Russian Names

[Chris]

I was looking through some of my old posts at other places and found this from a couple of years ago and thought it may be of interest to the people here, what followed was a good discussion about Russian Womens names in general and how short and affectionate names were and could be used:-

Russian Names

After Russia became Christianised towards the end of the C10th, many people had a Christian name, often followed by an old Russian name. Later the Russian Orthodox Church forbade the use of native Slavonic names, preferring those of saints of the Eastern Church. This led to a Russian naming tradition based on Byzantine Greek although by the later C19th Slavonic names were being reintroduced to some extent. As Russian is written in the Cyrillic alphabet, English spellings can vary with different Roman letters being used for the same sounds ('ts' and 'ch', 'o' and 'a')

Diminutives

Russians are almost always addressed by a 'pet' form of their name and there is a very wide range of these with each name being able to take several forms. Often the diminutive seems to bear little relation to the original name but they are usually formed from one syllable of it with various endings added. Common endings are '-lenka', '-linka', '-ta', '-asha', '-ya', '-yan', '-a', '-usha', '-ushka', '-oshka', '-yasha', '-lka'.

Patronymics

From the C10th on, Russians used their patronymic (father's name) to identify themselves. Endings are different to indicate male or female. The patronymic was formed by dropping the original ending and adding a new one, usually '-ev' (instead of a vowel) or '-ov' after a consonant. Names ending in '-ii' or '-yi' usually dropped both vowels. Names already ending in '-ov' or '-ev' took 'l' in front of the ending, those ending in '-a' took '-in' and '-ia' took '-yn'.

Sometimes the father's name was not changed but '-syn' (son) was added, usually afterwards but it could come in front of it. If another member of the family was especially well-known, his name might be used, with 'vnuk' - grandson, 'pravnuk' - great-grandson, 'brat' - brother, 'ziat' - son-in-law or 'pasynok' - stepson. The genitive case could also be used without the 'syn', giving the patronymic an '-a' ending if the original name ended in a consonant or an '-o' or '-ia' if the ending was a soft consonant. Names ending in '-a' or '-ia' take '-y' or '-i' endings, '-ii' becomes '-ego' and '-oi', ' -ogo'.

The '-vich' ending was originally used by the upper class in the Novgorod area but by the C16th it was an honour restricted to high officials and could only be granted by the Tsar. A rare early form not found later than the C13th was the addition of '-l' to names ending in '-av'.

Women had no legal rights and were considered as an appendage of their husbands or fathers until Peter the Great's land reforms in 1714 when they were given the right to own property and could use full names including a patronymic and surname. Women's patronymics ended in '-a' or were followed by 'doch' or 'vnuka'/'vnuchka' - granddaughter until marriage when they became known by their husband's name with 'zhena' - wife or 'vdova' - widow. This could later be replaced by their son's name with 'mat' - mother and 'devka' - mistress/servant also occurs. Sometimes they used both the father's and the husband's names, and occasionally the actual given name was not recorded at all. Modern Russians use the feminine patronymic endings '-ovna'/'-evna' which are not common in the Middle Ages.

In some rare cases, the patronymic is replaced by a form of the mother's name - a metronymic. This could be an indication of illegitimacy but if the mother was sufficiently important (a member of the royal family for example) her name could be used. Recently the use of patronymics has become less common and is considered rather old-fashioned by some people.

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[Chris]

To start the ball rolling, here are some common names with their short and affectionate terms:-

Name = Short or Affectionate Form

Alla -=Alya Alen'ka, Alechka

Anastasia = Nastya, Asya, Asia, Nasten'ka, Asen'ka

Antonina = Tonya, Tonechka

Galina = Galya, Galen'ka

Ekaterina = Katya, Katen'ka

Elena = Lena, Lenochka

Evgenie = Zhenya, Zhenechka

Iryna, = Ira, Irinochka, Irusi

Larisa = Lora, Lara, Larison'k

Lubov = Luba, Lyuba, Lyubochka

Ludmila = Luda, Lyuda, Mila, Lucy Lyudochka, Milochka

Nadezhda = Nadya, Nadia, Naden'ka

Natalia = Natasha, Natashen'ka

Oksana = Ksyusha, Oksanochka, Ksyushen'ka

Olga = Olya, Olen'ka

Sophie = Sonya, Soneshka

Svetlana = Sveta, Svetochka

Tatyana = Tanya, Tanechka

Vera = Verochka

Veronica = Vera, Nika

Victoria = Vika

Yana = Yanochka

Zhanna = Zhannochka

Zoya = Zoen'ka

[Chris]

