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]
ANADYRАна́дырь(Political Subdivision)Russian (Archaic) Although the town itself has only been in existence for just over a century, the origins of the name Anadyr are much older. The name initially derives from the Yukaghir word "any-an" meaning "river"
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.
BISHKEKБишкек(Settlement)Kyrgyz, Armenian, Belarusian, Bengali, Bulgarian, English, Hindi, Indonesian, Kazakh, Macedonian, Malay, Mongolian, Persian, Russian, Tajik, Ukrainian, Uyghur, 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 traditional dairy product). It could also mean "five heights" from Kyrgyz беш (besh) meaning "five" and бийик (biyik) meaning "tall, high", or it could mean "five chiefs" from беш (besh) meaning "five" and the Turkish title beg meaning "chieftain, master"... [more]
BLAGOVESHCHENSKБлаговещенск(Political Subdivision)Russian literally 'the city of The Annunciation (of The Lord to The Blessed Virgin Mary)'
BODAYBOБодайбо(Political Subdivision)Russian possibly named after the Celtic queen "Boadicea" or "Boadacaea"
BULUNKSYБулу́нский(Region)Russian I don't know if it's the actual etymology or if it just 'looks similar,' but a search for 'etymology of bulunsky' turns up a lot of results about "Blue Sky"
CHECHNYAЧечня(Political Subdivision)Russian, English, Indonesian, Malay, Tagalog Means "(place) of the Chechens", derived from the Russian name for the Chechen people. 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 name Шашан (Shashan)... [more]
CHITAЧита(Political Subdivision)Russian "birch mat" or "clay" or "dirt (on the shore), slate, coal" or "blue" or "black earth (coal slate), coal" or "dwelling" or "upper reaches" or possibly the short form of a diminutive of a diminutive of a name that means "conception" (possibly referring to "The Immaculate Conception")
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]
ILIMИлим(River)Russian, Arabic I couldn't find the meaning of the river's name, but Wiktionary (without mentioning the river) says it's a Turkish word with an Arabic root that means "Knowledge, Science"
KARAKALPAKSTANКаракалпакстан(Political Subdivision)Belarusian, Bulgarian, English, Indonesian, Italian, Kyrgyz, Norwegian, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, Tatar, Ukrainian From Karakalpak Қарақалпақстан (Qaraqalpaqstan), a combination of the name of the Karakalpak people and the Persian suffix -ستان (-stan) meaning "land of". The ethnic name is derived from Karakalpak қара (qara) meaning "black" and қалпақ (qalpaq) referring to a high-crowned cap worn in Central Asia... [more]
KHABAROVSKХаба́ровск(Political Subdivision)Russian The Russians founded the military outpost of Khabarovka (Хаба́ровка), named after Yerofey Khabarov. The post later became an important industrial center for the region... [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.
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.
NERIUNGRIНерюнгри(Political Subdivision)Russian comes from the Evenk word for "grayling" (species of freshwater-fish in the family of salmon) ... the second largest town in the Sakha Republic, Russia and the administrative center of Neryungrinsky District
NOVAYA ZEMLYAНовая Земля(Island)Russian, English, Indonesian, Malay Means "new land" from Russian новая (novaya) meaning "new" and земля (zemlya) meaning "land, soil, earth". This is the name of an Arctic archipelago in northern Russia.
OYMYAKONОймяко́н(Political Subdivision)Russian named after the Oymyakon River, whose name reportedly comes from the Even word kheium, meaning "unfrozen patch of water; place where fish spend the winter" ... or the Even word heyum (hэjум) (kheium being a possible misspelling) means "frozen lake"
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, Ukrainian Meaning uncertain, possibly of Dungan origin. This is the name of a town in southern Kazakhstan.