Alexei, Aleksey

[MaddyJH]

My partner and I are having a boy, and are thinking of naming him Alexei or Aleksey. Neither of us are Russian or Bulgarian, so we were wondering if choosing such a name is OK?

@Tanya057 "It’s pure discrimination against a culture whose history has many centuries, not just the past few years. Some people are just narrow-minded."

No, some people think that giving a child a name from a culture they have no connection with is going to make their life slightly more difficult and why would you do that?

Sadly agree with pp he might face odd remarks as he grows up. How about Alexander officially and Alexei becomes his cute family nickname? Then he can decide in the future. (I do love Alexei as a name though.)

Wikipedia tells me that Alexei Sayle was named after Maxim Gorky, whose birth name was Alexei. Mother of Lithuanian descent but the name was chosen as parents were communists.

He did alright with it.it’s handy to have a reference Alexei for when people ask how to say/spell it. Though he’s less known these days I guess.

I like Alexei (and the other spellings look 'wrong', but that might just be what I'm used to). I don't think there's any problem with using it. People with common UK names have to spell them out enough.

But don't have Alexander, nickname Alexei (as some people have suggested) - that is really odd from a Slavic standpoint.

His parents being communist was part of AS's routine. He has a larger-than-life personality. It probably helped him to have an unusual name.

I like the name but I would think there was north-eastern heritage

how about Axel?

I have a Slavic background. If we were transliterating it 'properly', we'd probably need to have Aleksei with a wee diacritic sign above the i - that's how we'd have done it when I studied Russian at uni.

However, it's been 40 yrs and I've had a quick search: it seems that there are alternative systems now and they allow for y, i or even j at the end. (The j would be normal for the Balkans, when using the Latin alphabetl.)

The one that looks more 'normal' to me is "Aleksei", but it's up to the OP. I would caution, however, that every single Slavic male that I've ever known in the UK has had his forename Westernised by his pals: Teo/Teodor became "Theo"; Krsta became "Chris".

When Teodor had sons, each boy was named after a grandfather. One of them was christened "Milovan"; his pals all call him "Mel".

But op isn't Slavic, just likes the name, hence the suggestion :)

That's true, but there are enough people in the UK who do understand Slavonic languages who'd think that having Alexei as a nickname of Alexander was a pretty weird choice. It is, as a PP said, like saying 'his name is Robert, nickname John'. It's one thing borrowing names from another language (fine IMHO) and another getting one name mixed up with another.

Obviously, the choice is ultimately up to the OP.

@Chaotica , I think it compares to something like suggesting Christian as a nn for Christopher.

Yeah I understand it might sound strange to Slav, but OP is not Slav, and slightly confusing the Slavs in the UK is not such a biggie I suppose in the grand scheme of things...Also, I dont think there is a rule that there should be official nicknames following the official names...

@Mojinka , the names are used in many countries and the UK is multicultural.
If you are familiar with the names, then it seems an odd choice of 'nickname', like using Mark as a nickname for Michael or Molly for Matilda or something.

I understand what you guys are saying, but I personally don't see the big deal 🤷 a friend calls her daughter Maia (not Maria or Anna) and the daughters name is Marianna. I also know a Jolly, whose name is Giovanni. Who cares. Not me. It's not like a nickname has got to be an official shortened name of another official name. Anyway, was just a suggestion.

It's not a big deal, just a bit weird.

I like the sound of it and I'd choose Alexsei. I've a name that is from another language and country.
People can't spell it and sometimes ask me about it but I don't see any problem with that. I just say that my parents liked the name. It's never been an issue. I'm not the type of person who gets arsey if my name is misspelt or mispronounced though.

OP, lots of kids have unusual names, Mumsnetters get very twitchy about it but in real life no one cares.

When I read the thread title I presumed it was a girl's name. I think the Aleksey spelling looks nicer for a boy.

Dunno why this heritage / culture thing comes up on MN every time... I have never heard a name and assumed their parents must be of a certain culture. 🙄

@PreggersWithBaby2 , it depends on the name and how popular it is.

If I saw Alexei, I'd think Russian. If I saw Aleksey I'd think Polish.

What about Alexis or Alexius?