A couple of examples of Pet names:-

Irina

official: IrEEna

short: EEra

affectionate: IrEEnka, IrEEnochka, IrEEsha, IrEEshka, IrEEshechka, IrEEshenka, IrOOnchik

semi-polite: EErka, IrOOlya

rare semi-polite: EErych


Ekaterina

official: YekaterEEna

short: kAtya

pet: kAtenka, KatYOOsha, katYOOshenka, katYOOshechka, katYOOshka, katerEEnka

rare: katYOOnchik

Overall Katyas have much less names than Iras.

(capital letters indicate stressed syllable)

[LEGAL]

You guys forgot Olechka for Olga.  This also a deep form of affection when addressing Olga which only the husband or mother should use.  I address Olga as Olechka all the time.



LEGAL

[Chris]

Yes Legal, correct, also...

official: Olga
short: Oliaa
affectionate: Olechka, O-len-ka, Olyooshka

stressed syllable always is O.

[DonA]

Oh my goodness  you forgot to mention the most beautiful  Russian name

That is of course Yulia   . This name  makes me dance, and get light headed 

I call my Lovely Yulia= moya Yul'ka 

DonAz

[Simoni]

Nice thread...with good info for the newbie who can't seem to understand why his Elena has three names!  And that he should call her Lenochka 

[Chris]

Here's some more info for you and an example of when the changed endings are used:-

Lets take the name Marina.

Marina = formal
Marinochka = maybe just for family
Marisha = might just be for friends
Marishka = might be the boyfriend's


Marina is the full proper name.

The -ochka ending means a combination of "little" and "dear". Consider the meaning of the Russian word devochka - little girl. Marina could be called Marinochka by her mother from birth, some names use -enka instead.

Marisha is the short form of the name,  not all names have such a form. This is used by friends and maybe schoolmates, she probably waould not be called Marisha until her first day of school.

The -ushka or -shka ending also has a meaning like "dear" but it is more connected to romantic love. Maybe even a hint of sexual possibilities.

You can also find names with -utka and -ulya endings.

In addition there is the vocative form used for calling people and getting their attention. You only use this with people when you would use one of the short forms of the name. Of course, the short forms are technically longer in many cases but let's ignore that for now. The vocative form of the name is usually the first syllable of the friend's or school version. In this case Marisha would be called Mar when someone wants her attention. Aleksandr would be called Sash and Maria would be called Mash.

Be carefull with the pronunciation of the -echka forms. Sometimes the "e" is pronounced more like "yo" or "o". 

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[Ward_Cleaver]

So I'm back at it.  Learning Russian that is.  But I realize that I need to start over with a quick refresher of the Cyrillic alphabet.  So I make some flash cards that I can use to do this.  And I get the idea that this would be a lot more interesting if I had a word to associate each letter with.  So with each card I tried to come up with a word that I already know in Russian that I can use to do this.  Then I notice a trend.  I prefer to use sexy Russian woman names.  Who wants to associate the letter с with собака when you can use Светлана instead?  So this is my list so far.  I would like to invite you all to help fill in the blanks, correct my errors, share your favorite sexy Russian woman name, provide suggestions, or just make smart ass remarks if you prefer.  I hope you all enjoy this as much as I have thus far.  Thanks.

А - Аня
Б -
В - Викториа
Г - Галина
Д - Даша
Е - Елена
Ж - женщина
З - Зоя
И - Ирина
Й
К - Катя, Ксения
Л - Лудмила
М - Марина
Н - Наталия
О - Оля
П - Поля
Р - Рита
С - Светлана
Т - Таня
У
Ф
Х
Ц
Ч
Ш - Шура
Щ
Ъ
Ы
Ь
Э - Эля
Ю - Юлия
Я

[2tallbill]

You can find a great deal of Russian women names / tender names at this site.


http://www.ladagirl.com/names.html

[mendeleyev]

Nice idea, Ward!

