The Russian people have a long, rich history. One reason behind their strong heritage is that the nation is enormous. In fact, as the world’s largest country (based on land mass), Russia is nearly twice the size of the United States.
Since the 14th century, the city of Moscow (in Russian, that’s Moskva — or, in Cyrillic, Москва) has been a cultural center — even hundreds of years before the Tsardom of Russia became the Russian Empire. (Later, it was called the Soviet Union, then became as it is known today: the Russian Federation).
Here’s a look at the most popular Russian baby names in Moscow, the capital city of Russia, for the year 2018, as provided by The Moscow Civil Registry.
“The list of the most popular male and female names has changed little compared to previous years,” said Yelena Yefremova, Head of the Moscow Civil Registry. “Parents still opt for traditional names people are used to, the names of their fathers and mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers. This shows that Moscow families remain true to their traditions, and seek generational continuity.”
Most popular Russian baby names for girls
| Rank | Name | Number of letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maria | 5 letters |
| 2 | Sofya | 5 letters |
| 3 | Anna | 4 letters |
| 4 | Alisa | 5 letters |
| 5 | Viktoria | 8 letters |
| 6 | Anastasia | 9 letters |
| 7 | Polina | 6 letters |
| 8 | Alexandra | 9 letters |
| 9 | Yelizaveta | 10 letters |
| 10 | Varvara | 7 letters |
| 11 | Yekaterina | 10 letters |
Most popular Russian baby names for boys
| Rank | Name | Number of letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexander | 9 letters |
| 2 | Mikhail | 7 letters |
| 3 | Maxim | 5 letters |
| 4 | Ivan | 4 letters |
| 5 | Artyom | 6 letters |
| 6 | Dmitry | 6 letters |
| 7 | Daniil | 6 letters |
| 8 | Marc | 4 letters |
| 9 | Matvei | 6 letters |
| 10 | Ilya | 4 letters |
| 11 | Kirill | 6 letters |
| 12 | Andrei | 6 letters |
Least popular Russian baby names
The top five uncommon traditional Russian names in 2017 were Valentin, Gennady, Vitaly, Anatoly and Valery for boys; and Lyudmila, Galina, Inna, Zinaida and Larisa for girls.
“While choosing an unusual name for a child, parents are often driven by their desire to give their newborn son or daughter a beautiful and less widespread name,” said the former head of the Moscow Civil Registry, Irina Muravyova, in 2017.
