Russian names are used in the country of Russia and in Russian-speaking communities throughout the world. See also about Russian names.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
ABAKANАбакан(Settlement & River)Russian, English Derived from the name Abakhan which is the name of a mythological Turkish khan (king). His name means "bear's blood" in the Khakas language, and was bestowed to the present-day Abakan River and the city of the same name... [more]
ALTAIАлтай(Political Subdivision & Mountain)English, Mongolian, Russian, Altai, Kazakh Combination of Mongolian алт (alt) meaning "gold" and тай (tay) meaning "with" (wholly meaning "the mountain with gold"). The Altai Republic is a federal subject north of Mongolia in Russia... [more]
BAIKALБайкал(Body of Water)Russian, English Derived from Mongolian Байгал нуур (Baygal nuur) meaning "nature lake"; from Mongolian байгалө (baigalö) "nature" and нуур (nuur) "lake". Lake Baikal is a rift lake in SIBERIA of RUSSIA and the largest freshwater lake in the world.
BASHKORTOSTANБашкортостан(Political Subdivision)Russian, English, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Tatar From Bashkir Башҡортостан (Bashqortostan) from the Bashkir endonym башҡорт (bashqort) combined with the Persian suffix -ستان (-stan) meaning "land of". The ethnic name is most likely derived from Turkic baš meaning "head, leader" and kurt meaning "wolf"... [more]
BISHKEKБишкек(Settlement)Kyrgyz, Russian, English, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Indonesian, Kazakh, Macedonian, Malay, Persian, Tajik, Ukrainian, Uzbek Meaning uncertain. One theory suggests that it comes from a word meaning "whorl, whisk" in Kyrgyz, referring to a tool used to prepare kumis (a dairy product). It could also mean "five heights" from Kyrgyz беш (besh) meaning "five" and бийик (biyik) meaning "tall, high" or "five chiefs" from беш (besh) meaning "five" and the Turkish title beg meaning "chieftain, master"... [more]
CHECHNYAЧечня(Political Subdivision)Russian, English From Russian Чечня (Chechnya) meaning "(place) of the Chechens", which is ultimately from the name of the Chechen people (natively called Nokhchi). The exonym is of uncertain meaning, with Russian folk etymologies suggesting that it originates from the name of a village; on the other hand, it may be derived from the Kabardian exonym Шашан (Shashan)... [more]
CHUKOTKAЧукотка(Political Subdivision)Russian, English Derived from the Russian name Чукчи (Chukchi), referring to the native people who originally inhabited the area. The word Chukchi is derived from Chukchi Chauchu meaning "rich in reindeer", used by the Reindeer Chukchi people to distinguish themselves from the Maritime Chukchi (the Anqallyt meaning "sea people")... [more]
GROZNYГрозный(Settlement)Russian, English, Dutch, French Means "formidable, menacing, fearsome" in Russian. This is the name of the capital city of Chechnya, a republic in southern Russia.
KAZANКазань(Settlement)Tatar, Russian, English Meaning disputed, although some sources say that the name of the city is derived from the Volga Bulgar and Tatar word qazan meaning "boiler" or "cauldron". Other sources say that it comes from the name of the Kazanka River or that it was named after the cauldron-shaped hill the city sits atop of... [more]
KIEV(Settlement)Ukrainian, Russian, Bulgarian, German, English The name Kiev comes from a medieval legend about the founding of the city told by a Chronicler of Rus-Ukraine. It was three brothers, Kie, Shchek and Khoriv, and their sister Lebid, who were the founders.
KOMIКоми(Political Subdivision)English, Russian, Komi Derived directly from the name Коми (Komi), referring to the native people of the region. The word Komi is a self-designation of the ethnic group, derived from a Finno-Ugric word for "man, human"... [more]
MOSKVAМосква(Settlement)Russian Original Russian form of MOSCOW, which refers to the city as well as the Moskva River.
NEFTEKAMSKНефтекамск(Settlement)Russian, English Derived from Russian нефть (neft') meaning "oil, petroleum" and the name of the Kama River. Neftekamsk is a city in Russia and the Republic of Bashkortostan.
NOVAYA ZEMLYAНовая Земля(Island)Russian From Russian новий (noviy) meaning "new" and земля (zemlya) meaning "land". Novaya Zemlya is an island in northern Russia.
PAVLODARПавлодар(Settlement)Kazakh, Russian, English Derived from the name of Pavel Alexandrovich, a former Grand Duke of Russia. The city was originally named Koryakovsky before Pavel's birth. Pavlodar is a northeastern city in Kazakhstan.
SAKHALINСахалин(Island)Russian, English Derived from Manchu sahaliyan meaning "black". A misconception of the original Manchu word led to the present name. "Sahaliyan Ula" is also the Manchu name for the Amur River. Sakhalin Island is an island in the Far East of Russia, right above Japan.
SORTOBEСортобе(Settlement)Kazakh, Russian, English Meaning unknown. Sortobe is a small settlement located near the border between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The population consists mostly of Dungans, an ethnic group from China.
STARAYA RUSSAСтарая Русса(Settlement)Russian Staraya Russa is a town in Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Polist River.
TASHKENTТашкент(Settlement)English, Russian Derived from Turkic tash meaning "stone" and kent meaning "city"; literally means "stone city". Tashkent is the capital of the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan.
TUNISТунис(Settlement & Country)English, Arabic, Croatian, Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik, Armenian Derived from the name تُونِس (tūnis), of disputed meaning. One theory suggests Berber origin from the Tamazight root ⵜⵏⵙ (tns) meaning "to lay down" or "encampment" or ens meaning "to lie down, to pass the night", Others state that the name is from TANITH, the name of a Phoenician goddess, or from Tynes, the name of an ancient city... [more]
UFAУфа(Settlement)Russian, English Meaning unknown. It could possibly be derived from Turkic ufak meaning "small", uba meaning "hill" (possibly a reference to a hill it sits atop of), up meaning "water" in Persian, or from the name of Bashkir tribe, upai... [more]
ULAN-UDEУлан-Удэ(Settlement)Russian, English Means "red Uda" in Buryat, referring to communism (red) and the Uda River. It was formerly called Udinskoye, Udinsk, and Verkhneudinsk. Ulan-Ude is a city in Russia and the capital of the Russian federal subject of Buryatia.
VOLGAВолга(River)English, Russian English and Russian name for the largest river in Europe. The Old Mari name of the river is Volgydo, which means "bright". The name volgydo is cognate to Finno-Ugric valkea meaning "white" or "bright"... [more]
YOSHKAR-OLAЙошкар-Ола(Settlement)English, Russian, Mari Means "red city" in Mari. The city was formerly named Tsaryovokokshaysk and Krasnokokshaysk. Yoshkar-Ola is a city in Russia and the capital city of the Russian republic of Mari El.