Russian Titles and Patronymics

  • Tsar (in Russian Царь) was used 1547–1721 to denote the male ruler of Russia. Tsar comes from Caesar, the Latin title of a Roman emperor. Tsar remained the popular designation of the Russian ruler despite the official change of style to Emperor in 1721.
  • Tsaritsa or Tsarina (in Russian Царица) was the title of the female ruler of Russia or the title of a Tsar’s wife. It was officially used from 1547 – 1721 when the title changed to Empress although Tsaritsa or Tsarina was sometimes still used.
  • Tsarevich (in Russian Царевич) was the title given to Tsars’ sons before the 18th century.
  • Tsarevna (in Russian Царевна) was used before the 18th century as the title for the daughter of a Tsar or the wife of a Tsarevich.
  • Emperor (in Russian император, pronounced imperator) was the title of the male ruler of Russia after 1721.
  • Empress (in Russia императрица, pronounced imperatritsa) was the title of the female ruler of Russia or the title of the Emperor’s wife after 1721.
    • Tsesarevich (in Russian Цесаревич) was the title for the heir apparent.
    • Velikiy Knyaz (in Russian Великий Князь) meaning Grand Prince but commonly translated into English as Grand Duke, was the title of younger sons and male-line grandsons of Emperors or Empress Regnants of Russia.
    • Velikaia Knazhna (in Russian: Великая Княжна) meaning Grand Princess but commonly translated in English as Grand Duchess, was the title of daughters and male-line granddaughters of Emperors or Empress Regnants of Russia and wives of Grand Dukes of Russia.After the 1797 Pauline House Laws, the following titles were used:
  • The title Prince/Princess was introduced by Emperor Alexander III on January 24, 1885, in order to reduce the number of Grand Dukes. Each Grand Duke received 200,000 rubles and enjoyed other privileges. The male-line great-grandchildren of the Emperor of Russia and their male-line descendants were titled Prince/Princess of the Blood Imperial to distinguish them from those of the noble Russian families titled Prince/Princess.
    • Knazhna’ Krovi Imperatorskoy (in Russian Князь Крови Императорской) meaning Prince of the Blood Imperial
    • Knazhna’ Krovi Imperatorskoy (in Russian княжна крови императорской) meaning Princess of the Blood Imperial

Patronymics

  • For our articles on the rulers of Russia, English names are used in the index and in the articles with the Russian name and the patronymic in parentheses. In Russian, a patronymic is the second name derived from the father’s first name: the suffix -vich means “son of” and the suffixes -eva, -ova, and -ovna mean “daughter of”.