Russian naming...?

Question

Hi, I've been wondering about this. Is it true that Russian women always add an 'a' to the end of the last name? Also, how are patronymic names chosen? What are some common female patronymic names? Thanks.

Answer 1

If you are born outside of Russia, you usually do not add 'a' to the end of your Russian last name. Otherwise, we always do. It is not really our choice, but the way language works. In Russia, middle names are patronymic. For example, a man named Ivan whose father's name is Nikolay would be known as Ivan Nikolayevich or "Ivan, son of Nikolay" (with Nikolayevich as a patronymic). For women, the ending is -yevna or -ovna.

Answer 2

The patronymic always derives from her father's name, always.

Russian women used to add the "a" to surnames, but haven't since Communism.