Russian names begin with the letter C?

I am trying to come up with some search heuristics for Russian first names, and it would speed up the process if I could eliminate searching through certain names. There are obvious letters that I can ...
amerikashka's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
201 views

"Ж" as a Mexican cattle brand [closed]

Could this be a Ж? Two hundred years ago a young, literate Russian immigrant to Mexico claimed his cattle brand. Usually these were just Latin letters, with some flourish or packed together, or else ...
Aaron Brick's user avatar
  • 1,365
5 votes
3 answers
10k views

Why do Russian speakers call Vladimir Putin "Vladimir Vladimirovich"?

Everything is in the title, sorry if I misspelled it. Why do Russian speakers call Vladimir Putin "Vladimir Vladimirovich" ?
DRz's user avatar
  • 163
6 votes
2 answers
461 views

What's the difference between "Ива́нович" and "Ивано́в"?

Are both Ива́нович and Ивано́в derived from the given name Ива́н (Ivan)? Ивано́в is a surname, how about Ива́нович?
zzzgoo's user avatar
  • 163
3 votes
2 answers
571 views

Equivalents of the name Danila

My Russian friend is teasing with his name. He says friends call him Danila, but it is not his real name. He told me to substitute one letter in the name Danila to get it right, but I have no idea ...
guestI's user avatar
  • 31
13 votes
2 answers
2k views

As a non-native speaker, is it more normal to call myself "Эндрю" or "Андрей"?

I'm a non-native speaker of Russian, and my given name is Andrew. Is it more normal to call myself "Эндрю", which according to Wiktionary is the transliteration of my name, or "Андрей", which is a ...
Andrew Grimm's user avatar
  • 1,119
4 votes
0 answers
1k views

When were names ending in -в romanized with -ff? [closed]

Russian surnames ending in -в used to be transliterated for English speakers with ff, e.g. "Petroff" and "Prokofieff". Today v seems more accepted. None of the various modern and historical ...
Aaron Brick's user avatar
  • 1,365
3 votes
1 answer
5k views

What is the correct Russian spelling of "Trump"? [closed]

What is the correct Russian spelling of the last name of the US President-elect, Donald Trump? I've seen both Трамп and Трумп. Which is correct?
orome's user avatar
  • 159
12 votes
2 answers
1k views

What distinguishes "Осип" from "Иосиф"?

The man's name Осип is a form of Иосиф. Is it a nickname, a diminutive, a regionalism, or a register change? Would someone named Иосиф potentially also answer to Осип, as with Joseph and Joe?
Aaron Brick's user avatar
  • 1,365
6 votes
2 answers
273 views

Why Яковлев/Яковлевич with the intrusive -л-?

As the title says, why are the surname and patronymic formed from Яков Яковлев and Яковлевич instead of *Яковов and *Яковович? Where did this -л- come from? Is it simply because Яковлев(ич) is more ...
Гамлет Бененгели's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
687 views

Nickname for person you don't like

Talking with a russian friend of mine about russian nicknames she said that if you add a letter 'к' to the persons official nickname it means you don't like that person. For example for Александр the ...
Apogee's user avatar
  • 133
8 votes
5 answers
2k views

Can "товарищ" be used with the first name only?

The title "товарищ" can be used to address or refer to someone, though given its ideological implications, the term has fallen out of use since the end of the USSR. I've heard the title used alone, ...
Psychonaut's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
518 views

"How are you" differences

I have seen that there are certain ways to say 'how are you' in Russian. I understand the part where there is a formal you and an informal one. I also understand that they are conjugated differently. ...
Gina Axella's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
1k views

Is there a database/list of names, with their associated common diminutives?

I'm looking for large lists of diminutives in Russian in a format such as this: Base Name | [Diminutive1, Diminutive2, ...]
TomSchober's user avatar