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I love natasha. It's so evocative and pretty. Alana is bland in comparison

I like both names but I wouldn't use then as names for potential kids because I feel like I grew up around a lot of girls with both names.

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An interesting thing to note with spelling and pronunciation of Natasha in Australia: I've seen Natasha spelled "Natarsha" with the "ar" spelling making an "ah" sound (as in father) rather than the regular "a" sound (that would sound like the start of the word apple). The name "Tasha" can be pronounced "Tah-sha" (the same as the end of "Natarsha") as well as the usual "Tash-a" (rhyming with "masher" in an Australian accent).

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Natasha is the usual spelling used with the usual pronunciation.

This message was edited 6/29/2023, 3:19 AM

Not a fan of Natasha. I like Alana (but probably prefer the Alannah spelling, I pronounce them the same). Alana seems more substantial and timeless.

They’re both ok, Natasha feels dated and less original though.

They are both ok.

Both of them are quite pretty. Alana is soft and kind of dreamy. Natasha feels a bit more dated, it was very popular for black girls when I was growing up; it's spunkier than Alana, a bit more down to earth.

Alana is better imo. Natasha reminds me of sugar cookies and should have stayed a nickname.

I like Natasha and Alana, although has more spelling and pronunciation issues

It seems at one point every other baby I encountered bore the name Natasha, as either a first or middle name. I thought it was very played out at the time, though in reality it was never as popular as I assumed. I always thought it sounded more like a nickname than a given name.

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Alana is definitely not my style. Too many ə / short "a" sounds, it has always sounded rather ugly to me. Other variants - Alanna, Alannah - don't make it better.

I prefer Alannah. Natasha seems immature and also sounds like a muffled sneeze.