[Opinions] Two Russian names + question
These two names have been on my mind these days: Miroslav and Vasiliy. Does Vasiliy sound too close to Vaseline? WDYTO these two names? What would you pair them with? I was thinking something like Miroslav Alexei (sp?) but Alexei brings to mind the Czarevich with hemophilia. Is that too strong of an association? For Vasiliy, I have no ideas.
The question is which NN do you prefer for Vladimir - Vlad, Volodya, Vovochka? (I don't like Vova.)
The question is which NN do you prefer for Vladimir - Vlad, Volodya, Vovochka? (I don't like Vova.)
Replies
Miroslav is okay-- not a favorite, but not dislikable. Vasily... oh yes, there could be possible Vaseline jokes, but any name can be made fun of. My names Sydney & it rhymes with kidney, but no one cares. Personally, it reminds me (ahhh! don't be mad!!) of..... a girls' name. Cicely, Lizzie, Vasily. Please don't kill me, but I can just picture a cute little Vasily carrying her lunchbox to school on the first day of kindergarten--up to a highly successful Ms. Vasily at her work. Could Miroslav be nn Milo? I could definitely see a brother and sister "Milo" Miroslav & Vasily. I hope I haven't ruined the names for you, just some suggestions!! Do you think they're ghastly, or do you actually like any?
I love them all
I suppose that someone could make a case that Vasiliy is similar to Vaseline, but it's really not that bad at all. I wouldn't make the association, and I'm all nit-picky about names. Miroslav is lovely. All "slav" names are lovely. In fact, Russian names are fabulous in general because they have pointy letters, which makes them splendid. Miroslav Alexei is uber handsome (I prefer Alexis, but that's no biggie, I still like Alexei), and the connection with the Tsarevich shouldn't be a problem at all. If somebody even DOES make the connection (which is unlikely, considering that most average people don't know the names of all the members of the Romanov family), it should be entirely insignificant. It's not like Alexei is necessarily a negative association. He didn't do anything bad; it's Rasputin that you have to avoid making the connection with.
And as an answer to your question, I prefer Vlad as a nn for Vladimir. Sure, it does bring to mind Vlad the Impaler (er... not the best association), but it's just a nn. Volodya and Vovochka are fun in Russia, but people in the USA (and possibly Western Europe and Australia) aren't going to understand the concept of a nn being as long as or longer than the actual name. Even if you choose to use Vovochka as a nn, society in general will probably end up using Vlad just because it's typical in English-speaking countries.
I suppose that someone could make a case that Vasiliy is similar to Vaseline, but it's really not that bad at all. I wouldn't make the association, and I'm all nit-picky about names. Miroslav is lovely. All "slav" names are lovely. In fact, Russian names are fabulous in general because they have pointy letters, which makes them splendid. Miroslav Alexei is uber handsome (I prefer Alexis, but that's no biggie, I still like Alexei), and the connection with the Tsarevich shouldn't be a problem at all. If somebody even DOES make the connection (which is unlikely, considering that most average people don't know the names of all the members of the Romanov family), it should be entirely insignificant. It's not like Alexei is necessarily a negative association. He didn't do anything bad; it's Rasputin that you have to avoid making the connection with.
And as an answer to your question, I prefer Vlad as a nn for Vladimir. Sure, it does bring to mind Vlad the Impaler (er... not the best association), but it's just a nn. Volodya and Vovochka are fun in Russia, but people in the USA (and possibly Western Europe and Australia) aren't going to understand the concept of a nn being as long as or longer than the actual name. Even if you choose to use Vovochka as a nn, society in general will probably end up using Vlad just because it's typical in English-speaking countries.
Pointy letters *are* splendid, aren't they? :-D
:)
:)
There were three Russian ruler named Vasiliy, or Basil in English. One was Ivan the Terrible's father. For me, if I see two Russian names together, I want to put -ovich or -ovna on the second name, since in Russia they use a patronymic and those are the endings. So, for Miroslav Alexei, I'd keep saying Miroslav Alexeevich (Miroslav son of Alexei). Ivan's name was Ivan Vasilievich. For the Vladimir nn, it's Volodya.