I did consider
Ronja, but I decided against using it because that version is not in the public domain and I do not want to step on any toes. What I had found to use - which is similar sounding - is either Varka or Vanka. I had decided to set
Gerda's story primarily in 19th century Russia (to play homage to the 1957 soviet animation), so the Robber's Daughter is Russian, hence the choice for the names.
I got Vanka it from a 19th century Russian story [
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanka_(short_story)]. Vanka here is male, but I have read it's a unisex name and I got Varka from searching for Russian names here, and it's a user-submitted name listed as Russian (Archaic).
I am unsure which to use, ultimately
And thank you for the suggestion of naming the
Princess Astrid. I had used
Evdokiya for the
Princess and
Nikolay for the
Prince, but it makes sense that
Gerda - by that point - had left Russia, as the raven told her of royals of which she knew nothing about. It also solves my issue of the royals being "prince and princess" and not Grand Dutchess and Grand
Duke.
(I am still considering how her journey from Germany into Finland goes; Poland didn't become independant until after WWI and there's a bit in-between Poland and Lithuania which is Russia too, right? I am still figuring things out lmoa)
---
"one particular boogie will move mirror massaging with stirring crepe mixture, positioning loaves while in the furnace then toting items in containers" ~ best Russian daing sites (guest,
198.144.149.xxx) (2020)
Formally PrincessZ and
Princess Magpie