This article is devoted to the declination of surnames, a topic to which Russian language teachers devoted several lessons in primary school.
Ability to correctly incline proper name and the surname is very important - at school the child signs his diary and notebooks, and in adult life important government documents.
Therefore, information about the declension of surnames by case will be useful for both schoolchildren and adults.
General rules for declension of surnames
You need to remember them to avoid mistakes:
- Not all surnames ending in a consonant are inflected for both men and women:
- Women's surnames are not declined at all: script by Irina Kryuk, dress by Anna Mayer;
- male surnames can and should be declined: song by Louis Tomlinson, house of Alexander Pushkin.
- All Russian surnames ending in “a” are declined: speech by Karina Ivanova, story by Vasily Stupka.
- Foreign surnames are declined if they end in a consonant: creativity of Anatoly Petrosyan, poems of George Byron.
Exception: French surnames Dumas, Lacroix and others do not bow down.
Foreign surnames ending in a vowel other than the unstressed “a” are not inflected: music by Giuseppe Verdi, role by Sergo Makaradze.
What surnames are not declined in Russian?
This rule is well illustrated in the picture.
Do male surnames decline or not?
Male surnames are subject to declension, but not all. You need to figure out what your last name is- Russian, French, Armenian, etc., what letter it ends with, and apply the corresponding rule.
Declension of masculine surnames ending in a consonant
Declension of surnames in Ukrainian
Ukrainian surnames ending in -uk (-yuk), -ok, -ik, -ch are declined only if they are male surnames. As in Russian, female Ukrainian surnames ending in a consonant do not decline.
Exceptions to the rules include surnames ending in -i, -yh. Usually these are surnames formed from adjectives: White, Black. They don't bow down.
Do Armenian surnames end with –yan?
The declination of Armenian surnames into -an (-yan), -ants (-yanc), -unts occurs according to the rules of the Russian language: men's surnames are declined, women's surnames are not.
Declension of foreign surnames
To remember the declension of foreign names, this algorithm will be useful:
Declension of male surnames ending in a soft sign
There are few male surnames ending in -ь, but you still need to know how they decline.
Exception: surnames derived from city names are not declined. These are surnames from Uruguay, Taiwan, etc.
Declension of masculine surnames ending in a vowel
Surnames ending in a vowel, except -a , don't bow down. This is true for both male and female surnames.
| Them. P. | Peter Romanenko |
| Genus. P. | Petra Romanenko |
| Dat. P. | Petru Romanenco |
| Vin. P. | Petra Romanenko |
| Creation P. | Peter Romanenko |
| Prev. P. | (about) Petre Romanenko |
Declension of double surnames
Declension of double Russian surnames occurs as follows: both parts are declined according to the rules of the Russian language. If the first part serves only as a component, then it does not decline.
| Them. P. | Ivan Petrov-Zodchenko |
| Genus. P. | Ivana Petrova-Zodchenko |
| Dat. P. | Ivan Petrov-Zodchenko |
| Vin. P. | Ivana Petrova-Zodchenko |
| Creation P. | Ivan Petrov-Zodchenko |
| Prev. P. | (about) Ivan Petrov-Zodchenko |
Don’t forget that last names don’t end with –o!
Compound surnames are popular in East Asia. For example, the last name is Kim Il Sung. Comprises three parts, but only the latter is inclined, according to general rules.
Declension of German surnames
For the most part, German surnames were derived from geographical names, personal names, nicknames.
German male surnames ending in a consonant are definitely declined: give it to Müller, call Schneider, send Wagner, no Schultz, think about Richter.
For a vowel letter, accordingly, no:letter for Adolf Weisse, work by Johann Goethe, documents of Arnold Kolbe.
Is a man's surname ending in "th" inflected?
Male surnames starting with “y” are also declined.
Declension of Georgian surnames to “iya”
Linguists do not recommend inflecting Georgian surnames with the suffixes “iya”, “ia”, “ua”, “aya”. The endings should be written correctly: otherwise it will cease to have anything to do with Georgia. Examples: Goritsavia book, Gamsakhurdia house, Chkadua address.
Remembering the spelling of last names is easy: female surnames are declined ONLY with the ending “a” ( Mokaeva, Ivanova etc.). Male surnames are declined ALL EXCEPT those ending in other vowels ( Plushenko, Begiashvili).
