Ilya

[indie37]

What do you think? It's for a boy. (should I have one).

Of course it's a boy's name.

Ilya Muromets, Russia's answer to Sir Lancelot I think he's the one in the middle

Agree with seeker. Would be strange to use this name if you don't have a Russian/Slavic connection. Nice name though

Pronunciation is eel-YA

And Iiya Kuriakin was georgeous.

However I once saw David McCallum in the BBC canteen wearing a very dirty arran jumper and eating shepherd's pie covered in ketchup. Put me off a bit.

Russian connection bit tenuous, lived there for a year during university. Not sure it really counts. But am loving the name.

Oh I think if you have lived there you are allowed (it must be pronounced eel-YA though. We had a Chernobyl child called it, & that is exactly how the other kids said it)

But there are so many fab Russian names, like Maxim & Alexei & Anton & Boris & Igor & Vladislav...

i dated a super clever and rather short russian called ilya for while. he was fab, oh the glamour of the name, the accent, the 'come with me to china'.

happy memories.

Oh please don't He'll spend his life saying "Yes, it is unusual. I-L-Y-A. It's a Russian name - no, I've never been there - yes Id love to some time, no my mother just liked the name - no, no Russian relations at all...." Oh and "Yes - I have heard that James Bond joke before.....but it's still funny, honestly"

but kids get named all sorts of extraordinary things on parental whims! It's not nearly as barmy as some choices

all he'd have to say is that they lived there for a while, & his mother just loved the name.

Ilya is a good name, but I'm not sure I'd use it with such a tenuous connection really, just because without the Russian/Slavic background I think it is a bit girly. My uncle was Russian, but I'd not use such a Russian name personally. My dd was in a class with a Vanya (Ivan) and no one batted an eyelid, but he might have had a harder time if he hadn't been fairly obviously Russian I think.

see this thread for evidence of plenty of kerazy names

Behreez
Phyzbah
Iggy
Tawnie
amu
Shae
Aydun
Kyan
Cayle

etc etc etc

Ilya would fit right in!

Seeker, you crack me up. I love the image of my son saying all this stuff. You're right and I should know better. I spent my life explaining my name, until it's gotten popular in recent times and is now considered normal.