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 Possibly from Khakas аба (aba) meaning "bear" or "father" and хан (khan) meaning "blood". This is the name of a city and river in Russia.
AlmatyАлматы(Settlement)Kazakh, Russian Meaning uncertain, possibly from Kazakh алма (alma) meaning "apple". This is the name of the largest city in Kazakhstan.
AltaiАлтай(Political Subdivision & Mountain)Altai, Russian, Mongolian, Kazakh, English From the Turkic roots altun meaning "gold" and tag meaning "mountain". This is the name of a mountain range in Central and East Asia as well as two territories of Russia.
AltayАлтай(Political Subdivision & Mountain)Altai, Russian, Mongolian, Kazakh, English Altai, Russian, Mongolian and Kazakh alternate transcription of Altai as well as an English variant.
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"
AstanaАстана(Settlement)Kazakh, English, Russian Means "capital city" in Kazakh, ultimately from Persian آستانه (astaneh). This was the name of the capital city of Kazakhstan until 2019, when it was renamed Nur-Sultan.
BaikalБайкал(Body of Water)Russian, English From Buryat Байгал (Baygal) of uncertain origin, perhaps from the Turkic roots baj meaning "rich" and kol meaning "lake" or from Mongolian байгалийн нуур (baigaliin nuur) meaning "natural lake"... [more]
BakuБаку(Settlement)English, Russian, Persian From Azerbaijani Bakı from Persian باکو (baku), which is of uncertain meaning. One popular etymology suggests that it means "wind-pounded city" from Persian باد (bad) meaning "wind" and کوبیدن (kubidan) meaning "to pound, to beat", given in reference to the area's frequent storms and high winds... [more]
BashkortostanБашкортостан(Political Subdivision)Russian From Bashkir Башҡортостан (Bashqortostan), which is from башҡорт (bashqort), the name of the people, combined with the Persian suffix ستان (stan) meaning "land of"... [more]
BishkekБишкек(Settlement)Kyrgyz, English, Russian 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"
BonayreБонайре(Political Subdivision & Island)Ukrainian, Russian Ukrainian form of Bonaire as well as a Russian variant name for the island.
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 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]
DagestanДагестан(Political Subdivision)Russian Derived from Turkish dağ meaning "mountain" and the Persian suffix ستان (stan) meaning "land of". This is the name of a federal subject of Russia.
DushanbeДушанбе(Settlement)Tajik, English, Russian Mean "Monday" in Tajik, so named for a popular market that used to be held in the area on Mondays. This is the name of the capital city of Tajikistan.
GroznyГрозный(Settlement)Russian, English Means "formidable, menacing, fearsome" in Russian. This is the name of the capital city of the Russian republic of Chechnya.
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"
KaragandaКараганда(Settlement)English, Russian From Kazakh Қарағанды (Qaraghandy), which is derived from қараған (qaraghan) meaning "caragana" (a type of flower). This is the name of a city in Kazakhstan.
KarakalpakstanКаракалпакстан(Political Subdivision)English, Russian From Karakalpak Қарақалпақстан (Qaraqalpaqstan), itself from the name of the Karakalpak people combined with the Persian suffix ستان (stan) meaning "land of"... [more]
KazanКазань(Settlement)Tatar, Russian Probably derived from Turkic qazan meaning "kettle, cauldron". This is the name of the capital city of the Russian republic of Tatarstan.
KazbekКазбек(Mountain)Russian, English From Arabic قاضي (qadi) meaning "judge, arbiter" combined with the Turkish military title beg meaning "chieftain, master". This is the name of a dormant stratovolcano and mountain located in the central Caucasus.
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.
KomiКоми(Political Subdivision)Komi, Russian From the name of the Komi people, which is most likely derived from the Finno-Ugric word kojema meaning "man, human", but also possibly from the name of the Kama River... [more]
MakhachkalaМахачкала(Settlement)Russian Means "Makhach's fortress", from the given name Makhach and Kumyk къала (qala) meaning "fortress". This is the name of the capital city of the Russian republic of Dagestan, named in honour of Magomed-Ali "Makhach" Dadaev (1882-1918), a Dagestani revolutionary.
MaykopМайкоп(Settlement)Russian From Adyghe Мыекъуапэ (Myeqwapa) meaning "cape of apples", from мые (mye) meaning "apple" and къуапэ (qwapa) meaning "cape, gorge, height". This is the name of the capital city of the Russian republic of Adygea.
MinskМинск(Settlement)Belarusian, English, Russian From Old East Slavic Мѣньскъ (Menisku), which was derived from a river named Men. This is the name of the capital city of Belarus.