However, if you still have problems with declension, it is better to turn to the Internet or the Directory of Surnames. This will take time, but you will be sure that the data is recorded correctly and will not have to be changed.
Good afternoon Is the sentence correct: One of them, Andrey Kovalchuk, works here in Kizhi. Are commas necessary? Thank you for your reply!
Commas are needed: One of them, Andrey Kovalchuk, works here in Kizhi.
| Question No. 288134 | ||
Hello, dear Gramota specialists! I am interested in how to determine the nationality of surnames that do not have clear derivational characteristics. For example, surnames with the suffixes -sk- (Kovalsky, Stashevsky) and the like. Are they Polish in origin?
Answer help desk Russian language
The word "origin" better describes the problem you named than "nationality". The surname has no nationality. Surnames Kovalsky, Stashevsky may come from Polish. Here good book about surnames.
| Question No. 286353 | ||
Hello! Bor is a pine forest. Is the phrase “pine forest” used? This turns out to be a “pine pine forest”.
Russian help desk response
In the “Big Academic Dictionary of the Russian Language” the word boron is interpreted as “coniferous, mainly pine forest, growing on a dry, elevated place” and an illustration is given: Pinery. So the combination Pinery is not erroneous, as the combinations are quite possible: spruce forest, pine-spruce forest and under .
Wed: From above, from distant places, spruce forests, timber is floated along it. Yu. Koval. The spruce forest approached the highway. Yu. Trifonov.
| Question No. 283646 | ||
Dear employees of the “Help Bureau”, tell me how to correctly pronounce last names ending in “b”, for example Alexey Koval. They wrote out a letter, the parents argue and say that their last name is not accepted. In your section "8. Declension of surnames" it is written that surnames are not declined female, men's - bow. Specify, if possible, the basis (point of the rules or what can be referred to).
Russian help desk response
You can refer to the “Handbook of the Russian Language: Spelling, Pronunciation, Literary Editing” by D. E. Rosenthal, E. V. Dzhandzhakova , N.P. Kabanova (7th ed. M., 2010), as well as publications posted on our website (see links at the end of the article“How to decline surnames (general recommendations)”).
Which is correct: Koval chuk to Irina Pavlovna and Vladimir Vasilyevich or Koval chuk to Irina Pavlovna and Vladimir Vasilyevich? (Should I decline the surname of the wife and husband mentioned together under the same surname, or not?)
Russian help desk response
If the surname is accompanied by a male and female name, then it retains the form singular. Because in the example you gave female name comes first, and female surnames do not incline to a consonant, correctly: Koval chuk to Irina Pavlovna and Vladimir Vasilievich.
| Question No. 264890 | ||
Please explain when the word FOR EXAMPLE is introductory and is highlighted punctuationally, and when it is not necessary to highlight it. Thank you!
Russian help desk response
FOR EXAMPLE, introductory word
Identified by punctuation marks, usually commas.
Wife, For example, with pleasure takes five hundred rubles from me in order to give one hundred to his poor! D. Grigorovich, Capital Air. "What if I For example“Have you decided to inform the commandant?” – and then I made a very serious, even stern face. M. Lermontov, Hero of our time. I remember For example that here exactly a year ago, exactly at this same time, at this same hour, along this same sidewalk, I was wandering just as lonely, just as sadly as now! F. Dostoevsky, White Nights. I never tried to work regularly the way I worked For example, Alexey Tolstoy, who every day certainly wrote his two pages on a typewriter. Yu. Koval, On a badger's license.
If the word “for example” introduces a connecting construction or stands at the beginning or end of a separate phrase, then it is not separated from the phrase by any punctuation mark.
However, regarding gold, which Cagliostro mined without any labor from all other metals, For example from copper, turning them into gold with the touch of his hands, Stroganov also had a low opinion. Yu. Tynyanov, Citizen Ocher. On Sunday we can have a good time, go to the cinema For example.
Good afternoon. A question has arisen to which we cannot find an answer: is there a plural for the word autumn? If so, how does it lean?
