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Help[Facts] Russian diminutives in the Western world
E.g. Tanya, Sonya, Nadia, Natasha, Sasha, Anya, Anoushka, Vanya, Katya. What was the reason for these names becoming popular in the Western world (meaning Western Europe, the USA, etc) during the 20th century?
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I believe Dr. Evans is correct about the appearance of several of these names in Russian novels which have been widely read in the Western world.
He mentioned Sonya; another example is Natasha, who appears as a major character in "War and Peace." That name was probably boosted by a film version in the 1950s.
Nadia, however, first appeared on the SSA list in 1976 because of the fame of the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci in the Montreal Olympics.
I am curious about Tanya, because the most famous Tanyas did not appear until the early 1970s and yet the name was already becoming popular in the 1960s.
Sasha is also interesting because it is a male diminutive in Russian. I suppose it looks enough like a "typical" girl's name in English that parents thought it would be better for girls than boys.
I don't believe any of the other forms mentioned (Anya, Anoushka, Vanya, Katya) have had noticeable success in the US although they may be more popular in some European countries.
He mentioned Sonya; another example is Natasha, who appears as a major character in "War and Peace." That name was probably boosted by a film version in the 1950s.
Nadia, however, first appeared on the SSA list in 1976 because of the fame of the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci in the Montreal Olympics.
I am curious about Tanya, because the most famous Tanyas did not appear until the early 1970s and yet the name was already becoming popular in the 1960s.
Sasha is also interesting because it is a male diminutive in Russian. I suppose it looks enough like a "typical" girl's name in English that parents thought it would be better for girls than boys.
I don't believe any of the other forms mentioned (Anya, Anoushka, Vanya, Katya) have had noticeable success in the US although they may be more popular in some European countries.
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Thanks for your reply. From digging around, I found that there's a character in 'Eugene Onegin' by Pushkin called Tatiana, who is nicknamed Tanya. It's interesting that Tanya became popular in the English-speaking world decades before Tatiana gained any currency.
I believe Sasha is unisex in Russian. It can be a nickname for Aleksandr or Aleksandra.
I have come across Anya, Anoushka, Vanya (as a feminine name) and Katya being used in Western European countries, with various spellings. For example Anoushka as Anouchka in France, and Vanya as Vânia in Portugal, and Katya as Katja in Germany.
I believe Sasha is unisex in Russian. It can be a nickname for Aleksandr or Aleksandra.
I have come across Anya, Anoushka, Vanya (as a feminine name) and Katya being used in Western European countries, with various spellings. For example Anoushka as Anouchka in France, and Vanya as Vânia in Portugal, and Katya as Katja in Germany.
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The younger daughter of President Obama is indeed a Natasha who is called Sasha. However, that hasn't ever made sense to me, as I don't get how the T in Tasha would normally change to an S. All the other examples I know of American women called Sasha (when it's a pet form and not the full official name) have been Alexandra on the birth certificate.
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A lot of this was because of works by Russian authors that became popular in the West. For instance, in terms of Sonya or Sonia:
In Tolstoy’s War and Peace, Sonya is the kind and moral orphaned cousin of the Rostov family.
In Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Sonya is the main woman character. Forced into prostitution to support her drunken father, Sonya is nevertheless loving, devout, and understanding. Her love for the murder Raskolnikov partially redeems him.
These two novels are very well-known throughout the Western world.
In Tolstoy’s War and Peace, Sonya is the kind and moral orphaned cousin of the Rostov family.
In Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Sonya is the main woman character. Forced into prostitution to support her drunken father, Sonya is nevertheless loving, devout, and understanding. Her love for the murder Raskolnikov partially redeems him.
These two novels are very well-known throughout the Western world.
This message was edited 2/26/2013, 7:59 AM
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Thanks for your reply. So it mostly stems from Russian novels.
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I have wondered the same thing
I have wondered the same thing and came to no other conclusion than that many parents just found these name pleasant sounding. Katya, Tanya, Anya, Nadia and Sasha contain two "a"s and a lot of people like that sound.
There also some Frisian names that sound very much like some Russian names. Sinja, Sünje, Sontje are names of Frisian origine and mean "little sun". I have never found Sonja being mentioned as a Frisian name. But there are so many names that differ only lightly from Sonja that I think that Sonja could have coincidentally existed as a Frisian name before parents in that region became aware of Russian names.
The same is true for the name Katja. There are Kaatje and other names that sound very close to Katja and originate in Frisia.
However that does not explain why Russian diminutives became so popular all around the Western world.
I have wondered the same thing and came to no other conclusion than that many parents just found these name pleasant sounding. Katya, Tanya, Anya, Nadia and Sasha contain two "a"s and a lot of people like that sound.
There also some Frisian names that sound very much like some Russian names. Sinja, Sünje, Sontje are names of Frisian origine and mean "little sun". I have never found Sonja being mentioned as a Frisian name. But there are so many names that differ only lightly from Sonja that I think that Sonja could have coincidentally existed as a Frisian name before parents in that region became aware of Russian names.
The same is true for the name Katja. There are Kaatje and other names that sound very close to Katja and originate in Frisia.
However that does not explain why Russian diminutives became so popular all around the Western world.
This message was edited 3/7/2013, 8:21 AM
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