MoskvaМосква(Settlement & River)Russian, English Russian form of Moscow. In Russian this name refers to both the city and the river, while it only refers to the river in English.
NazranНазрань(Settlement)Russian From Ingush Наьсаре (Nasare) possibly from Нясара (Nyasara), supposedly the name of the first person to settle in the region. This is the name of a town in Ingushetia that served as the republic's capital until 2000.
NeftekamskНефтекамск(Settlement)Russian From Russian нефть (neft) meaning "oil, petroleum" combined with the name of the Kama River. This is the name of a city in Bashkortostan, Russia.
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 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.
Nur-SultanНур-Султан(Settlement)Kazakh, English, Russian From the given name Nursultan. This is the name of the capital city of Kazakhstan, which was renamed in honour of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev (1940-)... [more]
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"
PalanaПала́на(Settlement & Body of Water)Russian "having a Waterfall"
PavlodarПавлодар(Settlement)Kazakh, Russian From the given name Pavel combined with Russian дар (dar) meaning "gift". This is the name of a city in northern Kazakhstan, named for Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich of Russia (1860-1919).
PetrogradПетроград(Political Subdivision & Region)Russian The name of Saint Petersburg during 1914 to 1924. Saint Petersburg's name was changed to this to avoid German connotations, as burg is a common German suffix meaning "fortress, fortification, castle" and sankt meaning saint... [more]
RigaРига(Settlement)English, Russian From Latvian Rīga, origin disputed. It may be derived from Livonian ringa meaning "loop", referring to an ancient harbor formed by the tributary loop of the Daugava river, from Riege, the German name of the Rīdzene (a tributary of the Daugava), or from Latvian rija meaning "threshing barn"... [more]
SakhaСаха(Political Subdivision)Yakut, Russian From the name of the Sakha (Yakut) people, which is derived from Turkic jaka meaning "collar, edge". This is the name of a Russian federal republic also known as Yakutia.
SakhalinСахалин(Political Subdivision & Island)Russian, English Derived from Manchu ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ (sahaliyan) meaning "black", itself most likely from the expression ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ ᡠᠯᠠ ᠠᡢᡤᠠ ᡥᠠᡩ᠋ᠠ (sahaliyan ula angga hada) meaning "island (peak) at the mouth of the Amur River"... [more]
ShymkentШымкент(Settlement)Kazakh, Russian From Kazakh шым (shym) meaning "sod, turf, meadow" and кент (kent) meaning "town". This is the name of a city in Kazakhstan.
SortobeСортобе(Settlement)Kazakh, Russian, English, Ukrainian Meaning uncertain, possibly of Dungan origin. This is the name of a town in southern Kazakhstan.
TarantoТаранто(Settlement)Italian, English, Armenian, Bulgarian, Finnish, Georgian, Romanian, Russian From Latin Tarentum, itself from Ancient Greek Τάρᾱς (Tárās), itself probably derived from Illyrian *darandos, meaning "oak". This is the name of a city in southern Italy.
TashkentТашкент(Settlement)English, Russian From Uzbek Toshkent meaning "stone city", from tosh meaning "stone" combined with Turkic kend meaning "city". This is the name of the capital city of Uzbekistan.
TatarstanТатарстан(Political Subdivision)Tatar, Russian From the ethnic name татар (tatar) combined with the Persian suffix ستان (stan) meaning "land of". The ethnic name is of uncertain origin, though it is believed to be derived from tata, an endonym for the Mongols... [more]
TbilisiТбилиси(Settlement)Georgian, English, Russian Derived from Georgian თბილი (tbili) meaning "warm", given in reference to the area's sulfuric hot springs. This is the name of the capital city of Georgia (the country).
TurinТурин(Settlement)English, French, German, Piedmontese, Russian From Latin Augusta Taurinorum, itself from Taurini, the name of a tribe. This is the name of the capital city of Piedmont, in northern Italy.
TuvaТува(Political Subdivision)Russian From Tuvan Тыва (Tyva), itself from the name of the Tuvan people, which is of uncertain meaning. This is the name of a federal subject of Russia.
UfaУфа(Settlement & River)Russian From Bashkir Өфө (Ofo), which is of uncertain origin and meaning, possibly derived from the Iranian root ap meaning "water". This is the name of the capital city of the Russian republic of Bashkortostan as well a river that runs through the Ural Mountains.
Ulan-UdeУлан-Удэ(Settlement)Russian From Buryat Улаан-Үдэ (Ulaan-Ude) meaning "red Uda", derived from Buryat улаан (ulaan) meaning "red" and Үдэ (Ude) referring to the Uda River. The name was originally given to reflect the Soviet Union's communist ideology... [more]