Thank you
Russian help desk response
Yes, by the word autumn there are forms plural, grammatically correct: O canopy, O entryway, O entryway etc., for example: But on Shirokaya the oak trees smelled just as tartly in the autumn...(A. Akhmatova) “She will soon receive a passport,” Bulyga jokes. - Sixteen Autumns. Not in years - in the autumn they mark the age of the houndsdogs(Yu. Koval). However, in lively colloquial speech such forms are rarely used.
| Question No. 253787 | ||
Please tell me how to correctly dative case write male surnames Angeley, Zatyka, Marandyuk, Negara, Pinchuk, Snegur, Gorb, Koval, Peredera, Radish, Shvedul and Dementiy
Russian help desk response
| Question No. 248885 | ||
The male surname Koval chuk is inclined (for example, To whom? _ Koval chuk?
Russian help desk response
Yes, a man's last name Koval chuk needs to be persuaded.
| Question No. 248525 | ||
Good day!
Where can I find samples of private letters (I am interested in the circulation and completion of such letters).
Thank you.
Natalia Kovalska
Russian help desk response
| Question No. 239309 | ||
There is such a singer - Diana Gurtskaya. Judging by her biography on Wikipedia, her surname is not Polish, but Mingrelian, i.e. her father is not Gurtsky, but Gurtskaya, and she should bow not like Kovalsky, Vishnevetsky, but like Beria, Tskhakaya...
Please tell me how this surname is declined in masculine and feminine gender?
Russian help desk response
| Question No. 232903 | ||
Thank you very much for answers to previous questions. Very urgent. Is the surname Belan inclined? Poems about love were preceded by compositions by Anna Kovalchuk and Maxim Belan (a) from the ensemble "Solnyshko"
Russian help desk response
The male surname _Belan_ is inclined: _Maxima Belana_, the female surname - no.
| Question No. 224232 | ||
Is the surname Koval Chuk inclined??
Russian help desk response
The male surname is declined, the female surname is not.
Dale Carnegie, an American psychologist, said: “...a person’s name is the sweetest and most important sound for him.” The same fully applies to a person’s last name, therefore both first and last names must be used correctly in speech and writing.
Difficulties in using surnames begin when surnames are not formalized with traditional suffixes -ov (-ev), -in (-yn), -sky (-tsky), like Ivanov, Pushkin, Dostoevsky. The question arises: how to change surnames like Chernyak, Gaidai, Semenovich, Kravets, Wolf etc. Russian grammar answers unequivocally: it is obligatory to change surnames that end in a consonant if they belong to men, and not to change if they belong to women! It should be like this: with Ivan Chernyak - with Irina Chernyak, with Anna Kovalchuk - with Ilya Kovalchuk, with Pavel Volk - with Maria Volk, I see Anna Semenovich - I see Andrei Semenovich.
There are bearers of similar surnames who insist that everyone else may change, but his surname does not. This should be answered this way: the change (declension) of any words in the Russian language depends not on the desire of the speaker, but on the rules of Russian grammar. By the way, if you agree with such a bearer of the surname and give him, for example, a diploma where it will be written: “This diploma was issued to Igor Ivanovich Gaidai...” then such a document may be declared invalid as it contains grammatical error. Moreover, such entries may be perceived as very undesirable for the bearer of the surname, because he can be mistaken for a woman: notebook Chernyak Evgeniy (and if - Zhenya, Sasha?).
It’s a difficult situation when the surname coincides with the name of an object, animal or personal name: Dahl, Role, Cat, Pavel etc. In this case, in order to distinguish the surname from an ordinary word, it is recommended to change it in a different way, different from the method of declension of the word with which the surname coincides (of course, if the surname is male). For example, Dahl, Role change like words male, not female: dictionary V.I. Dalya, notebook of Rolya Sergei (compare: given, roles); familiar with Dahl, Role (compare: dal, role). Usually the emphasis is also shifted in such surnames: for Andrey K O the one with Andrey K O Tom, with brothers V O lkami, music by Ferenc L And hundred. Such surnames may lack a fluent vowel: with Yuri Kravets.
A special group among surnames ending in a consonant are surnames with the ending s(s): Black, Fomin, Polish etc. Unlike all other surnames, they never decline: Viktor Chernykh, acquaintance with the Fomins, Starykh family etc. Therefore, speeds like at Viktor Chernykh's, with Chernykh- this is a grammatical error.
