Top 50 Most Common Russian Names for Girls and for Boys

Russian names originate from many sources, with new names usually appearing during the most important historical periods, including the advent of Christianity to ancient Rus, the Russian Revolution of 1917, and the Soviet years.

Ancient Slavic Names

Ancient Slavs were very creative in naming their children. First names often described a baby's character or the parents' hopes for their child's future. For example, a loud baby could be named Шумело (shooMYEla)—"loud one," and a baby whose parents wished him to be strong and successful could give him the name of Ярослав (yaraSLAF)—"bright," "strong." Ancient Slavs believed in bad spirits and names reflected that, too, with many names meaning "ugly one"(Некрас - nyKRAS), "mean one" (Злоб - zlop), or "unlucky one" (Неустрой - nyeoosTROY). These were called protection names and helped ward off bad energies and protect the name bearer.

Nicknames were also very popular and aptly described someone's personality. Many names, including descriptive names, protection names, and nicknames, evolved into surnames, many of which are still used in modern Russia.

Christian Names

With the advent of Christianity in the 10th century, most Slavic names were forbidden. Instead, the Church insisted on giving children the names of saints. However, many people continued to secretly name their children the ancient way.

The Revolution and Soviet Names

More new names appeared in Russia in the 20th century after the 1917 Revolution. These usually reflected the new communist ideals, for example, Борец (baRYETS)—"fighter," Идея (eeDYEya)—"idea," or Победа (paBYEda)—"victory." Some names were also abbreviations of famous communist slogans.

Post-Soviet Russia

Contemporary Russians have been adopting foreign names, inspired by movies and music artists.

The following list includes 50 of the most popular Russian first names, their Russian spellings, shortened variations, and meanings.

Girl Names

Boy Names