Favorite Russian Names

Aleksandra is the preferred spelling in many Eastern European languages and cultures, but for English-speakers it's ironically more confusing if also perfectly phonetically clear.

Cultured and cultivated in an old-style, Old World way. Sometimes associated with the classic writer Anton Chekhov. Al Pacino has a son with this name.

Anya is a Russian variation of Anna, which came from the Hebrew name Hannah. Anya is the form found most frequently in Russia, Poland, and other East European countries, while Anja is the spelling usually preferred in Germany Norway, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and The Netherlands. In the Hungarian language, Anya also means mother.

Arkady is a rhythmic Russian saint's name from the Greek meaning "from Arcadia." As a literary name, it belongs to a genteel character in Turgenev's Fathers and Sons and a much less benign one in Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, and is also a key figure in Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith.

This international variation was publicized by Olympic skater Ekaterina Gordeeva.

This variation of Theodore is familiar here mostly via the great Russian novelist Dostoyevsky. It was also the name of three early tsars of Russia.

Commonly used in Russia, has an Old World Slavic feel. The original Galen can be used for girls as well as boys.

Irina is a Russian ballet-inflected classic, one of the Three Sisters in the Chekhov play. While some Americans will pronounce this like Irene with three syllables, the pronunciation used throughout Europe, where it's widely used, starts with a short i as in it or if and a strong emphasis on the second syllable.

Isidore and variants are remarkably underused and ripe for revival, a la Theodore and company.

Though some might find it a bit heavy-booted, Ivan is one of the few Russian boys' names to become fully accepted into the American naming pool.

A rarely used Slavic name until the Czech-born ex-Mrs. Trump took it over the top. Daughter's name Ivanka adds a dollop of charm.

This sweet and loving name, favored in recent years by a mix of Hispanic-American parents and Bob Dylan fans, was chosen for her daughter by TV actress Melina Kanakaredes.

One of the most familiar Russian names in the West, thanks to ballet great Mikhail Baryshnikov and state head Mikhail Gorbachev.

Nadezhda is more familiar in the English-speaking world by its short forms, Nadia or Nadya. Well-used through the Slavic countries and Russia, Nadezhda was the name of Lenin's wife. Viewers of The Americans learned that this was the original Russian name of the spy known as Elizabeth Jennings, played by Keri Russell.