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Russian/English overlap names/combos
Hi, everyone! So I just got back from a week in beautiful RUSSIA. I can't wait to go back. It's the most amazing place I've ever been. My family is mostly from Russia (way back when), so it was sort of a homecoming, in a way. I didn't expect it to feel that way, but it just hit home for me in a way that even the U.S. doesn't. Anyway, I was thinking a lot about names that overlap between Russian and English. For example, Victoria / Viktoriya / Виктория. Any name that is basically the same in English as it is in Russian, or has a direct translation, or simply makes sense in English (no difficult transliteration). I'd like to find some combos that include one or two of those names. I'm not sure how I feel about including non-Russian names in those combos, for instance, Mariya Brooke or Anna Felicity. Thoughts? Or would you combine them with other Russian names?Opinions on the following would be much appreciated:Anna (AH-na) "Anya"
Alla
Aleksandra "Sasha"
Andrei
Dmitri / Dimitri
Dominika (dom-i-NEE-ka) "Nika"
Ekaterina "Katya" or "Katie"
Elizaveta "Liza" (LEE-za)
Ivan (ee-VAHN) "Vanya"
Irina (ee-REE-na)
Karina
Kira
Klara
Larisa "Lara"
Lev
Lidiya / Lydia
Liliya
Maksim "Maks"
Margarita "Rita"
Marina
Mariya "Masha"
Mikhail "Misha"
Nataliya "Natasha"
Nikolai "Kolya"
Nikita (m)
Olga "Olya"
Roksana
Sergei
Sofiya "Sonya"
Tatiana "Tanya"
Tamara
Valentina
Veronika "Nika"
Viktoriya / Victoria "Vika"
Vladimir (vla-DEE-meer) "Volodya" or "Vova"
Yakov "Yasha"
Yulia / Yuliya
Yuliana / Yulianna
Zoya
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Some of the names are from several cultures, like Maria and Anna, so they should easily be mixed with names from other languages. Names like Vladimir or Nikita would be tougher. Because of Russian patronymics, I think it's strange to have two Russian names together. I want to post some combos, but I'm drawing a blank for some reason.
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Yeah, the patronymic thing is throwing me as well. I'll probably end up not marrying someone from Russia (or with a Russian name), so forming a patronymic will be difficult. Buhhh. So complicated. Haha.
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I'm not familiar with Russian names/culture, but I can comment based on what my ears like...Anna - I think this is lovely, nickname too
Alla - this looks and feels incomplete to me
Aleksandra - nice
Andrei - handsome
Dmitri / Dimitri - ditto handsome, especially the one on DWTS!
Dominika - this doesn't appeal to me, but neither does the English version
Ekaterina - lovely; prefer "Katya" of your nn choices
Elizaveta "Liza" - nice
Ivan (ee-VAHN) "Vanya" - nice
Irina (ee-REE-na)- the sound of this doesn't suit my ear, but I like Irene
Karina - association is a problem for me here
Kira - sound again...lots of names with the "eer" sound don't appeal to me
Klara - nice
Larisa "Lara" - ok
Lev - quite like this
Lidiya / Lydia - nice
Liliya - pretty
Maksim "Maks" - I so enjoy the one on DWTS; very handsome name
Margarita "Rita" - I don't drink but that's the imagery I get with this
Marina - nice
Mariya "Masha" - nice name but the nn doesn't appeal to me at all
Mikhail "Misha" - handsome
Nataliya - pretty
Nikolai "Kolya" - nice
Nikita (m) - I see huskies whenever I see this name

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This message was edited 3/16/2012, 7:58 PM

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Yeah, Margarita may be a problem with the drink. Being a name-nerd and a Russian speaker, my mind immediately goes to a girl I know named Margarita "Rita" who is really cool and smart. But I feel like 98% of the rest of the population will immediately snort and think alcohol. :/
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