Russian Classes: How to change names when addressing people

Pavel Kuzmichev, Государственный музей Л. Н. Толстого; Public domain

The full name of a Russian person consists of the first name and patronymic e.g. Лев Николаевич (Lev Nikolaevich). The full name is normally used in formal situations, when addressing an elder person or boss, etc.

Besides that, first names have a variety of diminutive forms. For example, in the case of Лев, the diminutive forms are Лёва (Lyova) or the more affectionate Лёвушка (Lyovushka), Лёвонька (Lyovonka) and others. Usually they are used to address friends, relatives, children, or teenagers.

And, by the way, the patronymic name from the name Лев is Львович (Lvovich) for male and Львовна (Lvovna) for female.

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