Well, 6 to 8 weeks is quite a while really. If you go there with a short list, call her [name]Nastia[/name] to begin with -as that is esentially her name - and then my guess is you will be able to narrow your list quickly.
As far as your DH is concerned, I agree with your instinct to put more pressure on him to generate names. As you are well aware, this is a very very different situation from when you named your own newborns where all you needed to consider was how much the two of you liked the names. Give him some paremeters like names that can be derived from [name]Anastasia[/name] and [name]Nastia[/name] to begin with and see how he fares once he is more engaged in the process. If you keep suggesting names for him to veto you will run out of options. Also - don’t be super quick to throw away a name just because he gave you a knee-jerk no response to it.
Some others I think might be just similar enough, but still feel like [name]Audrey[/name] & [name]Harper[/name]'s sister:
[name]Naia[/name]- Hawaiian, to flow
[name]Nada[/name]- Arabic, dew at sunrise (though in spanish it means ‘nothing’)
[name]Nahla[/name]- Arabic, drink of water
[name]Naiara[/name]- Basque place name
[name]Naima[/name]- (ny-EE-ma)
[name]Nakia[/name]- Arabic, pure
[name]Nalani[/name]- Hawaiian, calm skies
[name]Nancy[/name]- I know this is slightly ‘old’ but I think it would be refreshing on a little girl.
[name]Nara[/name]- Celtic, thunderclap
[name]Nashira[/name]- Arabic, bearer of good news
[name]Nasima[/name]- Arabic, breeze Fresh air
[name]Natania[/name]- Hebrew, gift of God
[name]Natasha[/name]- Russian, born on [name]Christmas[/name] day
[name]Nazira[/name]- Arabic, equal
Oops - I missunderstood - you have 6 to 8 weeks from now to decide, but must come to a decision within a couple days of meeting the child. In that case, I agree with you that you need to have this decision made in advance to avoid any added stress.
I think that [name]Anastasia[/name] is very pretty, but [name]Nastia[/name] would be troublesome in the US. What do you think of [name]Anya[/name] / [name]Anja[/name]…the Russian pronunciation of [name]Anna[/name]. It would be an easy transition for the little girl and I think it sounds good the the American ear, but will be familiar for her. This would be my top choice because I think it’s really stylish and cute AND would be best for the child.
Also, if you like [name]Elise[/name] maybe you would like [name]Elena[/name]. It’s also Russian and easily pronounced with a Russian accent.
Or [name]Natalia[/name] or [name]Natasha[/name] with nn [name]Nata[/name] would be an easy transition.
My husband is Russian and I’m learning the language and would love to adopt from Eastern Europe someday. Message me if you want any more advice. I think that certain names should be avoided because of pronunciation issues…like TH and J sounds can be difficult to say with a Russian accent. She’s so young I am sure her accent will be gone in no time at all, but to make the adjustment easier maybe you should think about it?
My first thought was how fortunate it is that [name]Anastasia[/name] is such a gorgeous name and one that is familiar to Americans. However, these facts do not help your current dilemma. I agree that [name]Nora[/name] [name]Anastasia[/name] is a good choice, but understand that your husband is not going for it. [name]Natasha[/name] [name]Anastasia[/name] would be lovely. If you keep [name]Anastasia[/name] as a first name, I do think [name]Nancy[/name] could work as a nickname. Another nickname idea for [name]Anastasia[/name] is “[name]Asia[/name].”
I second the idea of shortening [name]Nastia[/name] to [name]Tia[/name], as it would be the least disruptive. And because [name]Tia[/name] is a great name, too.
The name [name]Anya[/name] is also worth considering. The English [name]Anne[/name], [name]Annie[/name], and [name]Anna[/name] do sound very similar, but the Russian [name]Anya[/name] (AHN-ya) begins with a different vowel sound.
What about [name]Anne[/name]/[name]Anna[/name] variation names like
[name]Annora[/name]
[name]Annette[/name]
[name]Annika[/name]
[name]Anais[/name] (actually a great name for you, very similar to [name]Anastasia[/name])
[name]Anthea[/name]
[name]Anabelle[/name]
[name]Annelise[/name] (very pretty, uses An from [name]Anastasia[/name] and your hubby’s fave [name]Elise[/name] - really loving this for you!)
[name]Anita[/name]
[name]Anniston[/name]
or how about [name]Astrid[/name] (same sounds as nASTia)? [name]Audrey[/name], [name]Harper[/name] & [name]Astrid[/name] sound lovely together. I guess I must also point out the teasing potential of this name as well.
[name]Hannah[/name] could also work well for you guys. A familiar american name, similar in sound to [name]Ana[/name]. Great compromise!
I hope this helps. A sincere congrats to you and your family, what a beautiful thing you are doing for this little girl.
Alrighty then, I’ve got a “potential” from the hubby on [name]Anastasia[/name] [name]Cate[/name] and call her [name]Anna[/name] [name]Cate[/name]. Then she can keep her russian name and have an american nickname.
This is a great compromise! I love keeping [name]Anastasia[/name] as her fn and [name]Anna[/name] [name]Cate[/name] sets her apart from grandma but keeps her identity. Very nice.
I do stil like [name]Tia[/name]/[name]Thea[/name] as an alternative nn to [name]Anastasia[/name] that is close to her current [name]Nastia[/name] nn.
What about [name]Anya[/name]? There’s that sweet movie about the Russian princess [name]Anastasia[/name] (who was also an orphan) and she went by [name]Anya[/name]
[name]Anastasia[/name] [name]Cate[/name] is very pretty! I really like the [name]Thea[/name] spelling instead of [name]Tia[/name], too. Probably because [name]Tia[/name] made me think of [name]Tia[/name] and [name]Tamera[/name] when I was writing it. Not a terrible association but I just kept picturing all those horrible overalls and ridiculous 90’s clothes and then I got the [name]Sister[/name]/[name]Sister[/name] theme song stuck in my head. [name]Thea[/name] seems much more timeless!
[name]Anastasia[/name] [name]Cate[/name] nn [name]Anna[/name] [name]Cate[/name] is beautiful (and leaves it open for her to create her own nn or use her full name when she is older if she wants!)! If this choice falls through, then I think you should choose something that is Russian for her first name, such as [name]Natalia[/name], [name]Natascha[/name], [name]Natasha[/name], [name]Nadia[/name], [name]Natalia[/name], [name]Nessa[/name], [name]Nina[/name], or [name]Nikita[/name], to keep with her heritage. Congratulations!
I love [name]Anastasia[/name] [name]Cate[/name] nn [name]Anna[/name] [name]Cate[/name], it’s lovely! It maintains her Russian heritage plus will work well here in the U.S.
Congrats on the adoption, what a blessing to both your family & this little girl.
Yes, [name]Anastasia[/name] [name]Cate[/name] is a terrific solution. I, too, am so glad that [name]Anastasia[/name] will probably be her first name. It’s a real beauty, and the nn [name]Anna[/name] [name]Cate[/name] will be well received by her peers! You have probably already thought about this, but maybe pair her current nn with [name]Anna[/name] [name]Cate[/name] “[name]Nastia[/name] [name]Anna[/name] [name]Cate[/name],” and when she is used to hearing [name]Anna[/name] [name]Cate[/name], you can gradually drop [name]Nastia[/name]. Wishing you all the best!
