Russian names are some of the most badass around. These names are a great option for nearly every canine but might be particularly fitting for dog breeds that were originally from Russia.
There are several types of dogs that hail from Russia, including the ever-popular Siberian Husky and the extremely fluffy Samoyed. Celebrate your dog’s heritage by giving them one of these incredibly Russian dog names.
Or, perhaps you’re just looking for a badass name for your tough dog. Either way, there is something for just about everyone in this list of dog names.
Popular Dog Names in Russia
When trying to pick a Russian name for your canine, why not start with the dog names that are most popular in Russia. These are some of the more common dog names in Russia currently. While there is no organization that takes sure records of dog name popularity in Russia, here are some of the most popular names currently:
- Agnessa: Russian form of the Greek name “Hagne.” It means “holy.”
- Alena: name that likely translates to “torch.”
- Alik: Short form of the Russian name Aleksandr, which means “defender.”
- Alma: name derived from the River Alma in Russia.
- Anfisa: Russian name meaning “favor” or “grace.”
- Borya: Pet form of the Russian name Boris, meaning “fighter.”
- Gala: Pet form of the Russian name Galina, which means “calm.”
- Inna: Unisex name meaning “strong water.”
- Kata: Short form for the Russian name Yekaterine, which means “pure.”
- Kira: Russian name meaning “mistress.”
- Laika: name of the famous Russian dog who was aboard Sputnik 2 when it launched in 1957. She was the first living creature in space. Her name translates to “barker” in Russian.
- Lana: Russian name meaning “light.”
- Luba: Russian name meaning “love.”
- Marya: Russian name meaning “rebelliousness.”
- Naida: Russian name meaning “water nymph.”
- Olya: Russian name meaning “dedicated to the gods” or “holy”
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Russian Male Dog Names
Looking for something tough for your canine? Whether they’re from a Russian breed or not, you’ll find something suitable on this list.
- Afanas: “immortal”
- Afon: “immortal.” This is also the name of a Russian mountain and monastery.
- Agripin: “wild horse”
- Akim: “God raises up”
- Aleks: “defender”
- Aleksandr: “defender of men”
- Alexei: “defender”
- Anatolii: “sunrise” and “east”
- Anisim: “profitable” and “useful”
- Apostol: Russian, Bulgarian, and Romanian name meaning “apostle” and “messenger”
- Arkadi: “of Arcadia”
- Arkhip: “master of horses”
- Arseni: “virile”
- Artyom: “safe and sound”
- Chernobog: Russian name for the Slavic deity of darkness. The name translates to “black god.”
- Daniil: “god is my judge”
- Demyan: “to tame”
- Desya: “moderate”
- Dima: “loves the earth”
- Dmitriy: “loves the earth”
- Dobrashin: “goodness”
- Efim: “holy”
- Efrosin: “joy”
- Evgeni: “well-born”
- Fadei: “courageous”
- Feliks: “happy”
- Feodosiy: “god-giving”
- Ferapont: “worshipper”
- Filipp: “lover of horses”
- Florentiy: “blossoming”
- Foka: “seal”
- Foma: “twin”
- Gennadi: “noble”
- Georgii: “farmer” or “earth-worker.” This would be a very fitting name for a dog who likes to dig.
- Gervasii: “spear servant”
- Gleb: “bread”
- Grigori: “watchful”
- Grisha: “vigilant”
- Gugal: “golden-eyed duck” – a fitting name for a duck hunting dog.
- Ilari: “joyful” and “happy”
- Ilya: “the Lord is my God.”
- Ipati: “most high” or “supreme”
- Jaska: “supplanter”
- Karp: “fruit” and “profits”
- Kenya: “harmless”
- Kir: “master”
- Kliment: “gentle” and “merciful”
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Russian Female Dog Names
Russian female names range from elegant to stern. No matter your pooch’s personality, we’ve included something for you on this list of names.
- Afanasiia: “immortal”
- Agafia: “good”
- Agafiia: alternate spelling of the Russian name Agafia.
