From the questions received by the “Help Bureau” of “Gramoty.ru”:

• Hello, my surname is Ossa, emphasis on O, they wrote Ossa in my diploma, and now I have to do an examination, which costs a lot of money, to prove that the surname is not inclined.
• My last name is Pogrebnyak. This is a Ukrainian surname, but they don’t seem to bow down. Some people decline my surname, write Pogrebnyak, Pogrebnyaku, Pogrebnyak. Is it possible?
• My last name is Eroshevich, it is of Polish origin (this is known for sure). I'm interested in this question: is my last name inclined? My (male) relative was given a certificate in which his last name was omitted. And with this certificate they didn’t take him anywhere. They said that the surname does not decline. Teachers also say that it is not inclined, but on your website it says that it is inclined. I'm confused!

Such questions are not uncommon in the Help Desk of our portal. Most often they are asked in May–June and at the very beginning of September. This is, of course, due to the fact that at the end of the school year, school and university graduates receive certificates and diplomas, and in September children go to school and begin signing notebooks. The certificate and diploma will necessarily say who it was issued to (i.e., the surname in the dative case), and on the cover of the notebook - whose it is (i.e., the surname in the genitive case). And in cases where the student’s last name does not end in -ov(s), -in (-yn) or - skiy (-tskiy)(i.e., does not belong to the so-called standard), the question almost always arises: is it necessary to decline the surname and, if so, how exactly to decline? It is with this that native speakers turn to linguists for help. And this question is often followed by another: “How to prove that the surname is inclined?” or “How to defend the right to undeclination of a surname?” The question “To decline or not to decline the surname?” often goes beyond the language, causing heated debate and leading to serious conflicts.

Of course, such questions come not only from students, their parents and teachers, they are asked throughout the year, but the peaks of requests to linguists are precisely in May-June and September, due to the aggravation of this problem in schools and universities. This is not accidental: after all, it is in an educational institution that many native speakers have their first meeting with a specialist - a teacher of the Russian language, and the teacher’s demand to change the surname, which in the family has always been considered unchangeable, by case, surprises, irritates and causes resistance. Similar difficulties are experienced by office workers (secretaries, clerks), who are faced with categorical demands from management not to decline names.

The experience of our “Reference Bureau” shows that the laws of declension of surnames are indeed unknown to a large number of native speakers (and even some philologists), although they are given in many reference books on the Russian language, including widely available ones. Among these manuals are “Handbook of Spelling and Literary Editing” by D. E. Rosenthal, a stylistic dictionary of variants by L. K. Graudina, V. A. Itskovich, L. P. Katlinskaya “Grammatical Correctness of Russian Speech” (3rd edition - under the heading “Dictionary of grammatical variants of the Russian language”), “Dictionary of Russian personal names” by A. V. Superanskaya, research by L. P. Kalakutskaya “Surnames. Names. Middle names. Spelling and their declension" and many other sources. A study of the requests of Internet users and monitoring of the blogosphere allows us to conclude: there are many misconceptions among native speakers regarding the rules of declension of surnames. Here are the main ones: the decisive factor is the linguistic origin of the surname (“Georgian, Armenian, Polish, etc. surnames are not declined”); in all cases, the declension of the surname depends on the gender of the bearer; surnames that coincide with common nouns (Thunderstorm, Beetle, Stick), do not bow. A considerable number of native speakers are convinced that there are so many rules for declension of surnames that it is not possible to remember them.

To show that all these ideas do not correspond to reality, we present the basic rules for declension of surnames. They are taken from the sources listed above and formulated by us in the form of step-by-step instructions, a kind of algorithm with which you can quickly find the answer to the question: “Does the surname decline?”

This is the algorithm.

1. As stated above, declension of surnames ending in -ov (-ev,), -in (-yn), -sky (-tsky), i.e., so-called standard surnames, does not cause difficulties for native speakers. You just need to remember two important rules.

A. Borrowed surnames -ov, -in which belong foreigners, in the form of the instrumental case they have an ending -ohm(as nouns of the second school declension, for example table, table): the theory was proposed by Darwin, the film was directed by Chaplin, the book was written by Cronin.(Interestingly, the pseudonym is also inclined Green, belonging to a Russian writer: the book has been written Green.) Homonymous Russian surnames have the ending - th in the instrumental case: with Chaplin(from the dialect word Chaplya"heron"), with Kronin(from crown).

B. Women's surnames starting with - ina type Currant, Pearl Declined in two ways, depending on the declension of the male surname ( Irina Zhemchuzhina And Irina Zhemchuzhina, Zoya Smorodina And Zoe Smorodina). If the man's surname is Zhemchuzhin, then correct: arrival Irina Zhemchuzhina. If the man's surname is Pearl, then correct: arrival Irina Zhemchuzhina(surname is declined as a common noun pearl).

2. Now we move directly to the so-called non-standard surnames. The first thing to remember: contrary to popular misconception, the gender of the bearer of a surname does not always influence whether one is inclined or not. Even less often, this is influenced by the origin of the surname. First of all, it matters what sound the surname ends with - a consonant or a vowel.

3. Let us immediately describe several groups of indeclinable surnames. In modern Russian literary language don't bow Russian surnames, ending in -ы, -и (type Black, Long), as well as all surnames, ending in vowels e, i, o, u, y, e, yu .

