Russian surnames?

Question

My family's original (it was changed when we immigrated to the US) name was Borodinsky, which is also the name of a town in Russia. What is the likelihood that these are connected? Is that a popular surname in Russia, or rare? Are surnames and town names often related, or seldom?

Answer 1

Name connection with towns, professions, etc. is very common. Mine is connected with a patron saint. Others have been connected with reputation and shady past. Sometimes it's good to streamline an unintelligible name.