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I've liked this name for a long time, I remember using it on characters as a kid before my first "namenerd" phase.
It sounds complete to me as an English speaker even though it's really a diminutive. I've only encountered it as a full name on English speakers so it doesn't feel nicknamey to me, just short. It makes me think of fall/autumn, harvest, brown colors, and farms. But those associations aren't strong, so I don't think the name Anya would clash with someone who didn't have those same 'vibes'.

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It's not my first choice for a baby but I'd definitely be willing to use it. I would theoretically use Anna but if I was about to have an actual baby and was thinking about naming it Anna, I'd probably go for Anya instead. Anna is nice but it feels a little empty and relies a lot on middle names to give it personality, while Anya has a decent amount of its own personality without being overwhelming (it doesn't have so much personality that it could compete with the baby's own personality, but it's not in danger of sounding empty either).
All my opinions on Anya are similar to Annika / Anneka, but I think Anya sounds a little better.

This message was edited 1/15/2022, 1:44 PM

I'm not its greatest fan but it's perfectly useable, mostly recognized by native English speakers. I have a former classmate who named her daughter Anya, she's a spunky teenage redhead so that's my only association with it.

Prefer Anna, but it is pretty too.

It's one of my top girls names right now. Previously I liked it as a nickname for Anastasia, but now I prefer it as a stand alone.
It's just got so much more personality than I ever felt from plain ol' Anna.

I might consider it as a NN for a 4+ syllable An* name, but as a standalone name, it doesn't interest me. I'd rather Olga or Nadya, if I wanted a short Russian looking name.

I think it looks better in writing than it sounds.

Anya is a pretty name! I like it.

Anna or nothing))
Despite the fact that Anna is overused, I still prefer it to annoying Anya, which is just a boring diminutive, imo.

Nice

I like it, I think it works as a full name, it’s an interesting take on Anna.