Ivanov
A common Slavic surname meaning “son of Ivan,” with Ivan being the Eastern European form of John.
The #8,605 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 80,697 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Ivanov is a patronymic surname built from the given name Ivan plus the Slavic possessive suffix -ov, which originally meant “of Ivan” or “belonging to Ivan.” In practice, it came to mean “Ivan’s son” or a family descended from a man named Ivan. Ivan itself is the Slavic form of John, ultimately from Hebrew Yohanan, “God is gracious.”
History
This surname is especially common in Russia and across the wider Slavic world, where -ov surnames became hereditary family names over time. It is also widely encountered in immigration records and diaspora communities, which has made it one of the best-known Russian-style surnames internationally. The exact frequency and spelling can vary by language and by transliteration from Cyrillic.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Ivanov is so common in Russian that it has often been used as a generic placeholder surname, much like “Smith” in English contexts.
Notable people named Ivanov
- Gjorge Ivanov (b. 1960)
- Sergei Ivanov (1953–2026)
- Valentin Ivanov (1934–2011)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.