Russian names

In Russia, people have names just like everywhere else, but they might seem a little different to you.

First, they have what's called a "given name," which is their personal name that was given to them by their family. This is like your first name, like "Susie" or "Tom."

But in Russia, they also have a "patronymic" name. This is a name that comes from their father's name. So if your dad's name was Ivan, your patronymic name would be "Ivanovich" if you were a boy or "Ivanovna" if you were a girl.

And finally, they have a "family name," which is like your last name in English. So if your full name was Ivan Ivanovich Petrov, "Ivanovich" is your patronymic and "Petrov" is your family name.

So, in Russia, people have three names instead of just two like we do in English. And their patronymic name is different from our middle name because it's based off their father's first name.