Trace what the most common surnamein Russia, it is quite a difficult task, and all because a strictly defined algorithm of actions for calculating such data simply does not exist. The main difficulty is represented by women who change the maiden name after marriage and in fact become owners of not one, but two surnames. A divorce with a return to the previous name or a second marriage with the transition to a third name is possible. And here begins a complete mess!
The most common surname in Russia
However, despite all the difficulties, expertsleave attempts to determine what is the most common surname in Russia, and make up their ratings. As a rule, their lists include the 100 most common surnames of Russia, although some scholars are limited to five, while others are interested in deeper and more voluminous data. There are some minor differences in these ratings, but all of them agree that Smirnov holds the first place in Russia. By the origin of their surname, the Smirnovs are obliged to the meek and obedient children, whose appearance, as a rule, in large families gave great joy to their parents. It was humility that formed the basis of the most famous and popular Russian family name. Behind the Smirnovs in the top five, the Ivanovs, Kuznetsovs, Popovs and Sokolovs are the leaders.
Signs of the formation of Russian surnames
Considering and studying the most commonFamilies in Russia, it is possible to identify some signs that formed the basis of a particular family name, and thus to classify them. The most common basis for the formation of the names was the name. For example, Ivan - Ivanov, Petr - Petrov, Sidor - Sidorov, etc. A huge number of surnames owe their origin to the professional activity of the owner, his nickname. An example would be Carpenters, Melnikov, Potters, Kuznetsov. The names that were common for the formation of surnames were the names of birds and animals: Sokolov, Volkov, Sparrow, Medvedev, Lebedev, Kozlov, Gusev, Orlov, etc.
Without a surname today it is impossible to imagine ourordinary life, and in fact once, just a couple of centuries ago, the presence of a surname was the exception rather than the norm. Only after the complete abolition of serfdom in 1861 in the peasant environment the surnames began to form and be appropriated, and the nicknames like Peter Strong Arms or Ivan Quick that had existed before were forever sunk into oblivion. Observing the formation of Russian surnames, it should be noted that the princes and nobles began to acquire them first, and this began in the 16th century. Service and trade people secured the right to carry surnames only by the 18th and 19th centuries, then the clergy joined them. The peasants felt the need for this only when they became free and ceased to belong to someone.
Popular surnames of the world
Finding out the most common surname in Russia, take an interest, and what is the last namefirst place in the world? More than one hundred million people on Earth carry the most common surname in China — Li and about the same number — Zhang. Another popular Chinese surname Wang is worn by 93 million people. Vietnamese Nguyen - 36 million, Spanish Garcia and Gonzalez - 10 million each. The Spanish-Portuguese surname Hernandez owns 8 million people. English Smiths - 4 million, German Millers - one million. For comparison: Russian Smirnov in the world - 2.5 million
