Arkady, Anatoly, Artem

[sillydecision]

These are very old school (apart from Artem) Eastern European names, you wouldn't see people using them now, but I have started to think they are actually quite nice sounding?

Artem - nn Artie
Anatoly - nn Toly
Arkady - nn Arky?

What do you honestly think of those?

I can suggest maybe Aleksandr or Anton? They are Russian names, nice sounding and common in the West, too.

As someone who already have a Russian name and have to spell/ explain it every time it is mentioned - why inflict it on your kids?

It’s like being named Chardonnay or Brooklyn.

Just so wannabe. 🙈

if you’re British look at some British boys names?

https://www.englishboysnames.co.uk/a/

or Latin?

https://parenting.firstcry.com/baby-names/boy/origin/latin/starting-with/a/

might lessen the questions about Russia?

So are you Russian or Estonian heritage?
if you are Russian heritage it’s understandable to look for a suitable name but these particular ones don’t sound good for the UK because of the short versions.
If you are not a Russian heritage it’s daft to give your child who lives in UK a typical Russian name

I like Artem

Love Artem, also love Anatoly but only because I watched the bbc adaptation of war and peace

Arkady is one of the most beautiful names I know. I know someone with the short form Arek

. I don't particularly care for Artem. It's fine and nice but not gorgeous. Anatoly is fine too but not up there with Arkady.

I like Arkady and Artem but Anatoly is awful

Artem is lovely 😊

Awful. You want an unusual name. Your poor kid has a lifetime of putting up with it. Don't be that parent.

Honestly, and sorry if this sounds rude, I don’t mean it to be, they all sound like half names.

Artem - I think isn’t it Artemis?
Anatoly - I think isn’t it Anatolya?
Arkady - depending on how you pronounce it, which worried me, I think Arcadia/Arkadia ?

I appreciate this shows a lack of knowledge on my part of your culture. But this would be my first impression.

This. I had an English ex with a very Irish first and middle name (think “Seamus Cormac” although it wasn’t that); the kind of Irish names that haven’t made it big in England (like, say, Ciaran and Liam). His parents were both English, he lived in English, his lineage was entirely English. He was christened Church of England. He spent a lot of his life answering curious questions with “no, I’m not Irish. I’ve never been to Irish. I have no Irish family”. He was also always assumed to be Catholic in circumstances where Catholic practices were taking place, like weddings and christenings in Catholic Churches. It used to get on his nerves.

She updated that she's Estonian.

I like Arkady.

I like Artem!

even though the op is Estonian, everyone was quick to assume that she’s British and therefore she MUST stick to British names. Why? We hardly have a good choice of names to choose from! Names like Andrew, George and Edward are bloody boring!

Arcady makes me think someone has made a new word ‘the game was arcady, you know the type’
Anatoly is too like anatomy
Artem or Artemis is a great name and Artie a lovely nickname

I really like Anatoly. I think the names would all work in the UK though. Are they well known in Estonia as well as Russia?

The thing is that the nicknames you are suggesting are not the usual Russian ones, so they sound odd to both Russian and Western ears. Tolly is cute. But overall I'd go for something like Anton or Alexei that works more easily in both cultures.

I like Artem a lot tbh!

I my experience of central london schools where you come across all kinds of names - you can, of course, name your kid anything you want, and they’ll get by.
But some names will make it harder for them - for eg they’ll be mispronounced, he’ll have to correct them, and he’ll have to spell them out all his life.
My H had one of those names (not on your list - just the mispronounced and needed to spell them) and he was adamant our kids will have names that are ‘international’ - as in most understandable to most in western world and easy to spell.

So - for male russian names - the ones that seem easy for English speakers to say/spell - — Anton, Alexander, Andrei and others that don't start with A - Nikolai, Dimitri, Mikhail and a few others

Russian is very commonly spoken in Estonia and many Estonians have Russian heritage as well, so your comment is quite ignorant.

@sillydecision , of your list I like Artem the most (especially the nickname Artie, which can also be used in the UK for the name Arthur). Less keen on Arkady and Anatoly because I've only even known those to be names of 50yr ish olds - so not quite old enough to have come back into fashion (although I haven't been in Russia / Eastern Europe for many years so it could have changed i suppose). But i also agree with @BellyPork that noone will pronounce Artem correctly (they will pronounce it as per phonetically english). You will need to decide how much that bothers you.

I also always loved Alexei / Aleksandr but those might be too popular for you?

Anatoly is like anatomy, and also "Toly" in Scotland means something else...

Artem seems nice.

I know exactly why Russian is common in Estonia so my comment might not be to your liking but deffo not ignorant.

But would agree with you on Aleksandr and Alexei - much nicer names. Would also add Anton, which is quite common in France for example.

Greek classic alternatives are much nicer and don’t have an affiliation with culture of murders and terrorists. I wouldn’t name my child like that. If you would want a unique name, why not settle on Estonian originating ones?

Not keen! Living in Estonian then of course. But your setting him up for lifetime of “sorry what, sorry spell that, sorry pronounce that “. Plus Toley as a nickname, in Scotland its slang for a 💩 😬