Tracking down what the most common surname in Russia is is a rather complicated task, and all because there is simply no strictly defined algorithm of actions when calculating such data. The main difficulty is women who change their maiden name after marriage and in fact become the owners of not one, but two surnames. A divorce is possible with a return to the previous surname or a second marriage with the transition to a third surname. And then complete confusion begins!
The most common surname in Russia
However, despite all the difficulties, experts do not abandon attempts to determine what is the most common surname in Russia, and draw 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 slight differences in these ratings, but they all agree that the Smirnov belongs to Russia first. The Smirnovs owe the origin of their surname to meek and obedient children, whose appearance, as a rule, in large families brought great joy to their parents. It was humility that formed the basis of the most famous and popular Russian surname. After the Smirnovs, the Ivanov, Kuznetsov, Popov and Sokolovs are in the lead in the first five.
Signs of the formation of Russian surnames
Considering and studying the most common surnames in Russia, it is possible to identify some signs that formed the basis of a given surname, and thus classify them. The most common reason for the formation of a surname was the name. For example, Ivan - Ivanov, Peter - Petrov, Sidor - Sidorov, etc. A huge number of names owe their origin to the professional activities of the owner, his nickname. An example is Plotnikov, Melnikov, Goncharov, Kuznetsov. Common enough for the formation of family names were the names of birds and animals: Sokolov, Volkov, Vorobyov, Medvedev, Lebedev, Kozlov, Gusev, Orlov, etc.
The formation of Russian surnames
Without a surname today it is impossible to imagine our ordinary life, but after all, 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, surnames began to be formed and assigned in the peasant milieu, and pre-existing nicknames such as Peter Strong Hands or Ivan Bystry had forever gone. Observing the formation of Russian surnames, it should be noted that princes and boyars began to acquire them first, and this began as early as the 16th century. Serving and trading people secured the right to bear surnames only by the 18-19th century, then the clergy joined them. Peasants felt the need for this only when they became free and ceased to belong to anyone.
Popular surnames of the world
Having found out what is the most common surname in Russia, we will take an interest, and what surname takes first place in the world? More than a hundred million people on Earth have the most common surname in China - Li and about the same - Zhang. Another popular Chinese surname, Wang, is carried by 93 million people. Vietnamese Nguyen - 36 million, the Spanish Garcia and Gonzalez - 10 million each. The Spanish-Portuguese surname Hernandez belongs to 8 million people. The English Smiths - 4 million, the German Millers - one million. For comparison: Russian Smirnovs in the world - 2.5 million.