Surnames ending in a vowel do not change, except for those ending in unstressed ones -A And -me: Dumas, Hugo, Rotaru, Kikabidze etc., also: Shevchenko, Korolenko. Surnames with unaccented -A And -I at the end are often Slavic in origin, they change freely (both male and female): with Edita Piekha, with Stas Piekha, with Irina Podoprigora, with Ivan Podoprigora.
Every person cares about his surname, but in the case of changeable/immutable surnames - believe me, it’s nothing personal, this is Russian grammar!
Elena FILINKOVA,
Candidate of Philology,
Lecturer at the Russian Language Department
and methods of teaching it by the faculty
Philology and Mass Communications ZabSU
"Chita Review"
No. 10 (1338) dated March 11, 2015
Ukrainian names very well common, not to mention surnames. When Kievan Rus converted to Christianity, began to emerge beautiful words, which later became Ukrainian. Christian church calendar states that it is the basis of all data. So what is the magic of the Ukrainian language?
Ukrainian names and surnames
The origin of Ukrainian surnames is a long story that goes back several centuries. There is one very interesting fact: Ukrainian data came into use much earlier than Russian or English. The first surnames had the suffix –enko-, which is now well-known and even customary. But few people know that this is one of the most ancient suffixes, which dates back to the 16th century.
Every word was given to people for a reason; it meant something. So, for example, the common surname Maistrenko has the translation “freedom”, i.e. someone in the family was not a serf, but had the right to be a master. An ethnic Ukrainian can be part of a group that has a long history due to the presence of some specific signs of the formation of a surname.
Men's
Ukrainian male surnames depend on endings and suffixes - this is the most important indicator of construction. They were formed for a long time, relying on people’s nicknames, their professions, appearance and region of residence, so they could receive them based on the specifics of their activities. Common alphabetical suffixes playing main role in data education, these are:
- -eik-;
- -ko-;
- -points-;
- -nick-;
- -ar (ar) -;
- -shin-;
- -ba- .
Women's
Ukrainian female surnames are formed in the same way as male ones. Here the endings change a little, they have a declination, but only thanks to this we can understand that this is a woman. Also, forms for girls do not exist for everyone. There are also data that do not change, i.e. suitable for both sexes at once. Examples of suffixes are the same as given above. But it’s best to look at it visually.
- Pilipenko. Treats both men and women equally.
- Serdyukov - from the mention in this case, it is clearly clear that he is a man. Serdyukova - declension with the addition of the letter “a”, one can no longer think that this is the male gender. This consonance is much more suitable for a woman.
Funny Ukrainian surnames
The dictionary of Ukrainian surnames is replete with unusual, funny data, which is even strange to consider as names. No, it's not about ridicule at all. They are just really very funny, funny, few people will have the courage to give their child such a name. Although, for Ukraine, such names are considered the best of all:
- Ladle;
- Golka;
- Do not shoot;
- Nedaichleb;
- Thinness;
- chicken coop;
- Fear;
- Pipko-Besnovatataya;
- Cattle;
- Kochmarik;
- Grievoul;
- Gurragcha;
- Surdul;
- Boshara;
- Zhovna.
The list can be continued endlessly; there are also not the most successful options that do not sound very aesthetically pleasing. But what can we do, this is the Ukrainian language, and we must respect it.
Beautiful Ukrainian surnames
Beautiful Ukrainian surnames, the list of which is extensive. There is some familiar data here that comes up frequently. The data is really very interesting, well-known, and most importantly, consistent.
- Tkachenko;
- Stepanenko;
- Plushenko;
- Leshchenko;
- Skripko;
- Goncharenko;
- Sobchak;
- Tishchenko;
- Vinnichenko;
- Tymoshenko;
- Romanyuk;
- Onishchenko;
- Guzenko.
Western Ukrainian
Western Ukrainian surnames have the suffix -iv-, it is found absolutely everywhere. For example, Illiv, Ivaniv, Ivantsiv. In general, in Western Ukraine there are not so many endings and suffixes, so people limited themselves to basic additions to the data, without declension: -vich-, -ych-, -ovich-, -evich- and -ich-. That's all the variety. If a word ends in one of these suffixes, then it should immediately be determined that this is exclusively Western Ukraine. So, for example, here are a number of famous names that belong to the Western Ukrainian addition system:
- Mishkevich;
- Koganovich;
- Mrych;
- Enukovich;
- Gorbatsevich;
- Krivich;
- Bekonovitch;
- Vinich;
- Stroganovich;
- Strarovoitovich;
- Gudzevich;
- Bykovich;
- Kpekych.
