{"id":2197,"date":"2011-07-26T03:24:20","date_gmt":"2011-07-26T03:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=2197"},"modified":"2017-06-08T14:43:19","modified_gmt":"2017-06-08T14:43:19","slug":"most-popular-russian-names","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/most-popular-russian-names\/","title":{"rendered":"Most Popular Russian Names"},"content":{"rendered":"

It might seem \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u0435\u0432\u0435\u0440\u043e\u044f<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u043e\u00bb<\/strong> [unbelievable], but all through elementary and middle school I was the only \u00ab<\/strong>\u041b\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [Lena] in my class of 35 students, half of whom were girls.<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0415\u043b\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [Yelena] was, until recently, one of the most common Russian names for girls. As for boys, back in the days \u00ab<\/strong>\u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0434\u0440\u00bb<\/strong> [Alexandr] was \u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u0430\u0441\u0442\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043a\u043e <\/strong>\u0440\u0430\u0441\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0451<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u043e\u0435 <\/strong>\u0438<\/span><\/strong>\u043c\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [so common a name], that there was even a saying \u00ab<\/strong>\u0423 <\/strong>\u043a\u0430<\/span>\u0436\u0434\u043e\u0439 <\/strong>\u0436\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0449\u0438\u043d\u044b <\/strong>\u0441\u0432\u043e\u0439 <\/strong>\u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0434\u0440\u00bb<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

When I was growing up \u00ab<\/strong>\u0415\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> was at the top of the popularity list. Other popular names included \u00ab<\/strong>\u041e<\/span><\/strong>\u043b\u044c\u0433\u0430\u00bb <\/strong>[Olga], \u00ab<\/strong>\u0422\u0430\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [Tatiana], \u00ab<\/strong>\u0418\u0440\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [Irina], \u00ab<\/strong>\u041d\u0430\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [Natalia], \u00ab<\/strong>\u0410<\/span><\/strong>\u043d\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [Anna], and \u00ab<\/strong>\u0421\u0432\u0435\u0442\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [Svetlana]. If you are an American and wondering why you\u2019ve never ran into a \u00ab<\/strong>\u0421\u0432\u0435\u0442\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> before, the answer is simple. For some reason English-speakers find this name hard to pronounce, so women frequently shorten it to \u201cLana\u201d after moving abroad.<\/p>\n

Back in the days, if a boy wasn\u2019t \u00ab<\/strong>\u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0434\u0440\u00bb<\/strong>, he was most definitely either \u00ab<\/strong>\u0421\u0435\u0440\u0433\u0435<\/span>\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [Sergey], \u00ab<\/strong>\u0414\u043c\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0440\u0438\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [Dmitry], \u00ab<\/strong>\u0412\u043b\u0430\u0434\u0438<\/span>\u043c\u0438\u0440\u00bb<\/strong> [Vladimir], \u00ab<\/strong>\u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0435<\/span>\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [Alexei] or \u00ab<\/strong>\u041c\u0438\u0445\u0430\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u00bb<\/strong> [Mikhail]. We did have one boy named \u00ab<\/strong>\u0420\u043e\u0434\u0438\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u00bb<\/strong> [Rodion] and he got teased a whole lot for it – \u00ab<\/strong>\u0420\u043e\u0434\u0438\u043e<\/span>\u043d-<\/strong>\u0430\u043a\u043a\u043e\u0440\u0434\u0438\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u00bb<\/strong> [Rodion, the accordion]. Notice that a name most commonly associated with Russians, \u00ab<\/strong>\u0418\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u00bb<\/strong> [Ivan], was not on the list.<\/p>\n

Of course, first names change with the latest fashions and trends. Nowadays Russian parents choose names from a much wider selection, at least the girls. Names that we only encountered in classic literature and in history textbooks, such as \u00ab<\/strong>\u0410\u043d\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0430\u0441\u0438<\/span>\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [Anastasia], \u00ab<\/strong>\u0414\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u044c\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [Daria], \u00ab<\/strong>\u041f\u043e\u043b\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [Polina], \u00ab<\/strong>\u0421\u043e<\/span>\u0444\u044c\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [Sofia] and \u00ab<\/strong>\u0421\u043e\u0444\u0438<\/span>\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [Sofia] are now heard on playgrounds.<\/p>\n

Interestingly enough, such wonderful names as \u00ab<\/strong>\u0412\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [Vera, lit. Faith], \u00ab<\/strong>\u041d\u0430\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0436\u0434\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [Nadezhda, lit. Hope], and \u00ab<\/strong>\u041b\u044e\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0432\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [Lyubov\u2019, lit. Love] remain seldom-used.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s, of course, \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0433\u0438<\/span>\u0431\u00bb<\/strong> [overkill]. All those once-rare names are becoming overly popular, even amongst \u00ab<\/strong>\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f <\/strong>\u0434\u0438\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u043f\u043e\u0440\u0430 <\/strong>\u0432 <\/strong>\u0421\u0428\u0410\u00bb<\/strong> [Russian Diaspora in the US]. On both sides of the Atlantic (and I suspect, the Pacific as well), there are quite a few little \u00ab<\/strong>\u0421\u043e<\/span>\u0444\u044c\u0438\u00bb<\/strong> [Sofias] and \u00ab<\/strong>\u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0434\u0440\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> [Alexandras] digging in sandboxes and sliding down the slides.<\/p>\n

