Zakharova

Zakharova is a Russian feminine surname, the female form of Zakharov, which itself comes from the given name Zakhar, a Russian form of Zechariah. The surname signifies “daughter of Zakhar” and follows the standard Russian pattern of gender inflection with the ending -ova. It is common among Russian-speaking populations in Russia and in other countries of the former Soviet Union, with transliterations such as Zakharova in English.

The most prominent bearer of the surname is Maria Zakharova (born 1975), a Russian diplomat who has served as the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry since 2015. She has held various roles within the ministry and in related media and international communication activities. Her public profile has made Zakharova a widely recognized name associated with Russian diplomacy on the global stage.

As a common Russian surname, Zakharova appears across diverse fields, including politics, academia, culture, and sports, reflecting the broad distribution of the name among Russian-speaking communities. The masculine form Zakharov is also widely encountered, and the two forms share the same root derived from the given name Zakhar. In transliteration, variations can occur depending on language conventions, but Zakharova remains the standard feminine rendering in many languages using Latin script.