Examples: notebooks of Irina Chernykh, Lydia Meie, Roman Grymau; the diploma was issued to Viktor Dolgikh, Andrey Gretry, Nikolai Shtanenko, Maya Lee; meeting with Nikolai Kruchenykh and Alexander Minadze.

Note. In colloquial speech and in the language of fiction, reflecting oral speech, it is considered acceptable to decline male surnames into - oh, -them (in Chernykh’s script, meeting with Ryzhikh), as well as the declination of surnames of Ukrainian origin to -ko, -enko according to the declension of feminine nouns -a: go to Semashka, visiting Ustimenka. Note that Ukrainian surnames of this type were consistently declined in the fiction of the 19th century ( at Shevchenko; Nalivaika's confession; poem dedicated to Rodzianka).

4. If the surname ends in a consonant(except for last names on -y, -them, which were mentioned above), then here – and only here! – the gender of the bearer of the surname matters. All male surnames ending in a consonant are declined - this is the law of Russian grammar. All female surnames ending in a consonant are not declined. In this case, the linguistic origin of the surname does not matter. Male surnames that coincide with common nouns are also declined.
Examples: notebook by Mikhail Bok, diplomas issued to Alexander Krug and Konstantin Korol, meeting with Igor Shipelevich, visiting Andrei Martynyuk, daughter of Ilya Skalozub, work by Isaac Akopyan; Notebook by Anna Bok, diplomas issued to Natalya Krug and Lydia Korol, meeting with Yulia Shipelevich, visiting Ekaterina Martynyuk, daughter of Svetlana Skalozub, work by Marina Akopyan.

Note 1. Male surnames of East Slavic origin, which have a fluent vowel during declination, can be declined in two ways - with and without loss of the vowel: Mikhail Zayats And Mikhail Zaits, with Alexander Zhuravel And Alexander Zhuravl, Igor Gritsevets And Igor Gritsevets. In a number of sources, declension without dropping a vowel is considered preferable (i.e. Hare, Crane, Gritsevets), since surnames also perform a legal function. But the final choice is up to the bearer of the surname. It is important to adhere to the chosen type of declination in all documents.

Note 2. Separately, it is necessary to say about surnames ending in a consonant y. If preceded by a vowel And(less often - O), the surname can be declined in two ways. Surnames like Topchiy, Pobozhiy, Bokiy, Rudoy, can be perceived as having endings -yy, -yy and decline as adjectives ( Topchego, Topchego, feminine Topchaya, Topchey), or it is possible - as having a zero ending with declension modeled on nouns ( Topchiya, Topchiya, feminine invariant form Topchy). If you agree th at the end of the surname preceded by any other vowel, the surname follows the general rules (Igor Shakhrai, Nikolai Adzhubey, But Inna Shakhrai, Alexandra Adzhubey).

5. If the surname ends in a vowel -я preceded by another vowel (eg: Shengelaya, Lomaya, Rhea, Beria, Danelia), she leans.
Examples: Inna Shengelai's notebook, diploma given to Nikolai Lomaya, meeting with Anna Reya; crimes of Lavrentiy Beria, meeting with Georgy Danelia.

6. If the surname ends in a vowel -a preceded by another vowel (eg: Galois, Maurois, Delacroix, Moravia, Eria, Heredia, Gulia), she doesn't bow.
Examples: notebook Nikolai Galois, diploma issued to Irina Eria, meeting with Igor Gulia.

7. And the last group of surnames - ending in -а, -я, preceded by a consonant . Here - and only here! – the origin of the surname and the place of emphasis in it matters. There are only two exceptions to remember:

A. Don't bow French surnames with emphasis on the last syllable: books by Alexandre Dumas, Emile Zola and Anna Gavalda, aphorisms by Jacques Derrida, goals by Diarra and Drogba.

B. Mostly don't bow Finnish surnames ending in - A unstressed: meeting with Mauno Pekkala(although a number of sources recommend inclining them too).

All other surnames (Slavic, eastern and others; ending in stressed and unstressed -and I) bow down. Contrary to popular belief, surnames that coincide with common nouns are also declined.
Examples: notebook by Irina Groza, diploma issued to Nikolai Mukha, lecture by Elena Kara-Murza, songs by Bulat Okudzhava, roles by Igor Kvasha, films by Akira Kurosawa.

Note. In the past, fluctuations were observed in the declension of Japanese surnames, but reference books note that recently such surnames have been consistently declined, and in the “Grammar Dictionary of the Russian Language” by A. A. Zaliznyak there is an indeclinable version at Akutagawa, along with the inflexible near Okudzhava, called a “gross violation of the norm” .

That, in fact, is all the main rules; as you can see, there are not so many of them. Now we can refute the misconceptions listed above related to the declination of surnames. So, contrary to popular belief: a) there is no rule “all Armenian, Georgian, Polish, etc. surnames are not declined” - the declension of surnames is subject to the laws of language grammar, and if the final element of the surname is amenable to Russian inflection, it is declined; b) the rule “men's surnames are declined, women's are not” does not apply to all surnames, but only to those that end in a consonant; c) the coincidence of the surname in form with common nouns is not an obstacle to their declension.

It is important to remember: the surname is word and, like all words, it must obey the grammatical laws of the language. In this sense there is no difference between the sentences The certificate was issued to Ivan Golod(instead of the correct Golodu Ivan) And The villagers suffered from hunger(instead of suffered from hunger), there is a grammatical error in both sentences.

