Afanasyev (masculine; Афанасьев) or Afanasyeva (feminine; Афанасьева) is a Russian last name. It is derived from Afanasy which is etymologically directly connected to Athanasios (Αθανάσιος), a very common Greek masculine first name that means "immortal". As a Russian last name, it is shared by the following people:

• Aleksey Afanasyev (1850-c. 1920), Russian painter and illustrator
• Alexander Afanasyev (1826–1871), Russian folklorist
• Alexander Afanasyev-Chuzhbinsky (1817–1875), Russian/Ukrainian writer and ethnographer
• Alexey Ivanovich Afanasyev (1910–1978), Soviet naval officer and Hero of the Soviet Union
• Alexey Nikolayevich Afanasyev (1916–1968), Soviet army officer and Hero of the Soviet Union
• Anatoly Afanasyev (1912–2003), Soviet army officer and Hero of the Soviet Union
• Egor Afanasyev (born 2001), Russian ice hockey player
• Fyodor Afanasyev (1859–1905), Russian revolutionary
• Georgy Afanasyev (1906–1975), Soviet geologist and petrographer
• Mikhail Afanasyev (born 1986), Belarusian footballer
• Ivan Afanasyev (1901–1952), Soviet naval officer and Hero of the Soviet Union
• Ksenia Afanasyeva (born 1991), Russian olympic gymnast
• Nikolay Fyodorovich Afanasyev (1918–1944), Soviet aircraft pilot and Hero of the Soviet Union
• Nikolay Mikhaylovich Afanasyev (1916-2009), Russian firearms designer
• Nikolay Nikolayevich Afanasyev (1893–1966), Russian Orthodox theologian
• Nikolay Yakovlevich Afanasyev (1820–1898), Russian violinist and composer
• Nina Afanasyeva (born 1939), Russian/Sami politician and language activist
• Sergey Afanasyev (engineer) (1918–2001), Soviet engineer and space and defense industry executive
• Sergey Afanasyev (athlete) (born 1964), Russian middle-distance runner
• Sergey Afanasyev (racing driver) (born 1988), Russian racing driver
• Stepan Afanasyev (1894–1965), Soviet party figure
• Tatyana Afanasyeva (1876–1964), Russian/Dutch mathematician
• Vahur Afanasjev (1979–2021), Estonian writer, filmmaker and musician
• Valery Afanassiev (born 1947), Russian pianist
• Valērijs Afanasjevs (born 1982), Latvian footballer
• Vasily Afanasyev (1843–1913), prominent mechanical engineer of the Imperial Russian Navy
• Viktor Grigoryevich Afanasyev (1922–1994), Soviet/Russian journalist
• Viktor Mikhaylovich Afanasyev (born 1948), Soviet/Russian cosmonaut
• Yegor Afanasyev, an alias of a Russian revolutionary Yegor Klimanov
• Yelena Afanasyeva (athlete) (born 1967), Russian athlete
• Yuri Afanasyev, (1934-2015), Russian historian and politician

• Afanasyeva (rural locality), a rural locality (a village) in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia

• Walter Afanasieff, Brazilian (of Russian descent) record producer and songwriter

• Unbegaun, B. O. (1972). Russian Surnames. Oxford University Press.