- Aglaii: “beauty” and “splendor.” It is derived from the Greek muses.
- Agnesse: “holy”
- Agrafena: “wild horse”
- Agrippa: “wild horse”
- Akilina: “eagle”
- Aksinya: “hospitable”
- Alena: “torch”
- Alyona: “torch”
- Anastassia: “resurrection”
- Anfisa: “flower”
- Ania: “grace”
- Antoniya: “invaluable”
- Anya: “favor” and “grace”
- Anzhela: “angle” and “messenger”
- Apollinariya: “from Apollo”
- Arina: “peace”
- Arisha: “peace”
- Asya: “resurrection”
- Avdotia: “good-seeming”
- Boleslava: “large glory”
- Borbala: “strange” and “foreign”
- Darya: “wealthy”
- Dunya: “good-seeming”
- Efimiia: “holy” and “pious”
- Efronsina: “joy” and “mirth”
- Ekaterina: “pure”
- Esfir: “star”
- Faina: “light”
- Galina: “calm”
- Grusha: “wild horse”
- Iolanta: “violet flower”
- Irina: “peace”
- Julija: “descended from Jupiter”
- Kapeka: “little stork”
- Karina: “pure”
- Kata: “pure”
- Katerina: “pure”
- Katerinka: “little pure one”
- Kira: “mistress” and “ruler”
- Klara: “clear” and “bright”
- Lara: “fortified town”
- Liouba: “love”
- Liza: “God is my oath”
- Lyuba: “love”
- Lyubov: “love”
- Manya: “their rebellion”
- Marfa: “lady” and “mistress”
- Marfa: “lady” or “mistress”
- Matryona: “lady”
- Nada: “hope”
- Nadya: “hope”
- Nataliya: “birthday”
- Nika: “victor of the people”
- Nina: “favor” and “grace”
- Ninel: a more modern name that involves spelling “Lenin” backwards.
- Nona: “ninth”
- Nonna: “God blessed”
- Ogafia: “good”
- Olga: “dedicated to the gods”
- Ovdotia: “good-seeming”
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Cute Russian Dog Names
Despite the stereotype, there are many cute Russian dog names out there. These names are quite adorable, ranging from traditional Russian names to more modern interpretations.
- Baikal: a lake within the Stanovoy mountain range.
- Blini: crepe-like pancakes that are often topped with savory foods like beef.
- Borscht: a stew made from beets and beef.
- Cabbage: a popular vegetable in Russia.
- Chak-Chak: basically a dish of honey-coated dough balls.
- Golubtsy: a popular Russian dish that includes minced beef wrapped in cabbage.
- Khachapuri: bread shaped like a bot and filled with cheese.
- Khinkali: Russian dumplings.
- Knish: a popular type of savory Russian pastry.
- Morozhenoe: Russian word for “ice cream.”
- Okroshka: a potato and onion soup.
- Olivie: Potatoes, pickles, bologna, eggs and vegetables mixed in a bowl of mayo.
- Pelmani: a type of Russian dumpling.
- Pirozhki: pastries filled with potatoes, meat, cabbage, or cheese.
- Polina: “of Apollo”
- Rada: “happy”
- Radinka: “counsel”
- Raisa: “prepared”
- Roksana: “dawn”
- Roza: “rose”
- Sasha: “defender of mankind”
- Sayan: another mountain range in Siberia.
- Serafina: “serpent”
- Shashlik: a Russian kabab made with any kind of meat over an open fire. Beef is most commonly used.
- Siberia: a region within Asia.
- Sofiya: “wisdom”
- Solyanka: a type of soup.
- Sonya: “wisdom”
- Stanovoy: a mountain range in Russia.
- Tamara: “palm tree”
- Tasha: “Christmas day”
- Tula: a type of spicy gingerbread.
- Ural: after the Ural mountains, which form the boundary between Asia and Europe.
- Zharkoye: a stew made from beef, potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables.