It is also important to follow the rules for declension of surnames because refusal to change the case of the declension surname can lead to misunderstandings and incidents, disorienting the addressee of the speech. In fact, let’s imagine a situation: a person with the surname Storm signed his work: article by Nikolai Groz. According to the laws of Russian grammar, a man's surname ending in the genitive case singular. numbers on - A, is restored in its original form, in the nominative case, with a zero ending, so the reader will make an unambiguous conclusion: the author’s name is Nikolai Groz. Submitted to the dean's office work by A. Pogrebnyak will lead to the search for the student (Anna? Antonina? Alisa?) Pogrebnyak, and the student Alexander Pogrebnyak’s belonging to her will still need to be proven. It is necessary to follow the rules of declension of surnames for the same reason that it is necessary to follow the rules of spelling, otherwise a situation arises similar to the famous “opteka” described by L. Uspensky in “A Lay on Words.” The authors of the “Dictionary of grammatical variants of the Russian language” L.K. Graudina, V.A. Itskovich, L.P. Katlinskaya indicate: “For the inflection of surnames, the law on absolute deducibility by them must be immutable. case of the surname from its indirect cases.”

Therefore, we invite you to remember elementary truth No. 8.

Basic Truth No. 8. The declension of surnames is subject to the laws of Russian grammar. There is no rule “all Armenian, Georgian, Polish, etc. surnames are not declined.” The declension of a surname depends primarily on what sound the surname ends with - a consonant or a vowel. The rule “men's surnames are declined, women's are not” does not apply to all surnames, but only to those that end in consonant. Matching of the surname in form with common nouns (Fly, Hare, Stick etc.) is not an obstacle to their inclination.

Literature:

1. Ageenko F. L. Dictionary of proper names of the Russian language. M., 2010.
2. Graudina L.K., Itskovich V.A., Katlinskaya L.P. Dictionary of grammatical variants of the Russian language. –3rd ed., erased. M., 2008.
3. Zaliznyak A. A. Grammar dictionary of the Russian language. – 5th ed., rev. M., 2008.
4. Kalakutskaya L.P. Surnames. Names. Middle names. Spelling and Declension. M., 1994.
5. Rosenthal D. E. Handbook of spelling and literary editing. – 8th ed., rev. and additional M., 2003.
6. Superanskaya A.V. Dictionary of Russian personal names. M., 2004.

V. M. Pakhomov,
Candidate of Philology,
editor-in-chief of the portal "Gramota.ru"

Often, secretaries and clerks, when drawing up protocols, are faced with the manager’s requirement not to decline certain names. We will tell you in the article which surnames actually do not decline. We have prepared a summary table of the most common cases with which difficulties arise.

Download this useful document:

What are some misconceptions about the declination of surnames?

Most Russian speakers are unfamiliar with the laws of declension of given names and surnames. Despite the fact that there are many reference books and manuals on this topic, the issue of declination of surnames remains difficult for many people. In many ways, misconceptions regarding the rules for declination of surnames interfere. Here are some of them.

The declension of a surname depends on its linguistic origin. For example, all Georgian, Polish or Armenian surnames are not declined.

The declension of a surname depends on the gender of its bearer.

If the surname coincides with a common noun - Volya, Svoboda, Zhuk - it does not decline.

However, the most common misconception is that there are so many rules for declension that there is simply no point in memorizing them.

In order to refute these misconceptions, let's consider the basic rules for changing surnames by case. We have formulated them in the form of step-by-step instructions, with which you can quickly conclude whether the surname changes by case or not.

Table: declension of surnames in Russian

Download the table in full

How to determine whether a surname is declining: step-by-step instructions

Step #1.

Look at the end of the last name. If it ends in -ov (-ev,), -in (-yn), -sky (-tsky), decline it as standard

Such surnames can be changed without problems. But keep in mind two important exceptions.

A. If the surname ends in -ov, -in, but is foreign (For example, Chaplin or Darwin), then it will change according to cases as a noun of the second declension (for example, table) - Chaplin, Darwin.

B. Women's surnames in -ina (Smorodina, Zhemchuzhina) change depending on how the male version of the same surname changes. If the male version sounds like Smorodin or Zhemchuzhin, then the female surname in the instrumental case will sound like Smorodina or Zhemchuzhina, and if the male version coincides with the female surname - Zhemchuzhina or Smorodina, then the female surname will be declined as a common noun. An example is in the table below.

	Charlie Chaplin	Anna Smorodina (born Smorodin)	Irina Zhemchuzhina (same as born)
	Charlie Chaplin	Anna Smorodina	Irina Zhemchuzhina
	Charlie Chaplin	Anna Smorodina	Irina Zhemchuzhina
	Charlie Chaplin	Anna Smorodina	Irina Zhemchuzhina
	Charlie Chaplin	Anna Smorodina	Irina Zhemchuzhina
	Charlie Chaplin	Anna Smorodina	Irina Zhemchuzhina

Step #2.

If you have a non-standard surname, mark what sound it ends with

The main rule that should be followed is that the type of declension is primarily influenced not by the gender or nationality of the speaker, but by whether it ends with a vowel or consonant.

Step #3.

Do not change your last name, which ends in -yh, ikh, as well as e, i, o, u, y, e, yu

For example, the book by Belykh, the speech of Loye, Gramigna, Ceausescu, Lykhny, Maigret and Liu.

