ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Eastern Slavic naming customs

Hey there kiddo! Let's talk about Eastern Slavic naming customs.

So, in some places in the world, people have certain ways they name their kids, and in Eastern Slavic countries, they have their own special customs.

Usually, the first name of a person is given by their parents, just like how your parents gave you yours. But in Eastern Slavic countries, they also have a second name that is passed down from their family. This name is called a patronymic.

Patronymics are made by taking the father’s first name and adding a suffix that means "son" or "daughter" to the end. So, if your dad's name was Alexei, and he had a son named Ivan, then Ivan's patronymic would be Ivanovna or Ivanovich, meaning "son of Ivan".

In some cases, the name of the mother can also be used to make a patronymic, but it's not as common as using the father's name.

Lastly, there are surnames or family names, which are passed down from the paternal side of the family. These are usually based on either a person's occupation, their location, or their character trait. For example, if your last name was Kovalev, it would mean that at some point in your family's history, they were blacksmiths.

So there you have it, young one. In Eastern Slavic countries, people have special ways of naming their kids that involve not only their first name but also a patronymic and a family name. Pretty neat, huh?