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Russian Husky Names
Siberian Huskies were originally from, you guessed it, Siberia. Because of this, Russian names are often very fitting for these canines. Here are some names to consider for your Husky:
- Kenya: “harmless”
- Khariton: “kindness”
- Kir: “master”
- Kirill: “lord”
- Kliment: “gentle”
- Koldan: “sting”
- Kolmo: “hill”
- Kolodka: “little log”
- Kolonda: “log”
- Kolzak: “slippery”
- Konstantin: “steadfast”
- Kostya: “steadfast”
- Kuzma: “beauty”
- Lazar: “my God has helped”
- Leonid: “lion’s son”
- Leonti: “lion-like”
- Lev: “lion”
- Ludmil: “people’s favor”
- Lyov: “lion”
- Makar: “blessed”
- Maksim: “the greatest”
- Mefodiy: “method”
- Miron: “myrrh”
- Mitya: “loves the earth”
- Modya: “moderate”
- Naum: “comfort”
- Nikifor: “victory-bearer”
- Onisim: “useful”
- Pankrati: “power”
- Pasha: “small”
- Patya: “most high
- Pavel: “small”
- Petya: “stone”
- Prokhor: “leader of the dance”
- Prokopiy: “advance”
- Radomil: “happy”
- Rodion: “sprung from a hero”
- Rolan: “famous land”
- Rurik: “famous power”
- Searfim: “burning one”
- Sergei: “sergeant”
- Shura: “defender of mankind”
- Slava: “glory”
- Spiridon: “spirit”
- Stas: “glorious”
- Taras: “to cross”
- Terenti: “rub”
- Timour: “iron”
- Tit: “fire”
- Toma: “palm tree”
- Ustinya: “fair” and “just”
- Valeri: “to be strong”
- Valeriya: “strange”
- Varya: “foreign”
- Vasili: “king”
- Venedikt: “blessed”
- Vera: “faith”
- Veronika: “bringer of victory”
- Vikenti: “conquering”
- Vitali: “of life”
- Vlad: “ruler”
- Yaroslava: “spring glory”
- Yelena: “torch”
- Zarya: “morning star” and “sunrise”
- Zhenya: “well-born”
- Zoya: “life”
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Russian Warrior Dog Names
If you’re looking for a tough, Russian name for your pooch, this is the list you should be looking at. All of these names mean something along the lines of “conqueror” or “warrior”
- Aleks: “defender”
- Aleksandr: “defender of man”
- Aleksei: “defender”
- Alyosha: “famous warrior”
- Andrii: “warrior”
- Bogatir: “hero”
- Boris: “fighter”
- Borya: “warrior”
- Bronislav: “glorious protector”
- Fadei: “courageous”
- Feofilakt: “God-guardian”
- Gavrill: “warrior of God”
- Gervasii: “spear-servant”
- Grigory: “watchful”
- Iakov: “supplanter”
- Igor: “bow warrior”
- Jaska: “supplanter”
- Kir: “ruler”
- Kirill: “lord”
- Kolya: “victor of the people”
- Nikifor: “victory-bearer”
- Nikolai: “victor of the people”
- Rodya: “sprung from a hero”
- Ro: “hero”
- Sergey: “sergeant”
- Shura: “defender of mankind”
- Vasili: “king”
- Vikenti: “conquering”
- Vlad: “ruler”
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The Art of Naming
As you can see, there are hundreds of Russian names for you to choose from. Many are very strong and tough, though there are a few gentle names as well. However, choosing just one name for your canine is perhaps the hardest part of the whole naming process. It is easy to find many names you like, but very difficult to narrow it down to just one.
Of course, not all names are made equal and not all names work for every canine. You should take into account your dog’s personality, breed, size, and coloration when choosing a name. If you’ve just adopted your dog, you might want to let them settle in for a few days before deciding on a name. Use this time to get to know your dog and collect a list of names.
Finally, be sure everyone in your household can pronounce and likes the name you choose. This should be a family effort if possible. In households with smaller children, be sure that they can pronounce the name you select at least somewhat well.
