Russian Names

Your little Pasha will rule the roost. In Russia, Pasha is traditionally given to a boy born on Good Friday.

Pavel may be widespread in the former Soviet Union, but it has a somewhat impoverished image here.

Popular Russian name, familiar here via author Svetlana Stalin, the dictator's daughter.

Well used in Russia, this is a distinctive and undiscovered choice here. Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov is the fictional protagonist of Crime and Punishment by Feodor Dostoyevsky.

Strong and attractive form of Cyril.

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.

Since this is strictly a male name in Slavic cultures, better to stick with the "Bella" spelling here.

Worldly, artistic and attractive Slavic version of the name of the Greek god of fertility and farming.

This form got noticed as the first name of long-reigning Russian president Brezhnev; other bearers include playwright and short-story writer Andreyev, Leonid the Magnificent,a Russian performance artist on America's Got Talent, and Leonid McGill, the protagonist of a Walter Mosley private eye series. All in all, though, Leonid is not the most likely to join the pride of lion-related names here.

Perfect name for a little girl born at Christmas. Its many variations and pet forms include Natalia, Nataliya, Natalie, Nataly, Natascha, Talya, Talia, Tasha and Tasya.

Possibly a variation of the ultra-popular Greek Zoe, Zoa was given to around 2 dozen baby girls each recent year.

Asya has dual origins: it is both the Turkish word for Asia (the continent), and a short form of Anastasia in Russian and Bulgarian. Beyond that, it is a beautiful example of a "travelling light" name, in the style of Aria: short, elegant, and usable across different cultures.

The Russian variation of Alex or Alec.

Sweet and soft alternative to Sasha.