Kira vs Anna

[M1rg0]

Hi everyone,
We’re looking for an international name for our new little one (we’re not originally from the UK). At the moment we’re torn between Anna and Kira. My preference is Kira, and the DH and his family seem to like Anna more.
Her older sister is called Katerina, so we’d love to hear which name you think works best alongside it.
Which name do you think sounds stronger? And does either of them have any negative connotations in the UK?

Anna

Anna. 100 per cent better.

I’d pick Anna. I have a relative called this as her family is mixed heritage and they needed a name that would work in several different countries.

Anna is lovely and I like that it is so simple to spell and pronounce almost everywhere (I know there is the Ana variant but usually that’s pronounced differently). I don’t dislike Kira, however it can have a variety of spellings, at least in the UK (Kira/Ciara/Kiera/Keira) which might be a pain for her.

I also think Anna works much better with Katerina as they are similar style classics (in Eastern Europe, obviously the equivalent would be Katherine and Anne/Anna in the UK). Personally Kira feels less classic to me.

I both prefer Anna as a name, and think Kira sounds too much like a nickname for Katerina for them to work together.

I know you didn't ask for other options, but I will in any event suggest Alexandra and Francesca which to my ear sit nicely alongside Katerina (which I also love BTW).

I agree with others that Kira and Katerina are quite similar. Love the name Anna.

Just to mention, putting Anna and Katerina together makes me think of the novel Anna Karenina by Tolstoy. Wouldn't put me off as it's not a particularly negative connotation (and would probably rarely come up!), but seeing them written down together does bring the association.

Me too, I forgot to mention this. I would probably think the parents enjoyed that literature. Which is no bad thing.

I would go for Anna.

I'm not convinced that Kira has the international flavour that you're looking for. Plus I agree with what a pp said about choosing a classic name to go with Katerina.

I don't suppose many people will pick up on the Tolstoy connection.

Kira could be a nickname for Katerina so I definitely wouldn't use it with that name already in the family.

I love Anna. It's a classic. But quite short and plain in contrast with Katerina. Maybe Annabel or Annalisa with Anna as the nn

Anna

Keera, She - ra, Keira (Knightly) all sound the same, surely?

I prefer Anna and agree it goes better with Katerina. I think Kira has a very different vibe from either of those two names.

Together Anna and Katerina reminds me of Anna Karenina!

Oh yes, I'm reading backwards, and it made me think of Anna Karenina too. I like the feel of the names together,

I love Anna, pretty, feminine, familiar/easy to spell and pronounce, classic, works across countries. To me Kira feels faddy 🫣

Anna

Kira looks like a short nickname for Katerina

It really does. Kira is very pretty, but just too similar to Katerina and could be a diminutive of it, so just too similar.

I'd choose Anna. Beautiful, timeless and truly international.

Anna goes well with Katerina - both classic and international

Kira is a phonetic spelling of Ciara/Kiera/Keira presumably? It's a bit random and will get misspelt a lot (you also get Kyra).

Clara maybe?

The surname comes into play here aswell and how they work together

I’m going to go the opposite way to most PPs and say I prefer Kira, although I do see there could be an issue with having two ‘K’ names. Anna is a nice name too but Katerina, to me anyway, is a proper ‘wow’ name, it’s absolutely gorgeous. I think if I was called Anna and my sister got Katerina, I might feel a bit short changed as Anna is a bit dull in comparison.

I’m wracking my brains now to think of international names that have a similar vibe to Katerina. Tatiana? Magdalena? Natalia? Adrianna?

Kira is on top of my girls list, but I think it doesn’t go with Katharina. If I heard you talk about Kira and Katharina, I’d think they are the same person and you are using Kira as a short form for Katharina.

'Katerina and Anna' feels very awkward to say if you're introducing them. 'Katerina and Kira' flows. Anna also feels like an extension of the end of Katerina/far more of a nickname than Kira imo. I'd go for Kira.

Both are fine but I'd choose Anna. It's more classic and recognisable like Kateryna, and won't have the Kira/Ciara/Keira confusion.

Kira with her sister's name looks a bit like you've deliberately chosen a name starting with K to match.

I love Kira, such a cool and pretty name!

This is so strange because I know two sisters called Kira and Anna, one of which has the middle name Katerina! They are both lovely names 😊

Definitely Anna. Kira will be massively misspelt