Common
There are also a dozen - the most common Ukrainian surnames, which are not only found on every corner, but are also considered the most popular of all. A large number of famous people are owners of real surnames of Ukrainian origin, for example, astronauts, politicians, etc. List of Ukrainian surnames.
Often, secretaries and clerks, when drawing up protocols, are faced with the manager’s requirement not to decline certain names. We will tell you in the article which surnames actually do not decline. We have prepared a summary table of the most common cases with which difficulties arise.
Download this useful document:
What are some misconceptions about the declination of surnames?
Most Russian speakers are unfamiliar with the laws of declension of given names and surnames. Despite the fact that there are many reference books and manuals on this topic, the issue of declination of surnames remains difficult for many people. In many ways, misconceptions regarding the rules for declination of surnames interfere. Here are some of them.
The declension of a surname depends on its linguistic origin. For example, all Georgian, Polish or Armenian surnames are not declined.
The declension of a surname depends on the gender of its bearer.
If the surname coincides with a common noun - Volya, Svoboda, Zhuk - it does not decline.
However, the most common misconception is that there are so many rules for declension that there is simply no point in memorizing them.
In order to refute these misconceptions, let's consider the basic rules for changing surnames by case. We have formulated them in the form of step-by-step instructions, with which you can quickly conclude whether the surname changes by case or not.
Table: declension of surnames in Russian
Download the table in full
How to determine whether a surname is declining: step-by-step instructions
Step #1.
Look at the end of the last name. If it ends in -ov (-ev,), -in (-yn), -sky (-tsky), decline it as standard
Such surnames can be changed without problems. But keep in mind two important exceptions.
A. If the surname ends in -ov, -in, but is foreign (For example, Chaplin or Darwin), then it will change according to cases as a noun of the second declension (for example, table) - Chaplin, Darwin.
B. Women's surnames in -ina (Smorodina, Zhemchuzhina) change depending on how the male version of the same surname changes. If the male version sounds like Smorodin or Zhemchuzhin, then the female surname in the instrumental case will sound like Smorodina or Zhemchuzhina, and if the male version coincides with the female surname - Zhemchuzhina or Smorodina, then the female surname will be declined as a common noun. An example is in the table below.
|
Charlie Chaplin |
Anna Smorodina (born Smorodin) |
Irina Zhemchuzhina (same as born) |
|
|
Charlie Chaplin |
Anna Smorodina |
Irina Zhemchuzhina |
|
|
Charlie Chaplin |
Anna Smorodina |
Irina Zhemchuzhina |
|
|
Charlie Chaplin |
Anna Smorodina |
Irina Zhemchuzhina |
|
|
Charlie Chaplin |
Anna Smorodina |
Irina Zhemchuzhina |
|
|
Charlie Chaplin |
Anna Smorodina |
Irina Zhemchuzhina |
Step #2.
If you have a non-standard surname, mark what sound it ends with
The main rule that should be followed is that the type of declension is primarily influenced not by the gender or nationality of the speaker, but by whether it ends with a vowel or consonant.
Step #3.
Do not change your last name, which ends in -yh, ikh, as well as e, i, o, u, y, e, yu
For example, the book by Belykh, the speech of Loye, Gramigna, Ceausescu, Lykhny, Maigret and Liu.
Note. In everyday speech and in the language of literature, where it is depicted Speaking , sometimes you can find the declination of male surnames into -y or -i. For example, Chernykh's report. Sometimes you can find the declension of Ukrainian surnames in -ko - Chernenka or Shevchenko. The last version of surname changes was common in the 19th century. But now both the first option and the second are undesirable.
Step #4.
If the surname ends with a consonant (except -i and -yh), look at the gender of its owner
Men's surnames are inclined to a consonant, but women's names are not. Linguistic origin last name doesn't matter. Male surnames that coincide with common nouns are also declined.
