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I agree with your points When it comes to ethnic names being used by non-ethnic parents, I would consider a few important things to judge whether the name can be used by non-ethnic parents:
- Is the name easy to pronounce for English speakers?
- Is the name acceptable in an Anglophone society (to use your own words) or does it stick out like a sore thumb?

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Keeping that in mind, my opinions on female names (favourites are starred):

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Anya* - Soft, pretty, and easy to pronounce. I like the sound of Anya better than the English Anna and I don't think this name would be troublesome.
Daria - Not a fan, but I'd consider it usable.
Ekaterina - Not a fan, the "E" prefix seems awkward and incomplete to me. I prefer Yekaterina or just Katerina.
Irina - Pretty and usable but a little boring and commonplace in my opinion. It's okay.
Kseniya - I don't like it.
Larisa* - I like it, though it doesn't seem as Russian to me as the others.
Liliya - Ambivalent. I don't like it but I don't hate it as much as you seem to!
Margarita - Margarita seems more Spanish/Latin than Russian to me. In any case, I'm not a fan.
Marina - I like the sound of Marina, but it makes me think of the boat docks.
Milena* - Beautiful! I love it and it's probably my favourite girl's name on this list.
Nataliya* - I love Nataliya, and it's a much better alternative to the English Natalie.
Serafima - Not a fan. I don't like the m either.
Sofiya - I agree that the Y looks odd here. I like the sound but prefer the spelling Sofia or Sophia.
Svetlana* - I don't know much about Russian pronunciation but this sounds and looks beautiful to me. I don't hear or think of "sweat" at all!
Tamara - Usable but boring. Another one that doesn't sound very Russian to me. Not a fan.
Valeriya* - I like it. It reminds me of the English word "valour" which is a nice connotation.
Yelena - I prefer Elena. When I see Yelena I want to voice the "Y".
Yelizaveta - Not a fan. I don't like the aesthetics very much, and it's a little long for my personal taste (though a nickname would probably be used).
Yeva* - I like it.
Zinaida* - Lovely. It makes me think of flowers in spring for some reason (zinnias?) Though, as an English speaker it looks trisyllabic to me, and according to the BtN page it has four syllables.
Zoya - Not a fan.

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Male names
Aleksei - It's alright, but I'm not a big fan. Can't put my finger on why.
Anastas* - Oooh, I like the sound and look of Anastas. Very cool.
Anton* - Anton is one of my favourite names of all-time, so I'm definitely supportive of this one.
Arkadiy - I don't like it very much. It makes me think of "arcade".
Dmitriy - I also prefer Dimitri. It's an alright name.
Evgeniy - Not a fan.
Fyodor - Overall, I like the looks and sound of Fyodor, and it makes me think of the writer Fyodor Dostoevsky. Not really a fan, though.
Illarion* - I love Illarion. The sound of the name is absolutely splendid to me, though I don't think it sounds Russian.
Ilya - Simple, easy to pronounce, and soft and pretty compared to the other boy's names. Delicate, even.
Izot - Not a fan. (I might like it on a sci-fi character, though.)
Leonid* - I like it.
Lev* - I like Lev, but it looks and sounds too brief. Can it be a nickname of something?
Matvei - Not a fan.
Mikhail - Alright name; I like the nickname Misha.
Nikolai* - I love Nikolai.
Roman - Not a fan.
Ruslan - Not a fan.
Vadim - It's okay.
Yakov - Not a fan.
Yegor - Dislike, I also think of eggs.
Yuriy - It's alright. I prefer Yuri, and I don't think of the manga/anime connotations at all.
Zinoviy* - I like Zinoviy too! (Though like Zinaida, it oddly makes me think of flowers.)

This message was edited 5/29/2011, 12:45 PM