Элена
Ксения (nickname: Ксюша)
Надежда

[pup zemly]

Б - баба

Й- йод, Йулия

У- Ульяна
Ф- Фекла
Х- 

Ю - Юлия, Юля, Юлечка, Юльчик, Юлек 
Я- Яна

[Ward_Cleaver]

I'm going to need a little help here princess.  Why don't I try my best to pronounce these words in English and you can enjoy laughing at me.  Where we go.

Б - баба = baba

Й- йод, Йулия = Iod, Eod, Eooleya, Iooleya

У- Ульяна = Oolyana

Ф- Фекла = Fyekla

Х-  = Sex?

Ю - Юлия, Юля, Юлечка, Юльчик, Юлек  (I didn't need any help with that one  )

Я- Яна = Yana

[Paul]

Х-  = Sex?

My name is pronounced the same as the Russian word for sex "Пол"   

[Rasputin]

Б - Белла
Ж - Жанна
У - Ульяна
Ф - Фаина
Я - Яна

[pup zemly]

Х-  = Sex?

My name is pronounced the same as the Russian word for sex "Пол"   

i didnt mean that, but you are close
they usually write this word on walls

[pup zemly]

I'm going to need a little help here princess.  Why don't I try my best to pronounce these words in English and you can enjoy laughing at me.  Where we go.

Б - баба = baba

Й- йод, Йулия = Iod, Eod, Eooleya, Iooleya

У- Ульяна = Oolyana

Ф- Фекла = Fyekla

Х-  = Sex?

Ю - Юлия, Юля, Юлечка, Юльчик, Юлек  (I didn't need any help with that one  )

Я- Яна = Yana

Й- йод, Йулия = Iod, Eod, Eooleya, Iooleya -------- yod, Йулия is a wrong spelling of my name. so never mind
У- Ульяна = Oolyana------- Ulyana
Х-  = Sex? ----- no, I meant the word "dick" in Russian

[mendeleyev]

Paul, the word пол is an abreviation of половое and it often refers to 1) gender of a person,  and 2) a person's sexual inclination/preferences.     You might check with your girlfriend about using cekc instead.  She may have taught you the пол as it is common for young Russians to use this as a slang reference to the subject. 

[mendeleyev]

My dear Julie, you have a knack of taking a conversation quickly to the gutter.  I realize that one of the worst insults one could hurl at a Russian is "nekulturny" (uncultured) so I won't hurl it.  Today.

I ask that we keep this on topic.  Or move the topic to the dog pile.  But Ward has asked a reasonable and fair question and he deserves helpful answers, not antics.

Since we are in the Culture section, I lean very heavily toward the idea that posts in this section should reflect a certain dignity toward the Russian/Ukrainian spirit of respect for women, love of history, sancity of family, and pride in culture.  Translation:  I won't hestitate to delete posts that violate those important tenents. 

As they used to say in the Bartles and James wine commercials, "thank you for your support."

[pup zemly]

come on. I almost didnt offtop
excpet for the 

[Ward_Cleaver]

Х-  = Sex? ----- no, I meant the word "dick" in Russian

mendeleyev, maybe something has been lost in translation but I think that our little Julie is just being cute and free from sexual repression of the Victorian era as well as informative.  Since I didn't know the word for this in Russian I just used the word слон.  Not only did she understand but from her smile I could tell that she was rather amused at my creative effort to communicate (and she liked the subject of discussion).

This reminds me of the time a girl was trying to get a ride home from some Mexicans who didn't speak English.  I tried my best to help them understand that she lived near the church but I couldn't remember the word iglesia (church) so I said, "Ella viva cerca casa de Jesus Cristo Y Dios."  They all got a laugh out of that but understood what I meant, "She lives next door to God and Jesus."

[pup zemly]

WD, you are right. When we see a single "х" it may mean only one word
that is why I put 

 

[ECR844]

 Ladagirl (Olya) is doing my translating. Do I ask her or Manny's wife?

They are one and the same.

[rhayes026]

 Ladagirl (Olya) is doing my translating. Do I ask her or Manny's wife?

They are one and the same.

Okay, thanks!      For some reason I thought Manny's wife was Olga.

[Manny]

Olga is the same as Olya. And there are a few other variables as well. Think of them like Bill and William or Robert and Bob.