I'm not familiar with Russian names/culture, but I can comment based on what my ears like...
Anna - I think this is lovely, nickname too
Alla - this looks and feels incomplete to me
Aleksandra - nice
Andrei - handsome
Dmitri /
Dimitri - ditto handsome, especially the one on DWTS!
Dominika - this doesn't appeal to me, but neither does the English version
Ekaterina - lovely; prefer "
Katya" of your nn choices
Elizaveta "
Liza" - nice
Ivan (ee-VAHN) "
Vanya" - nice
Irina (ee-REE-na)- the sound of this doesn't suit my ear, but I like
IreneKarina - association is a problem for me here
Kira - sound again...lots of names with the "eer" sound don't appeal to me
Klara - nice
Larisa "
Lara" - ok
Lev - quite like this
Lidiya /
Lydia - nice
Liliya - pretty
Maksim "
Maks" - I so enjoy the one on DWTS; very handsome name
Margarita "
Rita" - I don't drink but that's the imagery I get with this
Marina - nice
Mariya "
Masha" - nice name but the nn doesn't appeal to me at all
Mikhail "
Misha" - handsome
Nataliya - pretty
Nikolai "
Kolya" - nice
Nikita (m) - I see huskies whenever I see this name
Olga "
Olya" - has never appealed to me at all
Roksana - okay, but the English version doesn't wow me either
Sergei - handsome
Sofiya "
Sonya" - nice
Tatiana "
Tanya" - feels a bit fussy to me, but ok
Tamara - lovely
Valentina - ok
Veronika "
Nika" - again, I don't find the English version appealing either
Viktoriya /
Victoria "Vika" - ok
Vladimir (vla-DEE-meer) "
Volodya" or "
Vova" - I've never warmed up to this one at all
Yakov "
Yasha" - I can only think of the comedian and the sound isn't great for me
Yulia - lovely; prefer without the "y"
Yuliana /
Yulianna - also lovely
Zoya - I want to like this but am on the fence
This message was edited 3/16/2012, 7:58 PM