A 19-year-old Ukrainian woman replaced her patronymic with the matronymic "Katerynovna"

19-year-old Anna-Alexandra, the daughter of public figure and psychologist Kateryna Yasko, changed her surname and patronymic. Instead of the traditional patronymic she received the matronymic “Katerynovna” — derived from her mother’s name.

The girl grew up without the involvement of her biological father, so at first she only wanted to remove the patronymic from the state register and take her mother’s surname. However, Ukrainian legislation provides for three components of a name: surname, given name and patronymic. It was not possible to completely delete the corresponding field, so she was offered the legally provided alternative — to replace the patronymic with the mother’s name with the suffix “-ivna”.

“Katerynovna appeared not because Anya originally wanted a matronymic, but because in this situation it turned out to be the only method offered by the state to break an unwanted connection,” explained Kateryna Yasko.

The second name Alexandra the girl also chose deliberately — specifically because of the letter “A”. According to her mother, this option is connected to the Greek origin of the name Ἀλέξανδρος, which means “defender”.

The story of the name change sparked active discussion on social networks. The family received congratulations but also faced criticism and sarcasm. Some users reproached the girl for allegedly having an “insufficiently Ukrainian name” and for rejecting the traditional patronymic.

Kateryna Yasko linked such a reaction to the specifics of the formation of Ukrainian identity. In her opinion, due to the long absence of statehood, language, traditions and names have become particularly strong markers of national belonging. In wartime, such unity helped Ukrainians resist the threat, but in peacetime it can turn into an urge to define who is a “real Ukrainian”.

The psychologist believes that Ukrainian society is changing: there are more multicultural families, children from different marriages and people with experience living abroad. One of the main challenges for Ukraine after the war she names as the transition from an identity that is constantly defending itself to an identity capable of creating and developing.

Earlier we wrote:

• In the Odesa region, protocols for using the Russian language were issued against six session participants
• Two children left fatherless: in Mykolaiv they buried defender Anatoliy Belousov
• Abuse witnessed by other children: a 13-year-old is suspected of torturing a boy
• Mother abroad, father with the child: the Rada proposed a new ground for deferral
• The TCC didn’t want to lose the “fighter” who became a woman — but the court forced it