Mass migration from the Russian Empire to the United States began in the late 19th century and continued through the 20th century. Major waves included Jewish migration from the Pale of Settlement, political exiles following the 1917 Russian Revolution, World War II refugees, and Soviet Jewish emigrants from the 1970s to 1990s.
As Russian-speaking immigrants settled in a new environment, many were faced with the need to render their names in a foreign script and phonetic system. This process was rarely uniform. It involved a complex interplay of personal choice, bureaucratic interpretation, and the influence of intermediary languages such as German and French.
Some immigrants chose to preserve the original structure of their names through direct transliteration, while others simplified, shortened, or translated them to better align with American norms or to obscure ethnic origins. In some cases, these changes were minor and reversible; in others, they permanently redefined how a family name was recorded and remembered across generations.[1]
Methods of adapting Russian surnames into EnglishMethods of adapting Russian surnames into English
Transliteration and AnglicizationTransliteration and Anglicization
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Prior to the 20th century, Russia lacked a standardized or widely accepted system for transliterating Cyrillic into the Latin alphabet. Although a set of transliteration rules was introduced by the Imperial Academy of Sciences in 1906, these guidelines were intended for academic use only and remained largely unfamiliar to the general public. Consequently, most Russian emigrants transliterated their surnames into Latin script based on personal intuition or informal conventions rather than any formalized system.[2]
When converting their surnames into English --whether upon immigration or naturalization -- Russian emigrants followed different strategies. Some chose to preserve the original structure and simply render their surnames in Latin letters, while others aimed to Americanize them, opting for spellings that would appear more familiar or neutral in the U.S. context.
In most cases, transliteration -- replacing Cyrillic letters with roughly equivalent Latin characters -- was the most common approach. This was especially straightforward for names whose letters had clear Latin equivalents and whose pronunciation aligned well with English phonetics. Examples include Postnikov, Kalinin, and Antipin.
However, even one ambiguous letter could produce multiple spelling variations. For instance, surnames beginning with the Cyrillic letter В were rendered almost equally often with "V" (e.g., Veselovsky, Voloshin, Vonsovitch) and "W" (e.g., Winogradow, Wostrikow, Wukoloff, Witkoff). Upon arrival, immigrants faced the challenge of rendering Cyrillic names into the Latin alphabet. Some opted for direct transliteration, while others simplified or anglicized their names to assimilate more easily.
Difficult letters and variantsDifficult letters and variants
Certain Cyrillic letters had no direct English equivalents, leading to multiple variations:
- Ц was rendered as "ts" (Haliletsky) or German-style "tz" (Zaitzeff).
- Ж became "zh" (Zhelanov), "g" (Gelikhovsky), or "j" (Jernakov).
- Ч appeared as "tsch" (Tschepourkovsky) in German-influenced names, or "tch" / "ch" (Katchorovsky, Harchenko) in English forms.
- Щ had many versions: "shch," "sch," "sh," "stch" (Shcherbakoff, Schelkoff, Shepkin).
- Ю appeared as Jurow, Urkin, Iutin, Uiosow, Yourieff, Yurchenko.
- Я as Yablokoff, Iablonsky, Jakowlew.[3]
French and German InfluenceFrench and German Influence
Many emigrants passed through or resided in France or Germany before arriving in the U.S., affecting spelling conventions:
- Tchelistcheff (from Челищев), difficult for English speakers, reflects French transliteration.
- Martineau (Martynov) and Solbeau (Slobodchikov) suggest intended immigration to France.
Simplification and shorteningSimplification and shortening
Semantic translationSemantic translation
Preservation of original forms of Russian American surnamesPreservation of original forms of Russian American surnames
Russian nobles, high-ranking officers, and decorated individuals often kept their full surnames despite complexity:
Celebrities with Russian American surnamesCelebrities with Russian American surnames
- Helen Mirren — born Ilyena Lydia Mironoff; her father emigrated to the United Kingdom and changed the family name from Mironov to Mirren.
- David Duchovny — actor. His surname Duchovny (derived from Dukhovny, meaning “spiritual”) has been preserved in a simplified form without changes, though it is often perceived as already anglicized.
- Nicholas Daniloff — journalist, grandson of Russian émigrés. The family name was adapted from Danilov to Daniloff.
- Steve Witkoff -- businessman and lawyer, the United States Special Envoy to the Middle East.
- Wyatt Oleff - American actor. His family name was shortened from Olefsky.
See moreSee more
Explore more about Russian American surnamesExplore more about Russian American surnames
- Discover the origin of your last name at MyHeritage
- Ellis Island and Other New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 record collection at MyHeritage
- How Do Russian Names Work? A Detailed Guide. International Center for Language Studies
- Russian Beginnings. Immigration and Relocation in U.S. History. Library of Congress
References
- ↑ Eubank, Nancy. The Russians in America (Lerner Publications, 1979).
- ↑ N.V. Khisamutdinova and A.A. Khisamutdinov, How Sakharov Became Sweet: The Metamorphoses of Russian Surnames in America.
- ↑ https://ifl.vvsu.ru/science/analytics/details/article/2148675902/Metamorfozy_russkikh_familijj_v