I hope I'm not being too harsh, but
Anastasia is one of the names I can't stand. I've given like million times these statistics, but to me they're shocking, so I'll do it again: from year 1997 to the year 1997 the top 1 female name in Russia has been
Anastasiya - and...
"Moscow - in the year 2005 7.8% (!) of the new born girls were named
Anastasiya"
http://www.goldenbaby.moy.su/news/2006-11-27-7http://www.pisali.ru/yohoho/1322/Honestly - 7.8%! And people are talking about
Emily being popular. I know - different cultures and blah blah, but 7.8% is simply too much.
I don't even live in Russia, but I know 8 Anastasias (at least!) personally, and I'm not going to count all the little Nastyas that I've seen in schools, libraries. Honestly, Anastasias are
everywhere!. So, I'm completely sick of this name - I also don't like the glamurous
Anastasia Romanova-connection: the fuss around Romanovs drives me crazy!
Nikolai II was a member of The Black Hundrets (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hundreds), and his family shared his views. I'm not going to mention the ill-fated Japanese-Russian war and Bloody
Sunday...
Uhh... Reasons enough why I don't like
Anastasia? :D I have some more, if needed (
Anastasia Volochkova,
Nastasya Filippovna...). It has a pretty meaning, though, but
Anastas would be much more original, IMHO.
And Ippolyta - Honestly, it makes me think of
Ippolit Matveevich Vorobyanov (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Chairs) - not the nicest possible character. :P But I love
Hippolyta - the hippo-connection is brilliant, and it's Shakespearian. I've even read the play where she exists! (I hate it when people say something like: "Oh, I love
Imogen, it's such a Shakespearian name! Yes, I haven't read the novel. Or did Shakespeare write plays? Anyway,
Imogen is Shakespearian, and I love that!" :D).
Um, what else? Yes, my favourite combo is
Ivy Hippolyta. I like it, though it has maybe too many "y"s. :)