Note. In everyday speech and in the language of literature, where it is depicted Speaking , sometimes you can find the declination of male surnames into -y or -i. For example, Chernykh's report. Sometimes you can find the declension of Ukrainian surnames in -ko - Chernenka or Shevchenko. The last version of surname changes was common in the 19th century. But now both the first option and the second are undesirable.

Step #4.

If the surname ends with a consonant (except -i and -yh), look at the gender of its owner

Men's surnames are inclined to a consonant, but women's names are not. The linguistic origin of the surname does not matter. Male surnames that coincide with common nouns are also declined.

For example, reports by Krug, Shock, Martirosyan (for male surnames) and reports by Krug, Shock, Martirosyan (for female surnames).

Note 1. There are male surnames of East Slavic origin that can be inclined in two ways. We are talking about surnames that, when changed, have a fluent vowel - Zhuravl: Zhuravel or Zhuravlem. Most reference books recommend preserving the fluent vowel (Zhuravel) when declining, since from a legal point of view it is important to preserve the integrity of the surname. However, the owner of the surname may insist on the option he has chosen. The main thing in this case is to adhere to the uniformity of changing the surname by case in all legal documents.

Note 2. Last names starting with -th (Shahrai) deserve special mention. Here we are also faced with the possibility of double changing the surname. If the surname is perceived as an adjective, for example, Topchiy, then it changes as Topchego, Topchyu, etc. If the surname is perceived as a noun, it changes as Topchiya, Topchiyu. Such complex cases concern only those surnames in which the consonant “th” is preceded by the vowels “o” or “i”. In all other cases, the surname changes according to the general rules (Shahrayu, Shakhraya, etc.)

	Ivan Chernykh	Ivan Krug	Anna Krug	Ivan Shakhrai
	Ivan Chernykh	Ivan Krug	Annu Krug	Ivan Shakhrai
	Ivan Chernykh	Ivan Krug	Anne Krug	Ivan Shakhrai
	Ivan Chernykh	Ivan Krug	Annu Krug	Ivan Shakhrai
	Ivan Chernykh	Ivan Krug	Anna Krug	Ivan Shakhrai
	Ivan Chernykh	Ivan Krug	Anne Krug	Ivan Shakhrai

Step #5.

The surname ends in the vowel -ya. Is there another vowel before it? If yes, persuade her

Examples: Inna Shengelaya’s notebook, diploma issued to Nikolai Lomaya, meeting with Anna Reya; crimes of Lavrentiy Beria, meeting with Georgy Danelia.

Step #6.

The surname ends in the vowel -a. Is there another vowel before it? If yes, don't persuade her

Examples: Nikolai Galois’s notebook, diploma given to Irina Eria, meeting with Igor Gulia.

Step #7.

The surname ends in -a or -ya, but is preceded by a consonant. Pay attention to the origin of the surname and the emphasis in it

There are only two exceptions to remember:

A. French surnames with an emphasis on the last syllable are not inclined: the books of Alexandre Dumas, Emile Zola and Anna Gavalda, the aphorisms of Jacques Derrida, the goals of Drogba.

B. Mostly Finnish surnames ending in -a are unstressed: meeting with Mauno Pekkala.

All other surnames - Eastern, Slavic, Japanese - ending in stressed and unstressed -a or -ya are declined. Decline also surnames that coincide with common nouns.

Examples: Irina Groza’s notebook, a diploma issued to Nikolai Mukha, a lecture by Elena Kara-Murza, songs by Bulat Okudzhava, roles by Igor Kvasha, films by Akira Kurosawa.

	Marguerite Galois	Nina Danelia	Anna Groza
	Marguerite Galois	Nina Danelia	Anna Groza
	Marguerite Galois	Nina Danelia	Anna Grose
	Marguerite Galois	Nina Danelia	Anna Groza
	Marguerite Galois	Nina Danelia	Anna Groza
	Marguerite Galois	Nina Danelia	Anna Grose

Why is it important to follow the rules for declension of surnames?

You risk encountering misunderstandings if you do not follow the rules for declining surnames.

For example, consider this situation. You have received a letter signed as follows: “letter from Vasily Groz.” Following the laws of Russian grammar, you will most likely assume that a man's surname, which in the genitive case has the ending -a, will have a zero ending in the nominative case and conclude that the author of the letter is Vasily Groz. Such a misunderstanding would not have arisen if the letter had been signed correctly - “letter from Vasily Groza.”

Another example. You have been given an article by A. Pogrebnyak. It is natural to assume that the author of the article is a woman. If it later turns out that the author is a man, Anatoly Pogrebnyak, this may lead to misunderstanding.

Male surnames ending with stressed and unstressed sounds - o, - e, - e, - c, - u, - yu, as well as ending with a sound - a, with a vowel in front - do not decline, for example: the work of Daniel Defoe , literature review S.S. Kurnogo, Gastello street.
Russian male surnames that end in syllables - them, - yh, for example: under the leadership of Sedykh, practiced with Kovchikh, said P.P. Novoslobodskikh, are not inclined. In the Russian language and fiction, it is permissible to declension of male surnames ending in syllables - them, - ы, for example: in the work of Repnykh, the lecture of Zelemnykh. The majority, one might even say the overwhelming majority, of Russian male surnames have the suffixes - ev - (- ov -), - sk -, - in -: Zolotov, Kulenev, Mushkin, Zalessky, Primorsky, Kostolevsky, Kramskoy, Volonskoy. Absolutely all such male surnames are inclined.
There are very few Russian male surnames that decline according to the principle of adjectives and do not have an indicator; these include such surnames as: Stolbovoy, Tolstoy, Beregovoy, Lanovoy, Tenevoy, Sladky, Zarechny, Poperechny, Kolomny, Bely, Grozny, etc...