For example, reports by Krug, Shock, Martirosyan (for male surnames) and reports by Krug, Shock, Martirosyan (for female surnames).
Note 1. There are male surnames of East Slavic origin that can be inclined in two ways. We are talking about surnames that, when changed, have a fluent vowel - Zhuravl: Zhuravel or Zhuravlem. Most reference books recommend preserving the fluent vowel (Zhuravel) when declining, since from a legal point of view it is important to preserve the integrity of the surname. However, the owner of the surname may insist on the option he has chosen. The main thing in this case is to adhere to the uniformity of changing the surname by case in all legal documents.
Note 2. Last names starting with -th (Shahrai) deserve special mention. Here we are also faced with the possibility of double changing the surname. If the surname is perceived as an adjective, for example, Topchiy, then it changes as Topchego, Topchyu, etc. If the surname is perceived as a noun, it changes as Topchiya, Topchiyu. Such complex cases concern only those surnames in which the consonant “th” is preceded by the vowels “o” or “i”. In all other cases, the surname changes according to the general rules (Shahrayu, Shakhraya, etc.)
|
Ivan Chernykh |
Ivan Krug |
Anna Krug |
Ivan Shakhrai |
|
|
Ivan Chernykh |
Ivan Krug |
Annu Krug |
Ivan Shakhrai |
|
|
Ivan Chernykh |
Ivan Krug |
Anne Krug |
Ivan Shakhrai |
|
|
Ivan Chernykh |
Ivan Krug |
Annu Krug |
Ivan Shakhrai |
|
|
Ivan Chernykh |
Ivan Krug |
Anna Krug |
Ivan Shakhrai |
|
|
Ivan Chernykh |
Ivan Krug |
Anne Krug |
Ivan Shakhrai |
Step #5.
The surname ends in the vowel -ya. Is there another vowel before it? If yes, persuade her
Examples: Inna Shengelaya’s notebook, diploma issued to Nikolai Lomaya, meeting with Anna Reya; crimes of Lavrentiy Beria, meeting with Georgy Danelia.
Step #6.
The surname ends in the vowel -a. Is there another vowel before it? If yes, don't persuade her
Examples: Nikolai Galois’s notebook, diploma given to Irina Eria, meeting with Igor Gulia.
Step #7.
The surname ends in -a or -ya, but is preceded by a consonant. Pay attention to the origin of the surname and the emphasis in it
There are only two exceptions to remember:
A. French surnames with an emphasis on the last syllable are not inclined: the books of Alexandre Dumas, Emile Zola and Anna Gavalda, the aphorisms of Jacques Derrida, the goals of Drogba.
B. Mostly Finnish surnames ending in -a are unstressed: meeting with Mauno Pekkala.
All other surnames - Eastern, Slavic, Japanese - ending in stressed and unstressed -a or -ya are declined. Decline also surnames that coincide with common nouns.
Examples: Irina Groza’s notebook, a diploma issued to Nikolai Mukha, a lecture by Elena Kara-Murza, songs by Bulat Okudzhava, roles by Igor Kvasha, films by Akira Kurosawa.
|
Marguerite Galois |
Nina Danelia |
Anna Groza |
|
|
Marguerite Galois |
Nina Danelia |
Anna Groza |
|
|
Marguerite Galois |
Nina Danelia |
Anna Grose |
|
|
Marguerite Galois |
Nina Danelia |
Anna Groza |
|
|
Marguerite Galois |
Nina Danelia |
Anna Groza |
|
|
Marguerite Galois |
Nina Danelia |
Anna Grose |
Why is it important to follow the rules for declension of surnames?
You risk encountering misunderstandings if you do not follow the rules for declining surnames.
For example, consider this situation. You have received a letter signed as follows: “letter from Vasily Groz.” Following the laws of Russian grammar, you will most likely assume that male surname, which in the genitive case has the ending -a, in the nominative case will have a zero ending and you will conclude that the author of the letter is Vasily Groz. Such a misunderstanding would not have arisen if the letter had been signed correctly - “letter from Vasily Groza.”
Another example. You have been given an article by A. Pogrebnyak. It is natural to assume that the author of the article is a woman. If it later turns out that the author is a man, Anatoly Pogrebnyak, this may lead to misunderstanding.