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Zenaida is gorgeous! Zen would be a cute nickname, I think.

I'm not sure.

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I'm going to try to describe this:

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The aura of Zenaida is one of power and strength. To me it evokes a picture of an iron-willed woman - stylish, beautiful & striking. She carries herself well, her back is ramrod straight and she commands attention wherever she goes. With that strong of a picture I'm not sure I could use it - I can't see a mousy Zenaida, a bookish Zenaida or even a preppy Zenaida. Just that one type of woman.

I like it - but then I tend to like older/quirky names. I think it's usable. It's certainly differently, but not overly burdensome in pronunciation, spelling, or length. It doesn't have any questionable connotations, and I like the sound a lot. So to me, totally usable.

It's interesting. I kinda like it. It's usable as a middle name, but I'm not sure if it would be a good first name or not.

Zenaida (I prn it zeh-NAY-duh) is really exotically beautiful. You could definitely use it if you called her Zadie (ZAY-dee).

Gorgeois, Zenaida is. Totally useable. Z names are hot.

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I love how exotic and unappologetic she is. Whether you use the English pronunciation, "zen-AY-duh" or Russian, "zen-ah-EE-duh" they are both lovely. And the nn possibilities are fun: Zen, Zena, Aida (as in the opera), Ada, Zenda (as in "Prisoner of Zenda.")

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One thing, I thought it was Zinaida. Are they variants? Or am I remembering it incorrectly? (Wouldn't be the first time.) The Russian nn is Zina ("ZEE-nuh"), I think. Ah, I just answered my own question. Zenaida is Greek. Zinaida is Russian. That's the difference.

This message was edited 10/10/2010, 1:21 PM

I don't particularly care for the sound of Zenaida but it is interesting and definitely usable.

Ooh, I really like Zenaida!

love it

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Definitely usable. I actually like it more than Zenobia, which I also enjoy. It's more... airy, open and light.

I don't why, but it comes off as pretentious to me, as if boring parents are upstaging their child to make their lives more interesting.