Declension of male surnames (based on the principle of adjectives)
I. p.: Andrey Bely, Sergey Sladky, Ivan Lanovoy, Alexey Zarechny.
R. p.: Andrey Bely, Sergei Sladky, Ivan Lanovoy, Alexey Zarechny.
D.p.: Andrey Bely, Sergei Sladky, Ivan Lanovoy, Alexey Zarechny.
V. p.: Andrey Bely, Sergei Sladky, Ivan Lanovoy, Alexey Zarechny.
T.p.: with Andrey Bely, with Sergei Sladky, with Ivan Lanov, with Alexey Zarechny.
P. p.: about Andrei Bely, about Sergei Sladky, about Ivan Lanov, about Alexei Zarechny.

Male surnames with endings - in - and - ov - have a special declension that is not found among common nouns and personal names. Here we see a combination of the endings of adjectives and nouns of the second declension of the masculine gender and divisions such as fathers, forefathers. The declension of male surnames differs from the declension of similar nouns mainly in the ending of the instrumental case, for example: Sizov-ym, Akunin-ym - Borov-ym, Ston-om, Kalugin - ym, Suvorov - ym from the declension based on the principle of possessive adjectives, the ending of the prepositional is different case, for example: about Sazonov, about Kulibin - about forefathers, about mother's. The same applies to the declension of male surnames ending in - ov and - in in the plural (Sizovs, Akunins are declined as forefathers, mothers). To declension of such male surnames, it is advisable to refer to the directory of declension of first and last names.
Russian male surnames with endings in the syllables: - ovo, - ago, - yago, having their origin in the image of frozen forms of the genitive case in the singular: (Burnovo, Slukhovo, Zhivago, Sharbinago, Deryago, Khitrovo), and with endings in syllables: - them, - х - plural (Kruchenykh, Kostrovsky, Dolsky, Dovgikh, Chernykh), where some of them are declined in common parlance (Durnovo - Durnovovo).
It is imperative to decline male surnames ending in a soft sign and a consonant by gender and case. (Institute named after S. Ya. Zhuk, poetry of Adam Mickiewicz, conduct Igor Koval).
If at the end of the surname there is a consonant before the sound - a, then the endings of the surnames in the form of cases will be: sounds - a, - ы, - e, - y, - oy, - e.
If at the end of a man's surname there is one of the letters (g, k, x) or a soft hissing letter (ch, sch) or w before the sound - a, then the ending of the surname in the genitive case form will be the sound - i.
If at the end of a man’s surname there is one of the hissing words (ch, sch, ts, sh) or zh before the sound -a, then the ending of the surname in the form of the instrumental case when stressing the end of the word will be - oh, and - her.
The surname as a family name assumes the presence of a plural form: Ivanovs, Pashkins, Vedenskys. If people getting married take a common surname, it is written in the plural: Vasiliev, Vronsky, Usatiye, Gorbatye, Lyubimye. Non-standard male surnames, except for surnames formed in the form of adjectives, do not have plural forms when written in official documents. Therefore they write: Maria Petrovna and Nikolai Semenovich Cherry, spouses Parus, husband and wife Syzran, brother and sister Astrakhan.
Despite the difficulties that arise when declension of Russian and foreign male surnames that exist in the Russian language, it is still advisable to correctly declension a person’s first name and surname if they can be declinated. The system of rules for case endings in the Russian language operating in the rules of the Russian language quite rigidly suggests accepting the inflected word remaining without declension as being in the wrong case or not belonging to the gender to which it actually belongs in this case. For example, Ivan Petrovich Zima, in the genitive case there should be Ivan Petrovich Zima. If it is written: for Ivan Petrovich Zima, this means that in the nominative case this surname will look like Zim, not Zima. Left without declination, male surnames like Veter, Nemeshay will be mistaken for women’s names, because similar surnames for men are indeclined: with Vasily Sergeevich Nemeshay, from Viktor Pavlovich Veter. To declension of such male surnames, it is advisable to refer to the directory of declension of first and last names.
Below are some examples of declensions of male surnames existing in the Russian language:

Declension of male surnames (standard)
Singular
I. Smirnov, Kramskoy, Kostikov, Eliseev, Ivanov,
R. Smirnov, Kramskoy, Kostikov, Eliseev, Ivanov,
D. Smirnov, Kramskoy, Kostikov, Eliseev, Ivanov,
V. Smirnov, Kramskoy, Kostikov, Eliseev, Ivanov,
T. Smirnov, Kramskoy, Kostikov, Eliseev, Ivanov,
P. about Smirnov, about Kramskoy, about Kostikov, about Eliseev, about Ivanov.
Plural
I. Smirnovs, Kramskoys, Kostikovs, Eliseevs, Ivanovs,
R. Smirnovs, Kramskoys, Kostikovs, Eliseevs, Ivanovs,
D. Smirnov, Kramskoy, Kostikov, Eliseev, Ivanov,
V. Smirnovs, Kramskoys, Kostikovs, Eliseevs, Ivanovs,
T. Smirnov, Kramskoy, Kostikovs, Eliseevs, Ivanovs,
P. about the Smirnovs, about the Kramskoys, about the Kostikovs, about the Eliseevs, about the Ivanovs.

