Has the surname “Stalin” fallen out of favor since 1953, when Josef Stalin* died? Are there people who don’t want to be associated with him?

  In researching background information prior to posting this question, I came across some interesting facts of which I had not previously been aware. Principal among them is that “Josef Stalin” is a pseudonym that he adopted for himself in 1912.  I was a bit surprised to learn that in his younger years, he did quite well in his studies, and that he both wrote poetry and painted.  

*Josef Stalin was born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili in December of 1878. The Josef part is similar to his birth name, Ioseb, and is most likely a mere difference in spelling, pronunciation, culture, or language. The Stalin portion is interesting in that it appears to have been made up. “Stal” is the derivative of the word for steel, and when married to the suffix -in, it translates roughly to ‘Man of Steel’ (not unlike our Western Superman, Man of Steel). As an invented surname, there’s a possibility that it’s not very common at all, thereby rendering my question either completely or in part invalid. If no one else or only very few share (shared) the surname, it may have died when he did. However, if the surname already existed independent of his use of it as his alias, the potential answers to my question may have deeper root in the fabric of Russian society and culture.

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