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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

International-sounding name for a Russian baby girl

111 replies

JuliaEf · 30/01/2017 07:53

Hello, everyone!
I need your advice.
We live in Russia and are choosing a name for our baby girl who is soon to come.
We certainly have some typically Russian names on the list, but also consider more international-sounding names.
What do you think of the names below:

  1. Leoncia
  2. Leontia (almost the same like No.1, but more Russian version of it)
  3. Silvia
  4. Emilia (in Russian, it is Emilia, not Emily)
Do you have any negative associations with any of these names? Maybe they sound funny or outdated? Would you be surprised if you met a typical Russian girl with such a name? Thank you for your contributions!
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Astoria7974 · 30/01/2017 17:31

Try sanskrit names?
Radha
Uma
Amaya
Arya

SirChenjin · 30/01/2017 17:28

Silvia/Sylvia and Emilia are lovely names. Also love Lera, Sveta and Katya Smile

Sugarpiehoneyeye · 30/01/2017 17:17

Larissa
Lana
Anya
Monica
Fiona

123bananas · 30/01/2017 14:45

I used to teach a lovely girl called Vera. Also a name in my English family. I like it.

Silvia and Emilia are also nice spelling doesn't matter as would sound the same.

Lilia/Lila/Liliana- would become Lily here also nice.

Also don't discount the name you love. My daughter's both have unusual foreign names with unusual pronounciation, even though they are British born (mixed heritage) and everyone in school/friends/family have learnt how to pronounce them. In the UK there are so many different cultures people are used to different names, particularly in the major cities.

Original poster
JuliaEf · 30/01/2017 14:31

Marina is my mom, Viktoria is my niece, Katya and Maria are friends - these are all occupied:)))
I like Larissa and suggested it just several days ago to my husband, but he declined. With Lilia it is vice versa - my husband likes it, and I do not fancy it so much. Maybe I am wrong? It actually fits our surname and patronymic. Lilia and Lily are 2 different names or variants of one?

OP posts:
CancellyMcChequeface · 30/01/2017 14:26

Emilia, Sylvia and Vera are all very nice! I'd probably choose Emilia from those three. I also love Nadezhda, but you're right that some English speakers might have trouble with the pronunciation initially.

I haven't come across Leontia or Leoncia before either, sorry!

SnowWhite33 · 30/01/2017 14:26

How about Valentina, Daria, Tamara, Valeria or Marina?

ummlilia · 30/01/2017 14:22

Another one I like is Lilia

Kr1stina · 30/01/2017 14:18

Don't you like Marina, Maria ,Viktoria or Katya ?

Irritatedmama · 30/01/2017 14:10

How about Lara (Larissa)?

Original poster
JuliaEf · 30/01/2017 13:59

As for Elena, I have 4 (!) Elenas among my closest relatives, Natalya is my aunt, Olga and Tatyana are my cousines. I've got an idea that a name has to be quite unique and you don't want to feel that you name your baby in honour of a relative or a friend. It is also not good from an energetiс point of view - it's like your child is going to inherit the character and fate of the person after whom he (she) is named. Anna, Maria and Sofia are just too popular in Russia right now. Alexandra to me sounds very masculine, because its male form Alexander is No.1 name for boys in Russia.
This leaves me with Emilia, Sylvia, and Vera for my short list. They are certainly not in TOP-20 in Russia, but still familiar to most people. They are tender and feminine (to my ear). Still do not want to strike out Leontia, this will be anyway a hard choice...

OP posts:
HolisticAssassin · 30/01/2017 13:55

Lydia, Yana or Valentina for me.

EssentialHummus · 30/01/2017 13:52

OP, apologies for the slight hijack, but what are the equivalent Russian websites to Mumsnet where people discuss baby names? Our boy's name is the subject of hot controversy and I'd love the opinion of a bunch of Russian mums.

Original poster
JuliaEf · 30/01/2017 13:48

Wow, I have not expected so many comments starting this thread, you really help me to get a clearer picture in my head, to sort out my names list, thank you!
Yes, I like Svetlana in Russian, but often hear it shortened to Lana in English, which is not so nice:( Neither do I like associations with "sweat" or "sweater". I remember one of my foreign partners struggling to pronounce this name in full - ZVIETLANA, it was hard for him, a real tongue-twister.
I also do like the name Valentina, it sounds soft and tender, though a little old-fashioned for Russia.
Thank you for the hint about the diminutives, I sometimes consider them as 2 different names myself, that is why I am thinking about a name with either no diminutives at all or those that sound similar to the full form.
My colleague Nadezhda introduced herself as Nady to foreign partners, and all girls who are Nastia in Russia prefer to call themselves Asia or Stasia because of the association with the word "nasty".

OP posts:
originalmavis · 30/01/2017 13:45

I've met many Russian Elenas but never a Catherine (as in 'the great').

Manumission · 30/01/2017 13:42

Well then;

Helena/Yelena/Elena has to be the most international name ever (my opinion).

Alexandra/Shura?

Natasha/Natalya is also very well known.

And your Emilia/Amelia idea travels well.

OlennasWimple · 30/01/2017 13:39

Emilia is lovely

Anna / Anya

Maria

Sofia

Nichola

Original poster
JuliaEf · 30/01/2017 13:37

I personally like both Leonora and Letitia (if pronounced Letisia), but I feel for Russia they would be too exotic. Here people get shocked by names that are in a strong contrast with the surname, and our surname is very Russian, traditional and simple.

OP posts:
Kr1stina · 30/01/2017 13:36

What about Victoria, Elena or Emma ?

Vera is lovely although quite traditional here but looks very odd as Bepa.

Kr1stina · 30/01/2017 13:34

I guess you know that English speakers consider the name and the diminiutuve / familiar form to be completely different names?

So they will not know that Anna , Anya and Anoushka are the same name.

That's why people say things like " I like Tanya but not Tatiana/Tatyana "

Sophronia · 30/01/2017 13:26

I really like Vera and Sylvia.

Kr1stina · 30/01/2017 13:26

Svetlana won't work in English. Sveta is a beautiful name in Russian but with an English intonation it will sound like sweaty and in American English it sounds like sweater .

Valentina is not a well known name here but everyone would know how to pronounce and spell it. And Valya is fine.

Olga is seem as an ugly name here, although Olya is fine.

You need to also think about how the diminutive works in English .

Tatiana and Ekaterina will be pronounced ok , but you will need to correct spelling, because the sound in the middle is translated ya or ia ( sorry I don't have Cyrillic letters on my keypad ) .

English speakers will struggle with Nadezhda and Nastia is terrible in English .

Manumission · 30/01/2017 13:07

How about Leonora or Letitia (several alternative spellings of that one). Do they work in a Russian context?

Original poster
JuliaEf · 30/01/2017 13:05

I am happy to hear that Fiona's associations with Shrek are not so strong as it seemed to me and as I read on Russian name forums.
Yes, Yelizaveta = Elizabeth, but also too common in Russia right now:)
Actually, our favourite name was Leontia (for me) and Leoncia (for my husband). To us, it seemed elegant and unusual at first. In Russian it is pronounced like l i O n t i y a or l i o n S i y a. But then we went into doubts about how this name is pronouced in the world and how it is generally perceived. I see from most of your comments, that it is almost unknown and hard to pronounce, which is a pitty for me. We need to consider other options.

OP posts:
Manumission · 30/01/2017 12:34

Is Yelizaveta the Russian rendering of Elizabeth? I think that's so pretty.

Fiona will outlast Shrek connotations and it's pretty and travels well but it's a 1970s name.