In Russian male surnames of two words, its first part is always declined if it is used as a surname (the poetry of Lebedev-Kumach, the work of Nemirovich-Danchenko, the exhibition of Sokolov-Skal)
With the exception of those surnames where the first part does not mean the surname, such male surnames are never declined, for example: stories by Mamin-Sibiryak, painting by Sokolov, sculpture by Demut-Malinovsky, research by Grem-Brzhimailo, in the role of Pozdnik-Trukhanovsky
It is recommended to use non-standard male surnames ending in sounds - a (-z), such as Winter, Loza, Zoya, Dora, in the plural exclusively for all cases of the form that coincides with the original form of the surname. For example: Ivan Petrovich Zima, Vasily Ivanovich Loza, with Semyon Semenovich Zoya, and for the plural - the forms Zima, Loza, Zoya in all cases. To declension of such male surnames, it is advisable to refer to the directory of declension of first and last names.
It is difficult to decline the plural of male surnames Zima and Zoya.
There is a problem of dividing into “Russian” and “non-Russian” surnames ending in the syllables - ov and - in; Such male surnames include, for example: Gutskov (German writer), Flotov (German composer), Cronin (English writer), Franklin, Goodwin, Darwin, etc. From the point of view of morphology, the “non-Russianness” or “Russianness” of a male surname is determined whether the ending with (-ov - or - in -) is expressed or not expressed in the surname. If such an indicator is expressed, then the surname in the instrumental case will have the ending - й
Non-Russian male surnames, which when mentioned refer to two or more persons, are in some cases placed in the plural, in others - in the singular, namely:
if the surname consists of two male names, then such a surname is put in the plural form, for example: Gilbert and Jean Picard, Thomas and Heinrich Mann, Mikhail and Adolph Gottlieb; Oirstarhi father and son;
There are also non-Russian (mostly German) surnames ending in - them: Freundlich, Argerich, Ehrlich, Dietrich, etc. Such surnames cannot be called Russian surnames ending in - them because in Russian surnames before the ending - they are practically There are no soft consonants that have hard pairs, since in the Russian language there are very few adjective names with such stems (i.e. similar adjective names like red, gray; and are there surnames Krasnykh, Sedykh and the like).
But, if before the ending - theirs in a male surname there is a hissing or velar consonant, such male surnames, as a rule, are not declined, only when the name of the adjective is related (for example, Kodyachikh., Sladkikh); in the absence of this condition, such surnames are usually perceived ambiguously from the point of view of morphology; such surnames include, for example: Valshchikh, Khaskachikh, Trubatsky, Lovchikh, Stotsky. Despite the rarity of such cases, one should not forget this fundamental possibility.
In slightly rare cases, surnames whose original forms end with the letter - й before vowels and or - o are perceived ambiguously. Let's say that surnames such as Lopchiy, Nabozhy, Dopchiy, Borkiy, Zorkiy, Dudoy can also be understood as ending in the syllables - ii, - oi. Such male surnames are declined according to the rules of adjectives: Lopchego, Lopchemu, Nabozhiy, Nabozhye, Dopchiy, Dopchemu, Borkiy, Borkomu, Zorkiy, Zorkiy, and as having a zero ending with a declension in the manner of nouns (Lopchia, Lopchiyu...,) To clarify such If you are perplexed, you need to consult a dictionary of surnames.
Male surnames that end with the sounds - e, - e, - i, - ы, - у, - у, do not decline. For example, the following: Daudet, Dusset, Manceret, Fourier, Leye, Dabrie, Goethe, Nobile, Maragiale, Tarle, Ordzhonikidze, Maigret, Artmane, Bossuet, Grétry, Devussy, Navoi, Stavigliani, Modigliani, Guare, Gramsci, Salieri, Galsworthy, Shelley, Needly, Rustaveli, Kamandu, Chaburkiani, Gandhi, Jusoity, Landu, Amadou, Shaw, Manzu, Kurande, Nehru, Colnu, Endescu, Camus, Colnu, etc.
Foreign-language male surnames ending with a vowel sound, excluding unstressed ones - a, - i (Hugo, Daudet, Bizet, Rossini, Mussalini, Shaw, Nehru, Goethe, Bruno, Dumas, Zola), ending with the sounds - a, - i , with a leading vowel - and (poems by Garcia, sonnets by Heredia, stories by Gulia) do not decline. The exception may be in common parlance. Male surnames of French origin that end in an accent are inflexible - I: Zola, Broyat.
All other male surnames ending in - i are declined; for example Golovnya, Zabornya, Beria, Zozulya, Danelia, Syrokomlya, Shengelaya, Gamaleya, Goya.
When foreign male surnames are declined and forms of the Russian declension rules are used, the main features of the declension of such words are not preserved in the language of the original itself. (Karel Capek - Karela Capek [not Karl Capek]). Also in Polish names (in Vladek, in Edek, in Janek [not: in Vladek, in Edk, in Jank]).
The most complex picture in declension is represented by male surnames ending with the sound - a. Unlike the previously discussed cases, here the ending is of great importance - a stands after a vowel or after a consonant, and if it is a vowel, then whether the stress falls on this vowel and (in certain cases) what origin this male surname has.
All male surnames ending in the sound -a, standing after vowels (most often y or i), are not declined: Balois, Dorois, Delacroix, Boravia, Edria, Esredia, Boulia.
Male surnames that are of French origin with the ending of a stressed sound are not declined - I: Zola, Troyat, Belacruya, Doble, Golla, etc.
All male surnames, ending in an unstressed - and after consonants, are declined according to the rule of the first declension, for example: Didera - Dider, Didere, Dideru, Dideroy, Seneca - Seneca, Seneca, Seneca, Seneca, etc.; Kafka, Petrarch, Spinoza, Smetana, Kurosawa, Gulyga, Glinka, Deineka, Olesha, Zagnibeda, Okudzhava and others are inclined to the same principle.
The declension of male surnames (singular and plural) due to the fact that it is not clear whether they should retain a fluent vowel in the manner of common nouns similar in appearance, the declension can be difficult (Travetsa or Travetsa - from Travets, Muravel or Ant - from Muravel, Lazurok or Lazurka - from Lazurki, etc.).
