How Russian and Ukrainian names work
A given name, a father's name in the middle, and a family name that changes form for women.
Three parts: given name, patronymic, family name
A full Russian name has a given name, a patronymic made from the father's given name, and a family name. Ivan Petrovich Sidorov is Ivan, son of Pyotr, of the Sidorov family. His sister would be Anna Petrovna Sidorova. The patronymic is not a middle name chosen by the parents, and it is never used with Mr. or Ms.
In Russian official lists the family name often comes first: Sidorov Ivan Petrovich. In English email most people write Ivan Sidorov and leave the patronymic out.
How to address someone
In English, write Dear Mr. Sidorov or Dear Ms. Sidorova. Never Mr. Petrovich: that is the father's name.
In Russian, the polite form at work is the given name plus patronymic, with no family name and no title: Ivan Petrovich, Anna Petrovna. Colleagues of similar age often switch to the given name alone. Short forms such as Sasha for Aleksandr or Dima for Dmitry are informal; use them only when the person does.
Family names change for women
Most Russian family names have a male and a female form: Ivanov and Ivanova, Kuznetsov and Kuznetsova, Tolstoy and Tolstaya. They are the same family name. Many Ukrainian family names, such as those ending in -enko, -chuk or -uk (Shevchenko, Kovalchuk), are the same for men and women.
One name, several spellings
Names are transliterated from Cyrillic in several ways, and Ukrainians increasingly use spellings based on Ukrainian rather than Russian: Sergei, Sergey and Serhiy; Aleksandr, Alexander and Oleksandr; Kiev and Kyiv. Copy the spelling the person uses.
The most common family names
Among people from Russia recorded in Wikidata (male forms):
| Family name | People in Wikidata | Share of the top 15 |
|---|---|---|
| Ivanov | 376 | 14.5% |
| Kuznetsov | 295 | 11.3% |
| Popov | 225 | 8.7% |
| Smirnov | 205 | 7.9% |
| Petrov | 201 | 7.7% |
| Vasilyev | 201 | 7.7% |
| Sokolov | 139 | 5.3% |
| Alexeyev | 133 | 5.1% |
| Volkov | 132 | 5.1% |
| Kozlov | 125 | 4.8% |
| Mikhaylov | 121 | 4.7% |
| Pavlov | 117 | 4.5% |
| Morozov | 113 | 4.3% |
| Semyonov | 111 | 4.3% |
| Lebedev | 107 | 4.1% |
Wikidata covers notable people (athletes, politicians, scientists, artists), so these counts show the ranking, not exact population shares.
Quick answers
Is Petrovich a middle name?
No. It is a patronymic, the father's given name with an ending. It is used with the given name in Russian (Ivan Petrovich), never with a title.
How do I address Anna Sergeyevna Ivanova?
Dear Ms. Ivanova in English; Anna Sergeyevna in Russian.