Anya?

Girl Names
1

Anya and [name_f]Annika[/name_f] are guilty pleasure names of mine. We’re binging “The [name_f]Queen[/name_f]’s [name_m]Gambit[/name_m]” on Netflix this weekend and I can’t get over how mesmerizing [name_f]Anya[/name_f] [name_u]Taylor[/name_u]-[name_f]Joy[/name_f] is, so the name is front-and-center in my mind. Could I move it from guilty pleasure to contender, considering the following:

  • Husband and I are American with mostly Irish/Welsh roots, although my great-great grandmother (who lived until I was 13 or so) was the daughter of Polish immigrants. [name_f]Áine[/name_f] would be a lovely choice but I prefer the phonetic [name_f]Anya[/name_f]

  • I’m a passionate cat/kitten foster for our local rescue, everyone who knows me thinks “oh the cat lady!” and my first, oldest personal pet cat is named [name_f]Annie[/name_f]. I adopted her 9 years ago and I chose the name because she was an orphan. Would everyone assume I named my kid after my cat??

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2

I love the name [name_f]Anya[/name_f] soooooo much! [name_u]Truly[/name_u] a stunning, bright name! I think it would be a wonderful choice to honor your roots! I also think that [name_f]Anya[/name_f] is distinct enough from [name_f]Annie[/name_f] to use it.

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3

I LOVE [name_f]Anya[/name_f]. I feel like [name_f]Annie[/name_f] and [name_f]Anya[/name_f] are distinct enough as [name_f]Anya[/name_f] isn’t pronounce ANN-ya.

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4

Anya is gorgeous- sweet and lively! I don’t think people would assume you’d named her after a cat

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5

I love [name_f]Anya[/name_f]! And I don’t think people will make any connections to your cat’s name :blush:

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6

I know several American girls named [name_m]Ah[/name_m]-na ([name_f]Anna[/name_f]) so I don’t think [name_f]Anya[/name_f] would be considered strange. As for pets, I don’t think [name_f]Annie[/name_f] & [name_f]Anya[/name_f] are too close, and even if they were personally I wouldn’t let that stop me from using a name I loved. Our pets are members of our family, but they don’t live as long and usually people have several pets throughout their lives, so your daughters name would outlast the association with your pet.

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7

I really appreciate everyone’s feedback! [name_f]Nina[/name_f] has been my #1 girl name for a while, but I think it’s because I felt I wasn’t allowed to use a name like [name_f]Anya[/name_f]. Full name would be [name_f]Anya[/name_f] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_m]Benn[/name_m]

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8

Beautiful and sweet name!

9

I think [name_f]Anya[/name_f] is perfectly usable whether you have Russian/Eastern European heritage or not. I also think [name_f]Anya[/name_f] can work despite having a cat called [name_f]Annie[/name_f].

Anya is a lovely choice go for it :raised_hands:t4::raised_hands:t4:

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10

I think [name_f]Anya[/name_f] is perfectly usable in the US, it is a beautiful name and seems easy enough to pronounce! I think [name_f]Annie[/name_f] and [name_f]Anya[/name_f] sound different enough for people to not think she is named after a cat.

12

Love the name [name_f]Anya[/name_f]! It feels very distinct to me from [name_f]Annie[/name_f], [name_u]Anne[/name_u], [name_f]Anna[/name_f] etc.

As for usable in the US: I’m in the US and have known a couple [name_f]Anya[/name_f]’s (one [name_f]Anya[/name_f] and one [name_f]Aine[/name_f]). No issues with usability at all that I’ve seen?!

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