Russian uses the 33-letter Cyrillic alphabet and spells foreign names by sound. Most letters line up neatly with English ones, but a few English sounds have no Russian letter, and over time Russian has settled on fixed ways to write them. Common names use the spelling Russian newspapers and film subtitles use; other names are sounded out from their spelling.
Popular Names in Cyrillic
| Name | Russian |
|---|---|
| Emma | Эмма |
| Olivia | Оливия |
| Charlotte | Шарлотта |
| Chloe | Хлоя |
| Hannah | Ханна |
| Michael | Майкл |
| James | Джеймс |
| John | Джон |
| Harry | Гарри |
| David | Дэвид |
| Peter | Питер |
| William | Уильям |
| Thomas | Томас |
| Brooklyn | Бруклин |
| Wesley | Уэсли |
English Sounds Russian Has to Work Around
No Russian letter. Modern spellings use Х (kh); older ones used Г.
- Ханна Hannah
- Гарри Harry
W becomes У or В; TH becomes Т.
- Уильям William
- Томас Thomas
J is the pair ДЖ; CH has its own letter, Ч.
- Джон John
- Ричард Richard
Джеймс — James
Two vowels trip people up. Е is read "ye" at the start of a word, so names that open with a plain E sound use Э instead (Эмма, Эрик). And many Cyrillic letters look like Latin ones but sound different: Р is R, Н is N, С is S and В is V.
Common Questions
Why is Harry Гарри and not Харри?
Russian traditionally wrote the English H as Г, and well-known names kept that spelling, which is why Harry Potter is Гарри Поттер. Newer transcriptions usually use Х, as in Ханна.
Is this my name's Russian equivalent?
No, it is your name spelled in Cyrillic. Many names also have a Russian counterpart: John's is Иван (Ivan), Peter's is Пётр (Pyotr). Russians writing about you would use the spelled-out form, such as Джон or Питер.
Do Russian names change endings?
Russian adds case endings to many names in a sentence, and women's surnames often take -а. The tool gives the basic dictionary form you would write on a name tag.