Is Vladimir really unusable?

Hello Berries,

Does [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m] really sound too much like a vampire ? Is Putin the first thing that comes to mind? Can that association (and to some degree, [name_m]Lenin[/name_m], whose first name was also [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m]) be overcome ? In other words, do you think that a little [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m] would be teased (or feared!) all his life outside of Eastern Europe (my husband is Romanian/American and I’m [name_m]French[/name_m] with Yugoslavian origins but we live in Belgium and might move back to the US) ? Thank you in advance for your honest opinions !

do think of Putin, but I also think of Nabokov. Am hoping that was his first name, might be having a senior moment.

I think outside the US it would work better than inside the US.

I do think [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m] is a name that has great teasing potential

Nabokov is where my brain first goes then perhaps to Putin. I don’t think it’s unusable.

I think [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m] is a very cool name and my European friends tell me that Russian and Slavic names are very chic. In the U.S., it’s going to sound “foreign” in the sense of being a name from somewhere else that’s never really assimilated into the U.S. lexicon, perhaps because of its identification with a kind of Cold War movie villain Eastern European stereotype…sort of like [name_m]Boris[/name_m] or [name_f]Olga[/name_f]. And of course there is [name_m]Vlad[/name_m] the Impaler. But hey, vampires are stylish and sexy these days…

While the modern associations do come to mind. I agree with [name_f]Pam[/name_f] that my gut reaction is Cold War action movie villain, Tolstoy army officer, and -the Impaler. With all that I find it hard to like the sound of it. And the Vl- beginning feels very dusty.

It does bring to mind an austere Eastern European man who lives in a creepy castle. Something has to happen to sand [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m]'s vampire fangs down before it’s usable in the US.

Thank you so much ladies (and gents?) for your answers, they’ve been most useful - [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m] is now officially off of our list, so we’re back to our initial hesitation between the safer [name_m]Laszlo[/name_m], [name_m]Andrei[/name_m] and [name_m]Victor[/name_m] for our little boy due in four weeks - though any other suggestion is welcome at this point !!! We really don’t want him to be teased (or to grow fangs when the moon is full ! Or to work for the secret services with mystery blondes called Natacha or [name_f]Tatiana[/name_f] just yet!!!) every time we’re in the US to visit family or if we eventually move back there !
It is truly fascinating though how names are perceived differently in different cultures - in [name_f]France[/name_f], [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m] would be no problem if you have Eastern European roots (and it is true that “exotic” names are now much more in favour in [name_f]France[/name_f] than they used to be - I know a lot of people from the [name_m]French[/name_m] [name_u]West[/name_u] Indies called [name_m]Dimitri[/name_m], for some reason) and in Romania and the former Yugoslavia it’s just a regular name !
At any rate, thank you all very much !

[name_m]Even[/name_m] though you already decided, I’m going to say anyway that I love [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m] and it’s in one of our combos (our [name_m]Cornelius[/name_m] combo I think). I think it’s powerful and fierce with a tad bit of softness and sex appeal and…it’s just awesome.

[name_m]Just[/name_m] wanted to throw some love for [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m] out there. :slight_smile:

Thank you Dantea ! It does break my heart a little to take [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m] off our list - hubby was on the fence but has always been pushing like nobody’s business for [name_m]Laszlo[/name_m] instead, which does has the same type of manly-but-still-soft appeal. And at any rate, we’re still far from decided at this point, so who knows, we might end up with a name that’s completely different from any of them ! Yet I’m sure I’ll keep [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m] in mind in case we’re blessed with another little boy in the future… Maybe if enough of us have little Vladimirs the perception of the name in the US will change !? [name_m]Ah[/name_m], and it does sound great in a combo with [name_m]Cornelius[/name_m], well done!

As a person with Yugoslavian roots, I can tell you that it’ll work there, but not in the states. I automatically think Putin & Soviet Union. Honestly, in history class, that name might be one to tease.

[name_m]Amir[/name_m] is a great alternative, and it’s got a cleaner, chicer sound.

Well, [name_m]Laszlo[/name_m] is fabulous. I like [name_m]Victor[/name_m] too…but hard to beat [name_m]Laszlo[/name_m]. [name_m]Andrei[/name_m] is comparatively paler, so close to the overplayed [name_m]Andrew[/name_m] plus will create pronunciation problems in the U.S. I’m sure you’d be amazed at the things people would do to it.

So I think you’re in good shape!

I have [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m] on my list. I love the name, but I am European (even though I live in the States) and tend to be more daring with names.

I adore the names [name_m]Laszlo[/name_m] and and [name_m]Victor[/name_m], husband quickly marked them off the list. Good luck!

I am a mom to a [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m] and it really has not been that big of deal. Although, I will say that where we live his name is hardly the most unusual. It is mostly baby boomers who seem to have an issue with the name, which is the generation that will be retired by the time he is handing our resumes.
He has yet to be teased and I fail to see how the name is anymore tease-worthy than other names. By the age when his peers are old enough to get and make the [name_m]Vlad[/name_m] the Impaler joke, he will be plenty old enough to spin it in his favor. The same thing goes for dictator jokes.
We, parents and teachers, had joked when his preschool had names of leaders of [name_f]Russia[/name_f], Iran, and Iraq, because joking that preschool is new axis of evil is apropos.

No, not with Putin. And [name_m]Lenin[/name_m]. Before [name_f]Russia[/name_f] started acting up I might have said it would be usable, but I think the first place most American (and maybe European) minds will go is Putin.