petrovna

Petrovna is a feminine patronymic used in Russian and other Slavic naming traditions. It literally means “daughter of Petr/Peter” and is employed to indicate the father’s given name in a person’s full name. The form is created by taking the father’s name in its appropriate genitive and adding the suffix -ovna, yielding Petrovna for a father named Petr (Peter).

In practice, Petrovna appears as the middle name in a full Russian name, following the given name and before the family surname. For example, Elizaveta Petrovna was the daughter of Peter the Great. The patronymic is widely used in formal address and official documents; among close acquaintances, it may be replaced by a first name alone, while in formal contexts it conveys respect and lineage.

Petrovna is not typically used as a standalone first name or as a common surname. It is primarily a patronymic, though in some rare cases or in non-Russian contexts, a patronymic-origin form can appear as a surname due to historical or transliteration variations.

Notable example: Elizaveta Petrovna (1709–1762), also known as Empress Elizabeth of Russia, illustrates the use of Petrovna as a feminine patronymic tied to Peter the Great.

See also: Patronymic, Russian naming conventions, Slavic names.