Rosa or Katya? Any other suggestions?

[nuffinthemule]

I really like Katya for dd2 but we have no Russian links at all so dh thinks it would be weird to pick what is basically a Russian name and that dd would get fed up always being asked why she is called that. I am not sure this is an issue nowadays as children tend to be called a wider variety of names than when we were children. Do you agree or does dh have a point? I like Katie too but it doesn't go well with our surname and Katherine is lovely but maybe a bit old-fashioned now?

Dd1 is Anna which I still love as it is (imo!) pretty but will also suit her as a grown woman and is (I hope) fairly classless. I do wonder sometimes though if it's a bit old for her (more Annas of my generation than hers) and if we should have gone for something more imaginative. But then names I liked and thought were more unusual (Sophia, Eva etc) turn out to be ten-a-penny in toddlerland.

An alternative we could compromise on is Rosa, but I still prefer Katya. I also wonder if they are both too similar in style to Anna, but "ie" names and anything too long are out because of our surname.

Any thoughts?

Oh, have just remembered (from reading the nickname thread) that Pippa is also a possibility?

I see where you are coming from with the 'no Russian links' , and it would bother me too, but I am very sure that someone will be along in a moment to say that it doesn't matter.

Rosa is beautiful, and goes really well with Anna - I don't think that they are too similar in style at all. I also like Pippa, although it's meaning in some Eurpoean languages would probably put me off.

I'm not keen on 'foreign' names where there is no link at all, and the name is not in common usage here. I'm not keen on Katya anyway, I think it's quite a harsh-sounding name. Not that keen on Rosa either (sorry!) and in fact the more I say the names over and over the odder I think it sounds to have two DDs with 2-syllable names ending with -a.

Thanks both. I know what you mean about the foreign name thing. It's weird as we eat foreign food, watch foreign telly (love all the Scandinavian names in the Swedish dramas!) but there is something a bit try-hard about picking a foreign name when there's no family link. Wish it wasn't so!

Thanks River also for confirming what I thought about them perhaps being too similar, although presumably would also clash a bit to have a very long or unusual name for dd2.

I have an Italian name, despite being of English/Scottish/Irish blood as far back as anyone has bothered to trace. I married an Italian man, and now have two DTDs with extremely Italian names - friends of DH are always surprised to discover that I'm as un-Italian as it gets if they've heard our names beforehand

I personally love Katya, but I can see what River means about it being a bit harsh sounding.

Does it really matter? If you like it go for it. How about Caitlin?

Yes Caitlin is also lovely (can't seem to get past Catherine variants. I like Catrin too) but think dh vetoed it for a reason that now escapes me. He is very good at finding fault with my suggestions and bad at coming up with any of his own. Anyone else find that? :-)

I love Rosa! Classic and timeless, unusual without being odd. Nice choice.

I love both but if I had to plump for one, it would by Katya. I know a teenage one and she is British with no Russian links.

I like Rosa the best, and I don't think Anna and Rosa would be too similar at all.

I like both choices, although Rosa just edges it I think. Neither of the two Katyas I've personally come across had any Russian links, so I wouldn't worry too much about that (I'm in London, mind you, where pretty much anything goes!). In any case, most names, if you thought about it enough, could probably be said to have foreign roots. My only issue would probably be with the pronunciation - would it be Kat-ee-uh or Kat-yuh?

I used to want twin girls called Anya and Katya, so I can see where you're coming from OP!

My dh is exactly like urs op. Vetoing all my suggestions but not coming up with any of his own. All our dc5 names come from characters off our favourite films/tv progs. I also know what u mean with having foreign names with no links.my dm suggested Luca for our ds2 middle
name but we changed it 2 Lucas for that very reason.
Out of the 2 I like katja.
A woman @ toddler group had a dd with this name & I don't think she had any Russian connections but she did speak French!!!!
My dh loves Russia & has a friend called natalia frm st Petersburg but she prefers Natasha.

Prefer katya to rosa, but might feel a bit out of place.

Kara maybe?

I am very biased as I have a katya (although mine is full name katerina) and I (obviously!) love the name! We do have german and Russian connections and a germanic surname (although we are very British) so her name doesn't look as out of place as 'katya smith' might look - although if you love the name don't let that put you off!

The one thing I would say is be prepared to correct the pronunciation a lot as in my experience British people struggle with this name! We are fine with either the 'kat-yuh' or 'kaht-yuh' pronunciation, however a lot of British people seem to turn a short 5 letter name into a 3 syllable word: kat-ee-yuh which I can't stand!

I do also like Rosa but much prefer katya. It's a fab name and we haven't come across another one yet.

P.s. I think that anna and katya go very well together as a sibling set!

I like Katya but it is a nickname, how about Katarzyna nn Katya?

Really Not?! That would drive me mad, to my eyes or is a two syllable name

I don't understand the logic of rejecting Katya but considering Caitlyn (a dreadful mispronunciation of an Irish name whose real pronunciation is held by many on MN to be clunky).

And Anna is also a Russian name...

Pippa is nice as long as the full name Philippa would be on the BC. Rosa is nice too (though Italian, Spanish, Swedish, German and maybe Portuguese..)

Rosa is lovely.

Anya?

I was going to suggest Anya as you like Anna and Katya and Anya may be softer and less foreign if that is an issue. However I don't think there is anything wrong with Katya! Personally I prefer rosa as I just find that a lovely name, but just personal preference, nothing wrong with Katya!

People saying Anna a Russian name, yes in that it is used there, but it's clearly a very international name used all over with no particular Russian connotations, you could equally say it is German Swedish, English, Slovenian, whatever