What is the signifance behind the last name Fyodorovna in Russian history?

Question

Several czarinas share this last name! Are they related in some way?

Answer 1

It's a bit complicated but:

In East Slavic languages, endings such as pronounced as "vich" are used to form patronymics for men. For example, in Russian 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, -ovna or -ichna. For masculine names ending in a vowel, such as Ilya or Foma, the corresponding endings are -ich and -inichna.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patronymic

http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=892843
http://www.sca.org/heraldry/paul/zgrammar.html (scroll down to Female Patronymics)

So Fyodorovna would come from Feodor/Fyodor.

Example: Tsarina Alexandra of Russia was the consort of Nicholas II. Although called Alix before her marriage, she assumed the name Alexandra Fyodorovna upon baptism into the Russian Orthodox Church.

I'm not sure, but I think the name was taken from Feodor Nikitich Romanov (1553-1633), leader of the Romanov family. It wouldn't necessarily mean that the czarinas who took this name were related.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feodor_Nikitich_Romanov

Answer 2

They used the same system of Czars and Czarinas in Russia as England did for the Kings and Queens. You had to be born into the job. So it's logical that they would all be related.