Slavic Names (unusual for English speakers)

[edendvatri]

I want to get your opinion on some Slavic names which all have meanings in South Slavic countries, but will obviously seem different to English speakers. What are your views on the following:

Girls' names:
Rumena
Bistra
Zvezda

Boys' names:
Ognen
Vedran
Miro

Which do you find most acceptable and which the least?

Rumena sounds like the country Rumania
Bistra sounds like a small restaurant - Bistro
I like Zvezda, but it will be hard to say and spell

boys ones all work.
Miro is similar to Milo, and might be mistaken for it

Thank you - I am very surprised I suspected Zvezda would be the first to be ruled out.

If the boys' names all work, what would you say to a girls' name: Vedrana (as in writer Vedrana Rudan). Does it sound too weird?

Rumena and Miro I think.

I think Vedrana and Miro are lovely. Rumena is pretty too, though it does sound like Romania. Bistra makes me think of Bisto (as in gravy), Zvezda is a bit tricky to say and Ognen sounds a bit clunky in English. Ultimately though I think you should just choose a name you love - I'd go for Dragan if I had any excuse to use a Slavic name - I think it's ace

I like Vedran and love Miro.
Your girls names I don't like so much, I do see Bisto too, I am afraid!
I do like Vedrana.
:)

I love Drazenka (with accent over the z, sorry have no idea what that is called!). Knew a Bosnian teenager/young woman with this name. Pronounced dra-sha/en-ka, meaning: precious. (Very hard for me to replicate the z sound phonetically). Sounds beautiful.

Miro and Rumena sound the nicest to my ears.

I'm not 100% sure how to pronounce Zvezda,but I think I like it

Is Zvezda pronounced - for an English person - as it is spelled? If so, I think that could work. I think the key is, with Slav names, to pick names that can work easily in another language.

My family are, largely, Eastern European - names which don't work in English are Zsuzsana (Hungarian, anglicised to Susan quite quickly), Tacjana (the more normal spelling would help, although this changes the pronunciation). Names which do - Terez, Vinka, Minna, Ildiko - short and pronounced, more or less as spelled, for English speakers. And I would avoid anything which contains the very Slav "rz" or "zdz" sounds, as these are almost impossible for English speakers to replicate - so an Andrzej becomes Andrey or Andy quite quickly.

Rumena and Miro :)

Zvezda and Miro

Thank you all, this has been very helpful! These names are quite traditional, so they are most difficult to pronounce I guess. I would only consider as middle names not first names. When I moved to the UK I changed my surname as I got fed up with mispronunciations/having to spell it out all the time. Short list currently is Zvezda and Miro, which have an extra personal meaning to me as well. All Slavic words/names are pronounced as they are spelled (phonemic spelling).

I like Rumena and Miro

Girl's names:
Rumena -- rumen is a part of a cow's digestive system
Bistra -- bistro
Zvezda -- very nice

Boys' names:
Ognen -- nice
Vedran -- nice
Miro -- very nice

Zvezda - star and Miro - peace?

I know a Polish Mira. Its pronounced more like Mirror than Myra, so I dont think anyone will get that wrong.

Theyre all nice. I think just choose the names you like without worrying about english people pronouncing them. People close to the child will learn to pronounce it, and theres so many people with names from all over the world now. Its not a big deal

Numberlock- correct.

Mir means peace and in Russian it also means 'the world'. I'm not Russian, so just 'peace' to me. Also, 'Zvezda' means star in almost all Slavic languages with variations; it's been used in my family although it is rarely used as a female name. More commonly as male: Zvezdan.

Here are the other meanings if anyone is curious

Rumena - blushing face
Bistra - pure
Ognen - fiery
Vedran/a - cheerful, happy

I was wondering if in English there are names which are still used in the language as nouns/verbs. I can only think of 'Hope' and 'Faith'.. I guess that's a topic for another thread!

Grace
Joy
Honour (spelled Honor when used as a name iirc)
Prudence
Constance
Clemence/ Clemency
Liberty
Felicity
Chastity
Blythe
Bonnie
Mercedes (not English)
Serena

Russian/Greek:
Evgenia/Eugenia
Euphronia
Euphemia
Eulalia
Eudocia
Charis