The Lady with the Little Dog and Other Stories, 1896-1904

PATRONYMICS

Russian names consist of first name, patronymic and surname, the patronymic or middle name being derived from the father’s first name. For example, Chekhov’s middle name, Pavlovich, derives from his father’s first name, Pavel. In formal speech first name and patronymic are usual: a servant addressing his master would use both first name and patronymic. But a master would use only a first name when talking to a servant.

No specific reference is made to the use of patronymics in this volume but for a further note on the subject, and its relevance to that translation, readers should refer to Anton Chekhov, The Steppe and Other Stories, 1887–1891 (London: Penguin Books, 2001), p. xxxvi.