Declension of surnames in Russian (part III)

Some surnames in the Russian language remain unchanged regardless of the case they are used in. These surnames are typically foreign in origin.

The first important thing to remember is that female surnames ending in a consonant do not change. Interestingly, if a man has the same surname, then it will change according to the rules described in the first post on this topic. See for yourself:

• Это портрет Вирджинии Вулф, а это портрет Леонарда Вулфа, её мужа. 
• Я ничего не знала о Кэтрин Диккенс, жене Чарльза Диккенса.

Another interesting observation is that surnames ending in “-o” and “-ых/-их” do not change regardless of whether they belong to a man or a woman. For example, the surnames Короленко, Степанченко, Нетребко, Черных, Пьяных, Певчих, and so on.

Finally, surnames that are exotic to the Russian language also do not change. There is simply no model for them. Examples include Шоу, По, Ли, Карнеги.

Dealing with surname declension can be tricky, even for native speakers. So, feel free to consult reference books if you have any doubts. Do you know if your last name changes in different cases?