Russian Girl Names

The first name of Ethiopian supermodel Liya (pronounced like Leah) Kebede is also a Russian variation of Lia and Lily. Rather than using Liya, English speakers will do better to call a child Leah or Lia.

Known in America via the wife of Soviet head Mikhail Gorbachev; a possibility for parents of Eastern-European descent wanting to move beyond Natasha and Nadia or for parents from the Middle East looking for a name that works in both cultures.

Now that Zoe is getting wildly popular in the U.S. and the U.K. -- one poll puts it at number one in Wales -- parents may start hunting down fresh twists like this.

Nice, energetic -- dare we say dashing. -- quality.

This was a 100 percent boys' name till the willowy Mischa Barton of TV's "The OC" made it unisex, a la Sascha.

A pan-European short form often used as a name in its own right, Rina is sister to names like Mina and Lena, popular at the end of the 19th century and showing their pretty if slight faces again. In the Netherlands, Rina itself is sometimes shortened to Rineke, as Tina may become Tineke.

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

This chic Ukrainian form of Helen is relatively unknown outside of its native country, but it definitely has international appeal. Olia or Olenka are the usual Ukrainian diminutives, but tomboyish Oli or Leni could work too.

Enticing modern nickname name possibility.

Courageous sister of Raskolnikov in Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment.

Agata is an Agatha form widely used throughout Europe. And the hard t may be more appealing to your ear than the th sound.

Zariyah has several possible origins: the Arabic Zahrah which means "flower" or Zariya "scattering wind"; the Hebrew name Azariah, meaning "God has helped"; or the Russian word Zaria which means "sunrise, dawn."

Vasilisa is the feminine form of Vasili, the Russian translation of Basil.

Largely male throughout Europe, this name--spelled with or without the c, is an energetic choice that has really taken off for girls here; it's been used for the daughters of Steven Spielberg, Jerry Seinfeld, and Vanessa Williams. The Barack Obamas use Sasha as the nickname for their younger daughter, whose proper name is Natasha. Sasha Alexander, on the TV show Rizzoli & Isles, was born Suzana.

Tora is the female version of Tor or Thor, the name of the Norse god of thunder. Actress Jeanne Tripplehorn chose it for her daughter.

One of the warm and earthy Russian nickname names now coming into style. Denzel Washington is the father of a Katia.

A Top 10 name in Moscow. In Russian, the emphasis is put on the first syllable.

Shura is a unisex Russian nickname for Aleksandr or Aleksandra, themselves forms of Alexander. Less known in the English-speaking world than Sasha, it's also more assertive — probably because of that "sure" sound.

With the rise of both international names and those that start with the letter V, this sharp alternative to Vera may become more familiar in the English-speaking world.