Beautiful Russian names – ten most popular

Parents show considerable imagination when choosing a name for a child, they want it to be unique and sonorous. Indeed, as the ancient Roman playwright Plautus said, for a person “a name is already a sign.” While more and more Michael, Eugene and Constantius appear in our country, beautiful Russian names are becoming fashionable abroad, sometimes losing popularity at home.

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Female names

Many of them are considered primordially Russian, although they do not have a Slavic origin. Nevertheless, such names have traditionally been used by our compatriots for centuries, and foreigners perceive them as Russians.

Daria

Girls with this name can be found in Italy, Greece, Poland. This is the name of the heroine of the famous American animated series. In France, they say Dasha (with an emphasis on the last syllable). According to one version, Daria is a modern modification of the ancient Slavic Darina or Dariona (meaning “gift”, “giving”). According to another version, “Daria” (“conquering”, “mistress”) is of ancient Persian origin.

Olga

Anthroponymic experts believe that this ancient Russian name comes from the Scandinavian Helga. Scandinavians interpret it as “bright”, “saint”. According to the second version, Olga (wise) is an ancient East Slavic name. Today it is common in the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, Germany and other countries. Abroad, the name is often pronounced firmly, like Olga. However, this does not detract from his charm.

Anna

A beautiful Russian female name, which is interpreted as “merciful”, “patient”, is popular both in Russia and abroad. Foreigners have several variants of its spelling and pronunciation: Ann, Annie (E. Rukayarvi is a Finnish snowboarder), Ana (A. Ulrich is a German journalist), Ani, Anne.

faith

Means “serving God”, “faithful”. The word is of Slavic origin. Foreigners are attracted by the pleasant sound, as well as the ease of pronunciation and spelling. Another rather popular version of this anthroponym is Veronica (everyone knows the name of the Mexican actress and singer Veronica Castro).

Ariana (Aryana)

This name is supposed to have Slavic-Tatar roots. It is often used in Europe and America. For example, American model Ariana Grande, American actress and artist Ariana Richards are famous “carriers” of it.

Male names

Many of the handsome Russian male names have become popular overseas through film and television. Children are also named after famous athletes, heroes of world famous works of literature.

Yuri

The name appeared in Russia after the arrival of Christianity. Many foreigners have heard of Yuri Dolgoruk, the founder of Moscow, but it gained particular fame after Yuri Gagarin’s space flight. A significant role in the popularization of this name was played by the famous artist Yuri Nikulin, weightlifter Yuri Vlasov, about whom Arnold Schwarzenegger said: “He is my idol.”

Nikolay

For Russians, this form of the name is mostly official. In common parlance, a person is referred to as “Kolya”. Foreigners use other variations of this anthroponym: Nicolas, Nicholas, Nikolaus, Nick. You can remember such famous people as Nick Mason (British musician), Nick Robinson and Nicolas Cage (American actors), Nicola Grande (Italian medical scientist).

Ruslan

Many foreigners familiar with the work of the classic of world poetry A.S. Pushkin consider the name of the Russian hero to be the most beautiful. According to parents, it sounds romantic and noble, associated with the image of a brave knight. For Russians, this name appeared in the pre-Christian period and, as historians say, comes from the Turkic Arslan (“lion”).

Boris

It is believed that this name is an abbreviation of the Old Slavonic “Borislav” (“fighter for glory”). There is also an assumption that it came from the Türkic word “profit” (translated as “profit”).

This is the name of many foreign celebrities, including:

• Boris Becker (German tennis player);
• Boris Vian (French poet and musician);
• Boris Breich (German musician);
• Boris Johnson (British politician).

Bohdan

“Given by God” – this is the meaning of this beautiful and rather rare name, which Russians traditionally consider theirs. This anthroponym has Slavic roots and is often found in the countries of Eastern Europe. Among its carriers are Bogdan Slivu (Polish chess player), Bogdan Lobonets (footballer from Romania), Bogdan Filov (Bulgarian art critic and politician), Bogdan Ulirah (Czech tennis player).

The mixing of peoples, which is especially active today, contributes to the increasing spread of Russian names in the West. Many foreigners strive to study our culture, they believe that Russian names “please the ear.”