I had my baby girl 11 months ago and we named her [name]Viktoria[/name] [name]Eve[/name]. My husband and I wanted to give her a name with Russian roots since that is where we are from, and my sons also have Russian names. After we named her I became very depressed about her name because I was scared that people would call her [name]Vicki[/name] or [name]Tori[/name] instead of [name]Vika[/name] which is the nn she goes by. In fact, I posted here around that time looking for advice and reassurance. Well I am so [name]HAPPY[/name] that I did not go through the name change.
Everyone, and I mean everyone I know (neighbors, my work colleagues, her daycare providers, etc.) call my daughter [name]Vika[/name] (pronounced Vee-kah). In fact, people do not associate the name [name]Vika[/name] with [name]Viktoria[/name] unless of course I tell them her full given name, which I always do. My fears were unfounded and I am happy that I gave my daughter such a strong and beautiful name. People love the nn [name]Vika[/name] and I feel good that I am “Americanizing” a common Russian name. Of course, there were and will continue to be people who upon hearing her full name automatically shorten it to the common American versions, but the minute I correct them, it becomes a non-issue.
In addition, I came across another name site and found a woman who named her daughter [name]Victoria[/name] 6 years ago because she has always loved that name. Years prior to the birth of her daughter, she and her husband visited [name]Russia[/name] and heard and fell in love with the dimunitive nn [name]Vika[/name] (they do not have Russian roots). Fast forward to present day…Her daughter is referred to as either [name]Victoria[/name] or [name]Vika[/name]. According to this woman, her daughter has never been referred to any other nn commonly associated with [name]Victoria[/name], and according to her, her daughter would not have it any other name. Her daughter both loves and prefers to be called [name]Vika[/name].
Obviously, people also initially assume that her name is spelled with a “c” (and rightly so) but again, once they are corrected then it too is no longer an issue.
My name is [name]Yana[/name]. There are people who I have known for years, and for one reason or another insist on spelling my name with a double “N”. I have learned that people who do this really don’t care for me. People who respect me will always spell my name correctly. I came to this realization when I joined facebook. People who in error spelled my name with a double "N’ apologized immediately and never misspelled it again. However, a couple of people who I continued to correct about the spelling continued to misspell it. That and some of their negative statements (to topics unrelated to this) convinced me that they do not respect me or my feelings and I no longer am in communication with them on FB.
Well, this too will be a test for my daughter when she is of age. She will know that if people continue to misspell her name (no matter how many times she may attempt to correct them) then those people obviously will never respect her wishes or individuality.
So all in all, I am very happy and proud of the name [name]Viktoria[/name] “[name]Vika[/name]” [name]Eve[/name], and could not thing of a better name for my precious DD. I hope my response will help other people who are considering naming their future daughter’s [name]Victoria[/name] or any other name that may love but maybe fearful of that name being butchered. It does not and will not happen, and my daughter is proof of that.
yet continue to ignore requests. If I misspell someone’s name who I am in constant contact with (which does happen) I personally make it a point to not do it again out of respect for that person.