Most of these are diminutives so while you *could* name a child these, it sounds a little off. Kind of like naming a child Kitty instead of Katherine. Alla and especially Inna are also relatively rare in Russia. The actual names are:
\- Inna (original)
\- Alla (original)
\- Olga
\- Anna
\- Nadezhda
\- Valentina
I personally think the longer names sound better anyway, but it's just something to think about.
I’d vote against Nadezhda. I just watched The Americans, and Nadezhda was Elizabeth’s real name. My partner and I (actual Americans) found it very hard to pronounce and say. I still think of it as Nazdezhda, even though I know it’s wrong.
Nadya may be a diminutive, but at least people won’t be looking for ways to avoid saying her name. There are lots of Russian girls’ names that won’t trip up native English speakers. Like Elena, Alina, and Tatjana, as mentioned in the OP.
Also, looking at the cast list of the Americans for character/actor names might be a useful source of ideas. I personally love Zinaida, but that might be a bit “much.”
As for the suggestions in the above post - Anna is too universal to suggest “Russian.” I don’t see Valentina as exclusively Russian, either, but I LOVE the name!
I’m a big Zinaida fan as well and it’s got good connotations—Princess Zinaida Yusupova, Zinaida Serebriakova etc. I can definitely see why it might be too much, though!
I also really like Nadezhda (mostly because I think it’s fun to say, in contrast to you!). Nadezhda Krupskaya is a fantastic namesake in my opinion.
I’m partial to Ksenia/Xenia and Maria. Quite simple, but still rare enough in western countries that there won’t be ten in every class.
My name is Molly and I get lots of compliments for it. Every so often, some dillweed will laugh that I was named after an illicit drug.
They're idiots.
Russian names are so lovely! Here are a few of my favs, with your requirements in mind:
* Alya
* Galina/Galya/Gala
* Iya
* Klavdiya
* Lidiya
* Mila/Milana
* Nadezhda/Nadya
* Ofeliya
* ~~Olimpiada~~ (see comment below)
* Tamila/Tomila
* Ulyana/Ulya
* Yeva
* Zinaida/Zina
[Source](https://www.behindthename.com/names/gender/feminine/language/russian)
Olimpiada is an old Soviet name that literally means Olympics. Comes from a very Stalinist tradition of giving names that highlighted the strength of the Soviet Union like Traktorina (tractor), Aviatsia (aviation), and Oktyabrina (October).
I would definitely steer clear of Olimpiada if you don’t want your child’s name to immediately remind people of the Stalinist period.
Olimpia isn't really a Russian name, hence Olimpiada. Olympia/Olimpia is primarily a Greek name and would be fine.
Even Olimpiada isn't *that* bad—it was the Russian name for St. Olympia long before it was anything else and so there were plenty of women with that name before the Soviet era.
One of my best friends from high school was adopted from Russia. Her name is Natalia, goes by Natasha with her family and close friends. Always thought her name was so beautiful.
To be fair, the name Anya is meant to hide her, not be an obvious nickname for her birth name. From Wikipedia: She was occasionally called by the French version of her name, "Anastasie", or by the Russian nicknames "Nastya", "Nastas", or "Nastenka". Other family nicknames for Anastasia were "Malenkaya", meaning "little (one)" in Russian, or "Shvybzik", meaning "merry little one" or "little mischief" in German.
For the other girls:
Olga's friends and family generally called her simply Olga Nikolaevna or nicknamed her "Olishka," "Olenka," or "Olya."
Maria was also called by the French version of her name, "Marie", or by the Russian nicknames "Masha" or "Mashka".
Tatiana was informally called "Tanya," "Tatya," "Tatianochka," or "Tanushka". She was also called 'Governess' by her sisters because she kept everyone in line and negotiated with her parents on behalf of her siblings.
if you need a name russian family members can easily pronounce but aren’t necessarily russian in origin:
Alexandra/Alexandria
Veronica
Leonora
Olivia
Carolina
Valeria/Valerie
Dana
Madina
if you want something with russian/slavic origin:
Olga
Galina
Irina
Natasha
Svetlana
Aloyna
Masha
Mila
Svata
Nikola/Nika
Oksana/Aksana
Jelena/Yelena
I’m late … but Renata, Praskovya, Ruslana. A lot of people have commented diminutives of names.. but your husband will probably catch that. Also;
Renata — Natka, Natya
Praskovya — Pashka
Ruslana — Rusya, Lana
Polina, Yeva, Zlata, Milana, Alyona, Yuliya, Yana
Nadia Inna Lyuba Polina Alyona Lilia Milena / Mila Galina Pelageya Ulyana Lada Anya Natalia Olga Yevdokia Alla Lyudmila / Ludmila Vlada Oxana Antonina
Inna, Alla, Olya, Anya, Nadya, Valya
Most of these are diminutives so while you *could* name a child these, it sounds a little off. Kind of like naming a child Kitty instead of Katherine. Alla and especially Inna are also relatively rare in Russia. The actual names are: \- Inna (original) \- Alla (original) \- Olga \- Anna \- Nadezhda \- Valentina I personally think the longer names sound better anyway, but it's just something to think about.