To avoid difficulties, it is better to use the reference book. If a male surname is accompanied by a female and male given name, then it remains in the singular form, for example: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Jean and Eslanda Rodson, August and Caroline Schnegel, associates of Richard Sorge, Dick and Anna Krausen, Ariadne and Steve Tur; also Sergey and Valya Bruzzhak, Stanislav and Nina Zhuk;
A man's surname is also written and spoken in the singular if it is accompanied by two common nouns of different genders, for example: Mr. and Mrs. Rayner, Lord and Lady Hamilton; but if in such combinations as husband and wife or brother and sister, the surname is most often used in the plural form: husband and wife Budstrem, brother and sister Wieringa;
When using the word spouse, the surname is presented in the singular form, for example: spouses Dent, spouses Thorndyke, spouses Loddak;
When using the word brothers, a man's surname is also usually presented in the singular form, for example: the Grimm brothers, the Trebel brothers, the Hellenberg brothers, the Vokrass brothers; When using the word family, the surname is usually presented in singular form, for example: Doppfenheim family, Gramal family.
In combinations of Russian surnames with numerals in declension, the following forms are used: two Ivanovs, both Ivanovs, two Ivanovs, both brothers Ivanovs, two friends Ivanovs; two (both) Perovskys. This rule also applies to combinations of numerals with foreign-language surnames; both Schlegels, two brothers of Manna.
Declension of male surnames of East Slavic origin, which have a fluent vowel during declension; such male surnames can be formed in two ways - with and without loss of the vowel during declension: Zayats - Zayatsa - Zayatsem and Zaitsa - Zayets. It must be taken into account that when filling out legal documents, such male surnames must be declined without losing the vowel.
Male surnames of Western Slavic and Western European origin, when declined, having a fluent vowel, are declined without losing the vowel: Slaszek Street, Capek's novels, performed by Gott, Zavranek's lectures. Male surnames, which are adjective names in form (with a stressed or unstressed ending) are declined in the same way as adjectives. Slavic male surnames ending in accented sounds - a, - ya are inclined (from director Mayboroda, with psychologist Skovoroda, to screenwriter Golovnya).
Male surnames of Slavic origin on - o such as Sevko, Darko, Pavlo, Petro are declined according to the rules for declension of masculine and neuter nouns, for example: in front of Sevka, in Dark. As a rule, male surnames ending in unstressed sounds - a, - z are inclined (essay by V. M. Ptitsa, art by Jan Neruda, romances performed by Rosita Quintana, a session with A. Vaida, songs by Okudzhava). Minor fluctuations are observed in the declension of Georgian and Japanese male surnames, where there are episodes of both indeclinability and indeclinability of surnames:
Awarding People's Artist of the USSR Kharava; 120th anniversary of the birth of Sen-Sekatayama, Kurosawa's film; works of A. S. Chikobava (and Chikobava); creativity of Pshavela; at the Ikeda residence; Hatoyama report; films by Vittorio de Sica (not de Sica). Slavic male surnames ending in - and, - ы are recommended to be inclined according to the model of Russian male surnames ending in - й, - й (Dobrovski - Dobrovsky, Pokorny - Pokorny). At the same time, it is allowed to design similar male surnames according to the Russian model and according to the rule of the nominative case (Dobrovsky, Pokorny, Der-Stravinsky). Male surnames that have a stressed ending - a are declined according to the rules of the first declension, that is, the stressed ending disappears in them - a: Pitta - Pitty, Pitt, Pittu, Pittoy; This also includes: Frying pan, Para, Poker, Kvasha, Tsadasa, Myrza, Hamza and others.
Czech and Polish male surnames in – tskiy, –skiy, i – й, – й, should be declined with full endings in the nominative case, for example: Oginskiy – Oginskiy, Pandovskiy – Pandovskiy.
Ukrainian male surnames ending in -ko (-enko), as a rule, are declined according to a different type of declension only in fiction or in colloquial speech, but not in legal documents, for example: command to the head of Evtukh Makogonenko; the nobleman killed by Kukubenko rested, a poem dedicated to Rodzianka; Male surnames with the ending, both stressed and unstressed, do not decline - ko (Borovko, Dyatko, Granko, Zagorudko, Kiriyenko, Yanko, Levchenko’s anniversary, Makarenko’s activities, Korolenko’s works), where some of them decline in colloquial speech, (Borovko Borovki, letter to V.G. Korolenko - letter to V.G. Korolenka). Or: “In the evening Belikov... headed towards Kovalenki.” Male surnames do not incline toward - ko with an emphasis on the last one - oh, for example: the Franko Theater, Bozhko's legacy.
In complex multi-word surnames of Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, the last part of the surname ending in a consonant is declined, for example: Di Wen’s speech, Pam Zan Gong’s statement, conversation with Ye Du Sing.
Georgian male surnames can be inflected or indeclinable, depending on the form in which a particular surname is borrowed into the Russian language: surnames ending in - ia are indeclinable (Daneliya, Gornelia), those ending in - ia are indeclinable (Gulia).
Particular attention should be paid to the fact that in ordinary communication, if the bearer of a rare or difficult to declension surname allows the incorrect pronunciation of his surname, this is not considered a gross violation of the general rules of declension. But when filling out legal documents, media publications and works of art, if you are unsure of the correct declension, it is recommended to turn to the directory of surnames, otherwise you can find yourself in an unpleasant situation, which entails a number of inconveniences, loss of time to prove the authenticity, belonging of the very person about whom it was written this document.

