We have talked about names before, but what fascinates me is how certain Russian names have a life of their own abroad. While their origin may be Russian or Slavic, the usage of these names in English may be drastically different from Russian in terms of formality and gender.<\/p>\n
The Russian name \u041d\u0430\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u0448\u0430<\/strong> is a pet\/familiar form of the name Natalia (\u041d\u0430\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u044f<\/strong>), meaning “born at Christmas<\/a>.” It is commonly used to address a girl or woman informally but is never used as someone’s full name on their documents. It gained popularity in the English-speaking world thanks to the success of War and Peace<\/a> in the 20th century.<\/p>\n Sasha (\u0421\u0430<\/span>\u0448\u0430<\/strong>) is a familiar form of the name Alexander (\u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0434\u0440<\/strong>) or Alexandra (\u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0434\u0440\u0430<\/strong>), meaning “defender of man<\/a>.” Yes, it can actually be a guy’s name in Russia. It is thought to have entered English as an independent name from French<\/a>. Just like Natasha, Sasha is never given as a person’s full, official name. You may notice that many Russian nicknames share the -\u0448\u0430 element.<\/p>\n \u041c\u0438<\/span>\u0448\u0430<\/strong> is the short form of \u041c\u0438\u0445\u0430\u0438<\/span>\u043b<\/strong> (Michael), meaning “who is like God<\/a>.” Just as its full form \u041c\u0438\u0445\u0430\u0438\u043b, it’s an exclusively man’s name in Russia, which is quite different from the English-speaking world. My guess is that the -sha ending must have sounded feminine to English speakers and reminded them of Alicia and Patricia?<\/p>\n Nadia (\u041d\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u044f<\/strong>) is the short for Nadezhda (\u041d\u0430\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0436\u0434\u0430<\/strong>), the Russian for “hope.” This name is thought to have been introduced to France from the Russian ballet<\/a> dancers in the early 20th century.<\/p>\n Tanya (\u0422\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u044f<\/strong>) is the short form of Tatiana<\/a> (\u0422\u0430\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u0430<\/strong>). As with the names above, it is not used in Russia as a standalone name. Tanya is supposed to owe its popularity to the Russian novel Eugene Onegin<\/a> (\u0415\u0432\u0433\u0435\u043d\u0438\u0439 \u041e\u043d\u0435\u0433\u0438\u043d), where this is the name of the female protagonist.<\/p>\n Do you know anyone with these or other names of Russian origin or that sound like Russian names? How do your Russian-speaking friends react to your name if you have a Russian-sounding name? I know I sure get enough people who think I speak Spanish solely because my name is Maria (luckily for them, I actually do).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We have talked about names before, but what fascinates me is how certain Russian names have a life of their own abroad. While their origin may be Russian or Slavic, the usage of these names in English may be drastically different from Russian in terms of formality and gender. 1. Natasha The Russian name \u041d\u0430\u0442\u0430\u0448\u0430…<\/p>\n2. Sasha<\/h2>\n
3. Misha<\/h2>\n
4. Nadia<\/h2>\n
5. Tanya<\/h2>\n