View Message

I slightly dislike it. I don't want to make you hate it, though. I'd instinctively pronounce it AN-ə-STAYZ-yə.

---

Here's all my vague associations...

---

1. The "stasi" reminds me of "stasis", probably because I'm already associating it with flat characters (the animated Anastasia and Anastasia Steele).

---

2. It reminds me of kids being killed by terrorists.

---

3. The 'stayz' sound reminds me of "blaze", "craze", "Purple Haze", and Dazed and Confused.

---

4. The 'nast' reminds me of "nasty" (which has mixed connotations to me) and canasta (a card game that my grandparents loved).

---

5. The 'tasi' reminds me of "fantasy", probably because I'm already thinking of it in conjunction with "princess".

---

6. My overall impression of it is mixed/contradictory: on one hand, it comes across as delicate, refined, and maybe repressed; on the other, I sorta get a "kicking ass and taking names" vibe from it.

---

I think it has a lot of potential, regardless of pronunciation. If I met an Anastasia IRL (I haven't yet, as far as I know), she'd be my #1 association with it. Plus if someone named Anastasia decides it's too much, there's a perfectly ordinary built-in NN she could use instead (Ana), so I wouldn't say it's too "out there" or risky or anything.