Russian Surname(s)

My character: Soon-to-be legal adult named [name]Hava[/name]. [name]Pixie[/name]-styled dark brown hair, light green eyes. Small in stature, but her attitude and criminal records more than suffice for the lack of height and weight. Pretty, but in a cute way–not beautiful. Currently running from the law in a near future 2019 Los [name]Angeles[/name] with three other criminals (who are temporarily dubbed [name]Miles[/name], [name]Pax[/name], and [name]Austin[/name]). She often has to change her name because, well, she’s a convicted murderer.
My problemo: I need a Russian last name for [name]Hava[/name] (full name is [name]Havilah[/name]), and a few fake names that she can use along the way. And if you have any suggestions for the three other crooks, it would be greatly appreciated. If it helps, one of them is also of Russian decent, and all three of them are really protective of [name]Hava[/name], since she’s the youngest and the only female among them. Thanks muchly, fellow name enthusiasts!

oh, I don’t know if it’s too late to reply, but my favorite Russian surname is Ivanov!

Never too late :wink:
Ivanov is really cool, but I might have to use it on a different character, seeing as “[name]Hava[/name] Ivanov” has a couple too many V’s… I’ll definitely fit it in, though! [name]Danka[/name]!

Understandable! I was thinking about that when I posted it, but I thought, “Eh, maybe it’ll be useful anyways!”

My maiden name is Pasternak. Very Russian and doesn’t have too many V’s (Or any). :slight_smile: [name]Hope[/name] that helps.

Hello!

I’m half French, half Russian, I was born and raised in [name]Russia[/name] (lived in St. Petersburg for almost 20 years), so I hope I can help you.

First off, I suppose you do know [name]Hava[/name] isn’t a name used commonly in [name]Russia[/name]? I’ve never actually heard of Russian girl named [name]Hava[/name]. Sorry, I think you know it, but I just want to check that’s supposed to be like that (not Russian name), because sometimes foreign people think names are Russian/used in [name]Russia[/name] when they really aren’t.

Some last names I like that are quite common is [name]Russia[/name] are Bogdanov (female: Bogdanova; means “God gives”), Fedorov (female: Fedorova; “[name]Fedor[/name]'s”), Panfilov (female: Panfilova; “Panfil’s”), Timofeev (female: Timofeeva; means “[name]Timofey[/name]'s”). As you can see, all these Russian last names end with “ov” or “ev” (“ova” or “eva” for females). Here we call them “very Russian” last names, because these are the only ones that are actually Russian.
There are a lot more common last names that are Jewish, Polish, of former USSR countries and etc. Honestly, most Russian people prefer them (they sound better to us). Some of my favorites include, Ostrovsky (could be unisex, but in [name]Russia[/name] it’s usually Ostrovskiy and Ostrovskaya), Voznesensky (Voznesenskiy and Voznesenskaya) - Polish last names; Kats (unisex), Kaufman, Fridman - Jewish last names.
I think if you want to show that the girl is Russian you should use one of the “very Russian” last names. Other could be questioned by people who aren’t Russian. [name]Don[/name]'t forget that most last names have different endings for males and females.

Good luck! :slight_smile:

Wow, thanks for all the great suggestions! Yes, I was planning on the character being a mix of Hebrew/Russian decent. [name]Hava[/name] is Hebrew, so I was hoping to fix her up with a very Russian last name. Thanks!