The most widespread in the Russian Federation are the so-called all-Russian surnames, of which there are about 15 thousand. Each of them has a special origin and a long history.
The list is updated annually, but the leaders remain unchanged. By the way, the names of Smith, Johnson and Williams are the most popular in the United States, and Lee, Wang and Zhang in China. In the current ten, we have included the most common surnames of Russia.
10. Petrov
A surname is formed on behalf of Peter. Researchers consider the reign of Tsar Peter I to be one of the factors that had a special influence on the number of Petrovs. Until that time, the name Peter was already widespread, but in the period from 1700 to 1725 the number of Petrov in Russia at least doubled. Naturally, this subsequently affected the number of carriers of the surname formed on this name.
9. Morozov
The surname was formed on behalf of Frost. Already in the documents of the XIV century there are references to the Governor Leo Morozov. The boyar clan of the Morozovs was widely known, many carriers of the surname were also found among merchants.
8. Novikov
Researchers associate the origin of this surname with the word "newcomer", which meant in Russia "rookie", "new princely servant." In the previous version of the surname, the stress fell on the last syllable.
7. Kozlov
The surname comes from the old non-baptismal male name Kozel. The Kozlovs are an ancient boyar clan whose history begins in the 14th century. A separate branch of the Kozlovs has a peasant origin.
6. Lebedev
The second most popular “bird” surname comes from the non-church male name Cygnus. Some researchers connect the history of the surname with the city of Swan in the Sumy region. The third hypothesis is based on the origin of the surname from the word “swan”, the so-called slaves, duty-bound to deliver swans to the princely table.
5. Popov
This surname comes from the word "pop" and is common among Russians and Bulgarians. In Russia, most often the name Popov was carried by peasants. The most famous bearer of the surname is the inventor of the radio physicist A. S. Popov.
4. Sokolov
Historically, the names of animals and birds have often been sources for nicknames, which are gradually transformed into surnames. The most common among the "birds" was the name of Sokolov.
3. Kuznetsov
Obviously, the name comes from the word "blacksmith". By the way, common surnames in English and German-speaking countries have the same origin. In Germany, the name Schmidt comes from the word "schmidt"-" blacksmith ", like the most popular American surname Smith.
2. Ivanov
There are two variants of this popular surname - with an emphasis on the letter O and the letter A. There is a surname from the most common name in Russia, Ivan. By the way, representatives of the small nations that were part of the Russian Empire, adopting Orthodoxy, often simultaneously took the Russian surname Ivanov.
1. Smirnov
In Moscow alone, the Smirnovs are more than 70 thousand. The origin of the surname is associated with the name of Smirnaya, which was given to quiet, unskilled children. The surname is most common in the Northern Volga region, Kostroma, Yaroslavl and Ivanovo regions.
