View Message

This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

[Opinions] Re: Anna, nn Anya
I know it's commonly used as a nickname for Anna is Russia but I don't think it would work anywhere else. Just my opinion.
Archived Thread - replies disabled
vote up1

Replies

That surprises me. Anya seems intuitive to me, not really any more difficult than Annie. I actually think it would be easier for a modern English speaker (who isn't a namenerd) to see the relationship between Anna and Anya than it would be with nicknames like Nan or Nancy.
vote up1
Nan and Nancy have been used for ages. I don't think such a nickname could be easily established today. The reason why it worked back then was because at that time there were sometimes two or three people with the same common name in a family which were usually Elizabeth, Mary and Anne so people got extremely creative and the nicknames just became familiar. But nowadays with such a great variety in names I think it would feel forced. But that's just me and I'm known for really disliking far fetched nicknames. I actually know girls named Anna nn Anya from Poland but still it doesn't work for me.
vote up1