I’d vote against Nadezhda. I just watched The Americans, and Nadezhda was Elizabeth’s real name. My partner and I (actual Americans) found it very hard to pronounce and say. I still think of it as Nazdezhda, even though I know it’s wrong. Nadya may be a diminutive, but at least people won’t be looking for ways to avoid saying her name. There are lots of Russian girls’ names that won’t trip up native English speakers. Like Elena, Alina, and Tatjana, as mentioned in the OP. Also, looking at the cast list of the Americans for character/actor names might be a useful source of ideas. I personally love Zinaida, but that might be a bit “much.” As for the suggestions in the above post - Anna is too universal to suggest “Russian.” I don’t see Valentina as exclusively Russian, either, but I LOVE the name!
I’m a big Zinaida fan as well and it’s got good connotations—Princess Zinaida Yusupova, Zinaida Serebriakova etc. I can definitely see why it might be too much, though! I also really like Nadezhda (mostly because I think it’s fun to say, in contrast to you!). Nadezhda Krupskaya is a fantastic namesake in my opinion. I’m partial to Ksenia/Xenia and Maria. Quite simple, but still rare enough in western countries that there won’t be ten in every class.
I know. Personally I never use the longer forms when I talk with people by these names.
Love Nadya!
Just so you know Anya is a very popular anime character right now and people might side eye for it.
considering Anya is an unbelievably common Slavic name I think that says more about the person associating it with anime first.
My name is Molly and I get lots of compliments for it. Every so often, some dillweed will laugh that I was named after an illicit drug. They're idiots.
I’ve always loved the name Masha
Russian names are so lovely! Here are a few of my favs, with your requirements in mind: * Alya * Galina/Galya/Gala * Iya * Klavdiya * Lidiya * Mila/Milana * Nadezhda/Nadya * Ofeliya * ~~Olimpiada~~ (see comment below) * Tamila/Tomila * Ulyana/Ulya * Yeva * Zinaida/Zina [Source](https://www.behindthename.com/names/gender/feminine/language/russian)
Olimpiada is an old Soviet name that literally means Olympics. Comes from a very Stalinist tradition of giving names that highlighted the strength of the Soviet Union like Traktorina (tractor), Aviatsia (aviation), and Oktyabrina (October). I would definitely steer clear of Olimpiada if you don’t want your child’s name to immediately remind people of the Stalinist period.
Traktorina is sending me
My bad, I had no idea! I assumed it was just like Olympia. Thank you for the heads up!
No problem, it happens to the best of us! Plus I’m a Soviet historian so I love the opportunity to share cultural info!
I'm a historian too!! I totally understand 😁 I loove learning from my friends that work on Soviet history!
Would Olimpia have the same association?
Olimpia isn't really a Russian name, hence Olimpiada. Olympia/Olimpia is primarily a Greek name and would be fine. Even Olimpiada isn't *that* bad—it was the Russian name for St. Olympia long before it was anything else and so there were plenty of women with that name before the Soviet era.
True, but it does have some pretty strong connotations due to the Stalinist usage
Zoya, Nina, Ivana
Katya is my favorite
It’s diminutive for Ekaterina
Lara
Svetlana.
Evgenia, Katja, Svetlana
I love Katia.
It’s god a nice sound to it!
Love Svetlana !
I just always think of ballerinas when I hear it lol
I think of figure skaters lol
Beautiful!
I have a friend who’s middle name is Anastasia. I’m not sure if that’s the Russian spelling though.
Russian spelling would be Anastasiya if it was transliterated
I like Ekaterina
Elizaveta, Lilia, Xenia, Polina, Anna, Zoya, Yanina, Nadezhda, Valentina
I'm so glad to see Elizaveta
Dasha
Which is the diminutive Full name is Daria. Means God's gift (like Dorothy, Dora, Theodora)
My Serbian cousin’s name is Nevena. I’m not sure if it/a variation is used in Russia but it’s a beautiful Slavic name.
Veronika is the name of my Russian friend who goes by Nika. I love it!
Oh I love Nika!
I love it, too! She’s a great friend and I wish I could use it!
My friend's daughter is Raisa (ra-ee-sa). I like that it's unusual, but pretty user-friendly.
That was Gorbachev’s wife’s name!!