This article is devoted to the declination of surnames, a topic to which Russian language teachers devoted several lessons in primary school.

The ability to correctly pronounce your own first and last name is very important - at school, a child signs his diary and notebooks, and in adult life, important government documents.

Therefore, information about the declension of surnames by case will be useful for both schoolchildren and adults.

General rules for declension of surnames

You need to remember them to avoid mistakes:

1. Not all surnames ending in a consonant are inflected for both men and women:
   • Women's surnames are not declined at all: script by Irina Kryuk, dress by Anna Mayer;
   • male surnames can and should be declined: song by Louis Tomlinson, house of Alexander Pushkin.
2. All Russian surnames ending in “a” are declined: speech by Karina Ivanova, story by Vasily Stupka.

Exception: French surnames Dumas, Lacroix and others do not bow down.

3. Foreign surnames are declined if they end in a consonant: creativity of Anatoly Petrosyan, poems of George Byron.

Foreign surnames ending in a vowel other than the unstressed “a” are not inflected: music by Giuseppe Verdi, role by Sergo Makaradze.

What surnames are not declined in Russian?

This rule is well illustrated in the picture.

Do male surnames decline or not?

Men's surnames are subject to declension, but not all. You need to figure out what your surname is- Russian, French, Armenian, etc., what letter it ends with, and apply the corresponding rule.

Declension of masculine surnames ending in a consonant

Declension of surnames in Ukrainian

Ukrainian surnames ending in -uk (-yuk), -ok, -ik, -ch are declined only if they are male surnames. As in Russian, female Ukrainian surnames ending in a consonant do not decline.

Exceptions to the rules include surnames ending in -ih, -yh. Usually these are surnames formed from adjectives: White, Black. They don't bow down.

Do Armenian surnames end with –yan?

The declination of Armenian surnames into -an (-yan), -ants (-yanc), -unts occurs according to the rules of the Russian language: men's surnames are declined, women's surnames are not.

Declension of foreign surnames

To remember the declension of foreign names, this algorithm will be useful:

Declension of male surnames ending in a soft sign

There are few male surnames ending in -ь, but you still need to know how they decline.

Exception: surnames derived from city names are not declined. These are surnames from Uruguay, Taiwan, etc.

Declension of masculine surnames ending in a vowel

Surnames ending in a vowel, except -a , don't bow down. This is true for both male and female surnames.

Them. P.	Peter Romanenko
Genus. P.	Petra Romanenko
Dat. P.	Petru Romanenco
Vin. P.	Petra Romanenko
Creation P.	Peter Romanenko
Prev. P.	(about) Petre Romanenko

Declension of double surnames

Declension of double Russian surnames occurs as follows: both parts are declined according to the rules of the Russian language. If the first part serves only as a component, then it does not decline.

Them. P.	Ivan Petrov-Zodchenko
Genus. P.	Ivana Petrova-Zodchenko
Dat. P.	Ivan Petrov-Zodchenko
Vin. P.	Ivana Petrova-Zodchenko
Creation P.	Ivan Petrov-Zodchenko
Prev. P.	(about) Ivan Petrov-Zodchenko

Don’t forget that last names don’t end with –o!

Compound surnames are popular in East Asia. For example, the last name is Kim Il Sung. It consists of three parts, but only the last one is inclined, according to general rules.

Declension of German surnames

For the most part, German surnames were derived from geographical names, personal names, and nicknames.

German male surnames ending in a consonant are definitely declined: give it to Müller, call Schneider, send Wagner, no Schultz, think about Richter.

For a vowel letter, accordingly, no:letter for Adolf Weisse, work by Johann Goethe, documents of Arnold Kolbe.

Is a man's surname ending in "th" inflected?

Male surnames starting with “y” are also declined.

Declension of Georgian surnames to “iya”

Linguists do not recommend inflecting Georgian surnames with the suffixes “iya”, “ia”, “ua”, “aya”. The endings should be written correctly: otherwise it will cease to have anything to do with Georgia. Examples: Goritsavia book, Gamsakhurdia house, Chkadua address.

Remembering the spelling of last names is easy: female surnames are declined ONLY with the ending “a” ( Mokaeva, Ivanova etc.). Male surnames are declined ALL EXCEPT those ending in other vowels ( Plushenko, Begiashvili).

However, if you still have problems with declension, it is better to turn to the Internet or the Directory of Surnames. This will take time, but you will be sure that the data is recorded correctly and will not have to be changed.