Because in Russian this suffix indicates which family the person belongs to. Gorbachov, for example, is part of the Gorbach family. And it’s not just the «ov» that indicates family origin. “Male surnames end with ‘ov’ or ‘ev’. The feminine ones end with ‘ova’, ‘eva’”, says Russian professor Elena Vassina Nikolaevna, from USP.
This is the case of tennis player Maria Sharapova — belonging to the Sharap family. In addition to “ov”, “ev”, “ova” and “eva”, the suffixes “itch”, “ovna” and “evna” are also common in Russian. “They are suffixes of the patronymic name. For example, I’m Elena Nikolaevna, I mean, Elena Nikolai’s daughter”, says the USP professor.
The formation of surnames according to the patriarch is common in several languages, even in Portuguese: Rodrigues, for example, indicates the children of Rodrigo, and Gonçalves refers to the children of Gonçalo. In English, the same thing happens with the suffix “son”, which literally means “son”: the Jacksons are the children of Jack, just as the Gibsons are the children of Gib.
In Scotland the suffix denoting parentage is Mac—MacGregor, son of Gregor—while in Ireland the designation O’ is common—O»Malleys, son of Malleys.
Surnames in other countries
RUSSIA
Suffix: ov
Meaning: «in»
famous name: Maria Sharapova (tennis player)
GREECE
Suffix: poulos
Meaning: «son of»
famous name: Constantine Stephanopoulos (former President of Greece)
SWEDEN
Suffix: son
Meaning: «son of»
famous name: Sven-Goran Eriksson (former England national football manager)
CHINA
Suffix: read
Meaning: Cherry tree
famous name: Bruce Lee (actor)
In the US, the last name LI became Lee
POLAND
Suffix: ski or owski
Meaning: «in»
famous name: Roman Polanski (filmmaker)
JAPAN
Suffix: wall
Meaning: village
famous name: Nakamura (Japanese national soccer player)
ITALY
Suffix: ucci
Meaning: «descendant of»
famous name: Monica Bellucci (actress)
SCOTLAND
Suffix: mc
Meaning: «in»
famous name: Nick McCarthy (Franz Ferdinand Guitarist)
SPAIN
Suffix: ez
Meaning: «son of»
famous name: Hugo Chavez (President of Venezuela)