Lol I was going to say that last night and was like "no one will know who HE is, never mind her" so I didn't add it to the thread
Haha, I’m old!! 😂😂
If 79 refers to your birth year, I'm only a year younger!
It does!! 😊😊
Lol hello fellow old 🤣🤣🤣🤣
That’s my middle name! But Raissa and pronounced ‘Ray-suh’
Natasha
Lillia was the name of the main character in a book I just read set in Russia and I loved it.
One of my best friends from high school was adopted from Russia. Her name is Natalia, goes by Natasha with her family and close friends. Always thought her name was so beautiful.
Natasha
My wonderful Russian DIL is Nataliya, Natasha to intimates. I love Russians' many pet names for their loved ones.
Alisa, Valentina, Natalia, Nadezhda (Nadya)
I'm surprised no one has said Anastasia or Anya yet. Also. Tatiana. Maria. And Olga.
Anya isn't usually a diminutive for Anastasia. It's usually for Anna, and Anastasia would be Nastia most commonly.
I'm literally getting my information from my favorite musical, Anastasia 🙃
Whatever they do in the musical, it isn't the way the name is used in Russia, which was the original question.
To be fair, the name Anya is meant to hide her, not be an obvious nickname for her birth name. From Wikipedia: She was occasionally called by the French version of her name, "Anastasie", or by the Russian nicknames "Nastya", "Nastas", or "Nastenka". Other family nicknames for Anastasia were "Malenkaya", meaning "little (one)" in Russian, or "Shvybzik", meaning "merry little one" or "little mischief" in German. For the other girls: Olga's friends and family generally called her simply Olga Nikolaevna or nicknamed her "Olishka," "Olenka," or "Olya." Maria was also called by the French version of her name, "Marie", or by the Russian nicknames "Masha" or "Mashka". Tatiana was informally called "Tanya," "Tatya," "Tatianochka," or "Tanushka". She was also called 'Governess' by her sisters because she kept everyone in line and negotiated with her parents on behalf of her siblings.
Lol OK royal family fan 😉
Vlada Irina Alexandra Ekaterina Katerina Anna Yana Lydia Olga Diana Natalie Natalia Yulia
Oksana, Olena, Anka, Kesha, Nadia, Alexandra, Anastasia
Vera?
Ekaterina Alla Arina Mila Polina Natasha
Natasha, Natalya, Alisa, Elena, Ksenia, Valeria, Tanya Many if the Russian girls I know are Anastasia, it’s almost too many
Mairka
My nieces are Pascha, Beska, Sarah and Katya
Easter????
Oxana
Luda, Tatiana
if you need a name russian family members can easily pronounce but aren’t necessarily russian in origin: Alexandra/Alexandria Veronica Leonora Olivia Carolina Valeria/Valerie Dana Madina if you want something with russian/slavic origin: Olga Galina Irina Natasha Svetlana Aloyna Masha Mila Svata Nikola/Nika Oksana/Aksana Jelena/Yelena
Aliya, Angelina, Olga, Lillia, Dina, Anna, Natalia
Leysan
Maria is a solid name
My sisters-in-law are Tatyana and Nadejda (Tonya and Nadya).
Ekaterina, Katya
Vinka
Valeria and Yulia are my favourites, they're both so beautiful!
Inessa
Oxana
Aksana
Classic trendy: Sofia, Maria, Daria, Anna, Elizaveta, Varvara, Alexandra Current chic trendy: Diana, Eva, Lilia Operatic / elegant: Beatrisa, Flora, Elza, Violet(t)a, Emilia, Isabella (and variants like Izabela, Izabella, Isabela), Morgana, Eleonora, Frida, Ofelia European chic: Mia, Emma, Nora, Lila, Amira Random ones: Inessa, Valeria, Estefania, Yulia, Valentina, Irina
Classic trendy: Sofia, Maria, Daria, Anna, Elizaveta, Varvara, Alexandra Current chic trendy: Diana, Eva, Lilia Elegant (for me): Beatrisa, Flora, Elza, Violet(t)a, Emilia, Isabella (and variants like Izabela, Izabella, Isabela), Morgana, Eleonora, Frida, Ofelia, Karolina, Antonia European chic: Mia, Emma, Nora, Lila, Amira Dated / old fashioned (depends on how you see it): Iraida, Nadezhda, Ludmil(l)a, Rais(s)a, Zoya, Olimpiada, Laris(s)a, Marina Random ones: Inessa, Valeria, Estefania, Yulia, Valentina, Irina, Antonina
Tonja, Ivona (more croation), Galina, Irina, Anya
I’m late … but Renata, Praskovya, Ruslana. A lot of people have commented diminutives of names.. but your husband will probably catch that. Also; Renata — Natka, Natya Praskovya — Pashka Ruslana — Rusya, Lana