PotemkinПотёмкинRussian A Russian surname which derives from the word "Потёмка" (Potyomka) meaning "dark". People bearing the name Potemkin rose to prominence in Muscovy from the 16th century onwards.
PovarovПоваровRussian Derived from the Russian word "povar" meaning 'cook'.
PozharskyПожарскийRussian Possibly from Russian пожар (požár) meaning "fire, conflagration". A famous bearer of the name was Russian prince Dmitry Mikhaylovich Pozharsky (1577-1642) known for his military leadership during the Polish–Muscovite War.
PridonovПридоновRussian The surname Pridonov is derived from a nickname. It contains an indication of the place of residence of the ancestor: "at the Don, i.e. on the Don River". The river named Don flows not only in the European part of Russia, but also in Scotland (the city of Aberdon is located on it) and in France (a tributary of the Vilena).
PrigozhinПригожинmRussian From Russian пригожий (prigozhiy), meaning "beautiful, pretty". Prigozhin was the last name of Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner PMC until 2023 when he died in a plane crash... [more]
PugachevПугачёвRussian From the nickname Pugach which is probably derived from Ukrainian пугач (pugach) meaning "owl". Following this etymology, the nickname was most likely given to someone who was wise or sensible (attributing to the owl as a symbol of wisdom).
PushkinПушкинRussian Derived from Russian пушка (pushka) meaning "gun, cannon". A notable bearer was Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), a Russian poet and writer.
RakhmaninovРахманиновRussian From a nickname derived from Russian рахманный (rakhmannyy) meaning "lazy". A notable bearer was Russian composer, pianist and conductor Sergei Rakhmaninov (1873-1943).
RakitinРакитинRussian From rakita, meaning "brittle willow".
ReshetnikovРешетниковRussian Occupational name for a maker of sieves or gratings, derived from Russian решетник (reshetnik) meaning "sheathing, grate, sieve".
RomanskyРоманскийCzech, Slovak, Polish, Russian In Czech and Slovak usage, it is a habitational name from Romanov, a village in central Bohemia. In Polish usage, it is a habitational name for someone from any of several places in Poland called Romany, named with the personal name Roman... [more]
RostovРостов, РостоваRussian, Literature Either derived from Rostov Oblast, a Russian federal subject, the town of Rostov in Yaroslavl Oblast, or Rostov-on-Don, a Russian city in the Rostov Oblast. This is also the surname of multiple characters from Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel "War and Peace".
RusakovaRussian Julia Rusakova-Harper was a Russian astronaut for NASA and former wife to Jack Harper in the movie Oblivion (2013). She was played by Olga Kurylenko alongside Jack Harper’s character played by Tom Cruise... [more]
RusalkinРусалкинmRussian Derived from русалка (rusalka), a creature in Slavic folklore.
RuskykhUkrainian, Russian (Ukrainianized) Means "a Russian", from Ukrainian руський (rus'kyy) "Russian". It can also derived from the Russian word русский (russkiy), with the same meaning.
RusskikhРусскихRussian Means "Russian" in Russian, probably used as a nickname for a person who lived in a village where the majority of residents were non-Russian.
RybakРыба́кPolish, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Jewish Means "fisherman" in some Slavic languages. Derived from the word ryba "fish". A famous bearer is Byelarusian-Norwegian artist Alexander Rybak (b. 1986) who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009.
RybakinРыбакинmRussian Derived from Russian рыба (ryba) meaning "fish".
RybakinaРыбакинаfRussian Feminine form of Rybakin. A notable bearer is the Russian-born Kazakhstani tennis player Elena Rybakina (1999-).
RybakovРыбаковRussian Means "son of the fisher" from Russian рыбак (rybak) meaning "fisherman".
RzhevskyРжевский, Рже́вскиеRussian Derived from Russian Ржев "Rzhev", a historical town between Moscow and Minsk, itself of unknown origin. This was the surname of a Russian noble family as well as Poruchik Dmitry Rzhevsky, a fictional character in the 1962 Soviet musical Hussar Ballad, often used in Russian jokes.
SagorskyPolish, Russian It means literally "of the city/town Sagorsk". Sagorsk is a city near the Russian capital of Moskva. The ending of "sky" means "of". The "Sagor" part of the surname sounds to me like "za gor" which is "za gorod"... [more]
SakhalinskyСахалинскийRussian Refers to an island in Eastern Russia named "Sakhalin."
SelyaninovichСеляниновичRussian Mikula Selyaninovich is a character from Russian folk tales. It is an actual surname outside of folktales.
SemakСемакUkrainian, Russian East Slavic surname derived from a Slavic root meaning "seven". This was used as a nickname for someone who was associated with this number and was mainly given to the seventh child.
SerbinСербинmRussian Possibly from Russian сербский (serbskiy), meaning "Serbian".
SerebrennikovСеребренников, СеребрениковRussian, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Belarusian Denoted somebody who engaged in silver mining or a silversmith, derived from Russian серебреник (serébrenik) meaning "silver coin". This name is also found in Kazakhstan and Belarus.
SerebryanskyСеребрянскийmRussian From серебряный (serebryaniy) meaning "silver"
SevelevСевелевRussian Derived by means of suffix "-ev" from Old Slavic verb sheveliti (se) meaning to make noise, to whirr, to rustle, to whistle, to wander. Initially it designated someone bold, daring, hardy, spirited... [more]
SevernyyСеверныйmRussian Means "northern". Likely denoted to someone who lived in the northern part of a village.
ShariyШарийUkrainian, Russian Last name of Anatoly Shariy, the leader of Party of Shariy, a Ukrainian political party that was shut down due to alleged ties to Russia.