Please choose from these "Russlish" names (names that work in both Russian and English)
My husband and I are looking for names that work well in both Russian and English (or at least have a reasonable Russian nickname that his side of the family can use).
If it's a boy, middle name will be Aleksey/Aleksei (after my husband's brother).
If it is a girl, middle name will be either Alexis or Kathrine (this spelling, after my mother).
My other children are Anastasia (Stacey/Stasya) and Maria Veronica.
Please comment, and choose your favourites.
GIRLS:
Kristina
Natalia (Russian nn Natasha -- VERY common is Russia!)
Genevieve (use Russian nn Zhenya, which is really for Evgenia)
Julia (spelled "Yuliya" in Russian, with nn Yulya)
Nadia (it's actually a nn for Nadezhda)
BOYS:
Nikolai (Russian nn Kolya, English nn Cole?)
Eduard (Russian nn Edik)
Victor
Donovan (we'd use Russian nn Vanya, as this isn't a Russian name)
Roman
Leo (Lev in Russian)
Alexander (nn Sasha)
Ruslan (pronounced "roos-LAHN")
We can't use Gregory or Katerina as first names, and there are a whole bunch of female names that are off the list because of previous associations (read "girlfriends").
The RUSSIAN nickname for both Alexander and Alexandra is Sasha. Almost all Russian nicknames end in "a" -- both male and female. It's a bit like "ie" or "y" in English (Mickey, Tony, etc.) He would probably be Alex in English.
I was thinking ... as I already have an Anastasia and a Maria, is adding Nikolai Aleksey too "Romanov?" The children of Tsar Nikolai II were Anastasia, Maria, Olga, Tatiana, and Aleksey.