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[Opinions] Natalia
What are your thoughts on Natalia?How do you pronounce it?Do you know what the Russian pronunciation is? Is it nah-TAHL-ya or nah-TAH-lee-ah?Natalia or Natalie?Do the names Natalia and Natalie give you different images/different personalities? For some reason, even though they are similar, I imagine completely different people behind these two names.
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My favourite girl name and it has been for a few years now.I pronounce it nah-TAHL-ya if I'm pronouncing it for someone in most Eastern European countries. I pronounce it nah-TAH-lee-ah if they're in Latin or English countries. Obviously that's not a hard and fast rule, but it's a general rule.
The thing about the Russian Natalia is that the pronunciation varies by dialect. But most people say it as almost a mix between the two pronunciations. They would probably tell you they are saying it as nah-TAH-lee-ah, but they say it so quickly that it becomes nah-TAHL-ya if that makes sense. If you google the Russian pronunciation, a few forvo, pronouncename.com, etc links show up.
They all sound the same as this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prvTcZibIRs
I definitely prefer Natalia. They're very different for me. I don't even think of them as related.
I think of Natalie as its own thing and Natalia as being related to Nata and Natasha.Natalie is a bratty girl I went to school with who was named in the 1980s.
Natalia is a Russian ballerina from any time, timeless.
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I like Natalia! I pronounce it like nah-tahl-ya. Part of the charm for me is being able to use Talia as a nickname with the tahl-ya pronunciation. Natalie and Natalia are different vibes for me. Natalie is the more mild, good girl version. If she's "bad", it's mean cheerleader vs. Natalia, the bond girl. Also, I feel like there have been quite a few Natalia's that are professional ballet dancers, so it gives me a feeling of elegance, determination, poise, and athleticism.
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It's okay. I pronounce it nah tah lee uh, and afaik that's the Russian pronunciation too. It's not a name or sound I'm personally drawn to, but it gets a pass because it's the name of someone I know and like.Natalie is also okay but nms, and yup, different vibe. I'd expect a Natalia here to have an Eastern European background. I'd expect Natalie here to be a very ordinary Brit, born in the 80s or 90s, possibly a little older.
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I love Natalia. I think it's gorgeous. I like Natalie as well and I like that you can get the nns Nat and Nate from both of them. Natalie was my favorite name for a while when I was a kid. Now I like Natalia a little more.I definitely get different images from Natalie and Natalia. I get a dark, rebellious, almost mysterious vibe from Natalia, whereas Natalie seems more childish and cute.I don't speak Russian or hear it spoken much but I'd have to assume it's more like nah-TAHL-ya, I'm definitely no expert though!
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I prefer Natalia, because I love the nickname Thalia! Natalie sounds dated to the 80s.Name imagery:
Natalia - bubbly little brunette of about three or four, who loves to color and play Barbie with her friends
Natalie - also a brunette, but older and more serious; works from home as a call center rep while raising her two kids with her fiance
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Surely Talia would be the nn for Natalia and not Thalia?Thalia is an unrelated name and is pronounced with a long I.
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Huh. Didn't know that! In that case, yeah, Talia.
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It makes me think of childbirth, in a way that's not pleasant, similar to how the English pronunciation of Bertha does (natal, birth).I'd prefer Natalie, because I'm more familiar with it, but it's got the same problem (it's natally). I dislike Nathalie / Nathalia less.I actually like Talya and Thalia by themselves, so I'd prefer either of those to all of the above.
I do get a different vibe from Natalie and Natalia.I could see Natalie as...80s-00s, sporty, maybe also delicate or a bit flighty. I'd group it with Roxanne / Nadia / Violet / Melanie, but I think all of those are prettier.Natalia sounds more (upperclass? ornately? stereotypically?) Russian. It's like Anastasia (too frilly for me), though it sounds more rigid to me than Anastasia does...but that's when I imagine Natalia as an adult. When I imagine it used for a child, it sounds more Hispanic, maybe more like Valentina / Emilia / Renata / Lucia. I guess overall I like the vibe they have. I don't like the look/sound, though.

This message was edited 8/14/2018, 6:13 PM

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I don't know the Russian, I've only ever met British or Spanish people with the name (nuh-TAHL-ya)I like them both, Natalie is a bit more dated to me though (to the 80s) and is slightly more common where I am.
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