Ilyich
I saw that Ilyich was Tchaikovsky's middle name but couldn't find its meaning. There does seem to be a similar name Ilya which means Elijah but I can't find anything to confirm that they're linked. Please could someone help, thanks.
Replies
Ilyich is a patronymic form of Ilya.
Thank you
Russians don't have middle names, they have patronymics. Tchaikovsky's father was named Ilya, so his patronymic is Ilyich (son of Ilya).
Famous people with the patronymic name Ilyich:
Lenin - Vladimir Ilyich
Mechnikov - Ilya Ilyich (A famous biologist from 19th century)
Brezhnev - Leonid Ilyich
Tsaikovsky - Pyotr Ilyich
(There was a joke about Brezhnev: He says on a 1. may party to his friends: "Yes, I understood that you would like me to be a czar - It is a nice idea, but I have a question - should I be called Leonid I or Ilyich II?)
The feminine form is Ilyinychna
Lenin - Vladimir Ilyich
Mechnikov - Ilya Ilyich (A famous biologist from 19th century)
Brezhnev - Leonid Ilyich
Tsaikovsky - Pyotr Ilyich
(There was a joke about Brezhnev: He says on a 1. may party to his friends: "Yes, I understood that you would like me to be a czar - It is a nice idea, but I have a question - should I be called Leonid I or Ilyich II?)
The feminine form is Ilyinychna
Ilyich is a Russian name meaning "Son of Ilya". It is often used in reference to Vladimir Lenin.