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Hmm that's funny how the Ukrainian name uses the "y" in it's transliteration, while the Russian doesn't. They're alphabets are fairly close. But I've actually studied Ukrainian, so it's not a big deal to me. I have a love for most Slavic cultures. I also plan to take a Russian class soon.

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But that's not the point. I was merely trying to say that I don't see Valentyna as a made-up spelling. And it's not so much that I'm using the Ukrainian spelling. I'm just using a variant on the Polish spelling, but most Polish names are changed slightly when people come to America. They may technically use the Latin alphabet, but many letters make very different sounds. For example, I have an ex-boyfriend with the last name Golanoski. It was originally Golanowski, but it would have been pronounced very differently if people here failed to the "W" like a "V". And they undoubtedly would have. Golanovski would have been another legitimate option for an anglicized spelling.

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The name Lew is another example of this. I want to use this name for a son, but I know if I spell it that way, people will always mispronounce it "Lou". I'm going to use the "Russian spelling" Lev, but really it's just like a transliteration. It's not even really the Russian spelling because the Russians use the Cyrillic alphabet. So either way, you have to anglicize. I'd rather slightly anglicize spelling that completely anglicize and totally botch the pronunciation. I hope that makes sense.