Russian Boy Names

According to recent polls, here are the ten most popular Russian boy names: Alexander, Maxim, Ivan, Artyom, Dmitry, Nikita, Mikhail, Daniil, Yegor, and Andrey. It might be useful for you to know their short forms so that you can use them in unofficial, more relaxed situations. Here are the short forms of the most popular Russian boy names: Sasha, Max, Vanya, Tyoma, Dima, Nik, Misha, Danya. Interestingly enough, the names Yegor and Andrey don’t have a short form and remain unchanged.

Other common Russian names for boys are Vladimir, Sergei, Aleksei, Nikolai, Yury, Vasily, and Pyotr. Such Russian boy names as Ilya, Igor, Gennady, Boris, Evgeny, Pavel, Vadim, and Viktor are quite popular as well.

Many parents want to come up with a name that will make their boy stand out from the crowd. This might be the reason why many old Slavic and old-fashioned Russian boy names are becoming more popular. On playgrounds you can hear moms calling for their boys with names like Makar, Zakhar, Prokhor, Valentin, Kuzma, Timofey, Nazar, and Taras.  

In RT’s Learn Russian course you’ll learn about the most popular and common Russian boy names. You will also learn their short and diminutive forms. It can come very handy as you make friends from and in Russia!