Soon girls with formerly common names, such as \u00ab<\/strong>\u0415\u043b\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/strong>, will get to hear the longed for \u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u0430\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0435 <\/strong>\u0443 <\/strong>\u0412\u0430\u0441 <\/strong>\u043a\u0440\u0430\u0441\u0438<\/span>\u0432\u043e\u0435 <\/strong>\u0438<\/span><\/strong>\u043c\u044f, <\/strong>\u0430 <\/strong>\u0433\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u043d\u043e\u0435 – <\/strong>\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u0434\u043a\u043e\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [what a beautiful name you have and, most importantly, a rare one.]<\/p>\n

Most likely they will hear it from young men named \u00ab<\/strong>\u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0434\u0440\u00bb<\/strong>. \u00a0Yes, Russian women will continue having their own \u00ab<\/strong>\u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0434\u0440\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> [Alexandrs] since it\u2019s still one of the most popular boys\u2019 names. \u00ab<\/strong>\u0414\u043c\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0440\u0438\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> and \u00ab<\/strong>\u041c\u0438\u0445\u0430\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u00bb<\/strong> are popular as well. Surprise-surprise, just as the Cold War became a thing of the distant past and Americans largely stopped referring to Russians as \u201crusski\u201d or \u201civans\u201d, the name \u00ab<\/strong>\u0418\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u00bb<\/strong> rose to popularity in Russia.<\/p>\n

Other popular Russian boys\u2019 names include \u00ab<\/strong>\u0410\u0440\u0442\u0451<\/span>\u043c\u00bb<\/strong> [Artem], \u00ab<\/strong>\u041c\u0430\u043a\u0441\u0438<\/span>\u043c\u00bb<\/strong> [Maxim], \u00ab<\/strong>\u0414\u0430\u043d\u0438\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u00bb<\/strong> [Daniil], \u00ab<\/strong>\u0415\u0433\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u00bb<\/strong> [Yegor], and \u00ab<\/strong>\u041d\u0438\u043a\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [Nikita]. Yes, in Russia \u00ab<\/strong>\u041d\u0438\u043a\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> is not a girls\u2019 name at all.<\/p>\n

Do Russians give their children weird names or is it a thing of our Soviet past? Well, there are still parents who are unafraid of their kids really standing out of the crowd. There\u2019ve been \u00ab<\/strong>\u0417\u0410\u0413\u0421\u00bb<\/strong> [vital records office] reports of girls named \u00ab<\/strong>\u0420\u043e\u0441\u0441\u0438<\/span>\u044f\u00bb<\/strong> [Russia] and \u00ab<\/strong>\u0420\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u043e\u0441\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong> [Joy] and boys named \u00ab<\/strong>\u0423\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u00bb<\/strong> [Ural], \u00ab<\/strong>\u0422\u0430\u043c\u0435\u0440\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u00bb<\/strong> [Tamerlane], and \u00ab<\/strong>\u041a\u0438\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [Kit, lit. whale].<\/p>\n

Here two Russian sayings come to mind<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0445\u043e\u0442\u044c <\/strong>\u0433\u043e\u0440\u0448\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u043c <\/strong>\u043d\u0430\u0437\u043e\u0432\u0438<\/span>, <\/strong>\u0442\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043a\u043e <\/strong>\u0432 <\/strong>\u043f\u0435\u0447\u044c <\/strong>\u043d\u0435 <\/strong>\u0441\u0430\u0436\u0430<\/span>\u0439\u00bb <\/strong>[call me a pot, just heat me not]<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u043d\u0430\u0437\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0441\u044f <\/strong>\u0433\u0440\u0443\u0437\u0434\u0451<\/span>\u043c, <\/strong>\u043f\u043e\u043b\u0435\u0437\u0430<\/span>\u0439 <\/strong>\u0432 <\/strong>\u043a\u0443<\/span>\u0437\u043e\u0432\u00bb<\/strong> [if you call yourself a mushroom, then climb into a basket]<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0410 <\/strong>\u0432\u0430\u0441 <\/strong>\u043a\u0430\u043a <\/strong>\u0437\u043e\u0432\u0443<\/span>\u0442?\u00bb<\/strong> [And what is your name?] And if you were to name your children Russian names, which ones would you choose and why? Which ones would you avoid and why? Finally, what’s the strangest, most unusual Russian name you ever came across?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"Chocolate

It might seem \u00ab\u043d\u0435\u0432\u0435\u0440\u043e\u044f\u0442\u043d\u043e\u00bb [unbelievable], but all through elementary and middle school I was the only \u00ab\u041b\u0435\u043d\u0430\u00bb [Lena] in my class of 35 students, half of whom were girls. \u00ab\u0415\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0430\u00bb [Yelena] was, until recently, one of the most common Russian names for girls. As for boys, back in the days \u00ab\u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0430\u043d\u0434\u0440\u00bb [Alexandr] was \u00ab\u043d\u0430\u0441\u0442\u043e\u043b\u044c\u043a\u043e \u0440\u0430\u0441\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0451\u043d\u043d\u043e\u0435…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":2199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,7828,7827],"tags":[60742,60741,60740],"class_list":["post-2197","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-russian-for-beginners","category-russian-life","tag-popular-russian-names","tag-russian-first-names","tag-russian-names"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t