The Russian name is a complex formula, in the history of which not everything is unambiguous. How were the names given in Russia, what is the phenomenon of "half-name", and what were the real names of Russian tsars?
Nicknames
The tradition of giving names in Russia was formed in pre-Christian times. Any word associated with custom, habits, appearance, environment, could "stick" to a person and become his name. There were several thousand such names and nicknames, but there were no more than a hundred in widespread use. Conventionally, they can be divided into ten groups.
Here are some of them. Numerical names - First, Vtorak, Tretyak. Associated with external signs - Chernyava, Belyak, Malyuta. With character traits - Molchan, Smeyana, Istoma. With wildlife - Bull, Pike, Oak. Or with a craft - Spoon, Blacksmith, Fur coat. However, with age, such names could be replaced by others - more suitable for a person.
As a special category of nicknames, it is worth highlighting protective names. In order to avoid the harmful influence of evil spirits or other people, a person was often given a middle name that everyone knew - Nekras, Malice, Kriv. Such an ugly name, according to legend, protected its bearer from the evil eye or damage.
After the appearance of Christian names in Russia, nicknames did not disappear, but became an addition to the main name. They were used both among the low class and among noble people. Examples include Alexander Nevsky, Simeon Polotsky, or Ivan Kalita.
Nicknames were in circulation in Russia until the 18th century, until they were completely banned by Peter I. However, from the 15th century, another process was actively gaining momentum, in which nicknames began to be transformed into surnames.
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Direct name
In the XIV-XVI centuries in Russia, at birth, it was customary to give direct names in honor of the saint, whose memory was celebrated on that day. Unlike the public Christian name, the direct name was usually used in a narrow circle of close and dear people. So, Vasily III bore the direct name Gabriel, and his son Ivan the Terrible - Titus.
Sometimes there was a paradoxical situation when siblings could be full namesakes - to wear the same public and direct name. For example, the eldest and youngest sons of Ivan the Terrible were publicly called Dmitri, and in a close circle - Uarami.
The tradition of the direct name originates in the early Rurik family tree, when the Grand Dukes bore both a pagan and a Christian name: Yaroslav-George (the Wise) or Vladimir-Vasily (Monomakh).
The names of the Rurikovich
In the Rurik dynasty there were two categories of names: Slavic two-basic - Yaropolk, Svyatoslav, Ostromir and Scandinavian - Olga, Gleb, Igor. The names were assigned a high status, and therefore they could belong exclusively to a grand-ducal person. Only in the XIV century did such names come into general use.
It is interesting that the generic name could not remain free: if the grandfather died, the newborn grandson was named after him, but the appearance of simultaneously living brothers-namesakes in the pre-Mongol period was not allowed.
Later, after the canonization of the bearers of both Slavic and Scandinavian names by the Russian Orthodox Church, such names began to be considered Christian, for example, Vladimir or Gleb.
Christianization of names
As Christianity strengthened in Russia, Slavic names gradually receded into the past. There were even special lists of prohibited names, in which a special prohibition was imposed on those associated with the pagan religion, for example, Yarilo or Lada.
The Rurikovich had to gradually abandon dynastic preferences in favor of Christian names. Already Vladimir Svyatoslavovich at baptism was given the name Vasily, and Princess Olga - Elena. It is interesting that the sons of Vladimir Boris and Gleb, whose names were subsequently canonized, were named in baptism, respectively, Roman and David.
With the spread of book printing in Russia, great importance was attached to the spelling of names. Distorted spelling of the name could lead to accusations of dishonor. However, the Tsar's decree of 1675 clarified that errors in the spelling of names due to ignorance of "the nature of those peoples in which they were born" are not a crime, and therefore "do not give or seek courts in that."
Half names
The official use of semi-names in a derogatory tone was common in Russia from the 16th to the 18th century. Often this was the name of state criminals - Stenka Razin or Emelka Pugachev. It was also obligatory to use a half-name when contacting higher authorities. So, for example, Gregory had to call himself "Grishka, the tsar's slave." It is known that during the "political masquerade" - the abdication of Ivan the Terrible from the throne - the "former" Tsar appeared as "Ivanets Vasiliev".
Paternal succession
The use of a patronymic in Russia as part of a generic name is a confirmation of a person's ties with his father. Noble and common people called themselves, for example, "Mikhail, Petrov's son." The addition of the ending "-ich" to the patronymic was considered a special privilege, which was allowed for people of high descent. This is how the Rurikovichs were called, for example, Svyatopolk Izyaslavich.
In the "table of ranks" under Peter I, and then in the "official list" under Catherine II, various forms of endings of patronymic names (for example, "-ovich" or "-ov") were strictly fixed, depending on the person's belonging to a certain class.
From the 19th century, the nascent intelligentsia began to use the patronymic, and after the abolition of serfdom, the peasantry was also allowed to wear it. The life of a modern person is no longer conceivable without a patronymic, and this is not only the strength of traditions - an official respectful form of address, but also a practical necessity - to distinguish between people who have the same first and last name.