Which version of Yevgeniy?

General Name Discussion
1

Dear all,
I recently moved to the US and now struggling with the difficulties people have pronouncing my name. My full name in Russian is [name_m]Yevgeniy[/name_m]. The short version, which is used in most of the times, is Zhenya (or Jenya). A less frequent short version is Zheka (or Jeka). The full version [name_m]Yevgeniy[/name_m] is normally used only in very official occasions. I am originally from Ukraine and in official documents the Russian names are usually translated to their Ukrainian equivalents (you often don’t have any choice), in my case it was translated to the Ukrainian form Yevgen. Although this version is shorter and seems to be easier to pronounce, I don’t have much attachment to it as I have never used the Ukrainian version before.

Now I am trying to figure out which version of the name to use in my everyday life without seeing people giving up on pronouncing it. I have the following variants:

[name_m]Yevgeniy[/name_m] / [name_m]Yevgeny[/name_m] - original full Russian version

Evgeny - modern transliteration as normally seen in Russian passports. Looks easier than the original, although with a slightly changed pronunciation (maybe easier pronunciation for English speaking people?).

[name_m]Evgeni[/name_m] - I’ve seen this version used by some athletes ([name_m]Evgeni[/name_m] Plushenko and [name_m]Evgeni[/name_m] [name_f]Malkin[/name_f]).

Yevgen - Ukrainian version as in official documents.

Zhenya / Jenya - Short Russian version.

Yev - I’ve seen this a couple of times in the US, not a typical Russian short form though.

Now the English forms:

[name_m]Eugene[/name_m] - English form of [name_m]Yevgeniy[/name_m], which seems to be an obvious choice for the English equivalent but it is not a very popular name in the US.

[name_u]Jay[/name_u] - after the first letter of Jenya.

[name_m]Jeff[/name_m] - also from Jenya.

[name_m]Jack[/name_m] / [name_m]Jake[/name_m] - after the short version Jeka / Zheka.

Which version do you like more? or if you have suggestions for other versions I would be happy to hear them.
Thank you

2

I love [name_m]Eugene[/name_m], so that would be my choice if you really want to make your name more English. But [name_m]Yevgeniy[/name_m] is such a beautiful name, it’s a bit of a shame to change it just because people in English speaking countries can’t pronounce it. [name_m]How[/name_m] about just using Yev as a nickname?

3

Another vote for [name_m]Eugene[/name_m]. [name_m]Yevgeniy[/name_m] confuses me because I’m not familiar with a lot of Russian names, though I don’t think you should change it. Maybe you can use both versions? That’s what I plan to do if I ever go to places where by any chance people have troubles with my name. Introduce yourself as [name_m]Yevgeniy[/name_m], then if after a few times of trying people still can’t get your name right, tell them they can call you [name_m]Eugene[/name_m] or whatever nickname you end up choosing.

4

I’m familiar with [name_m]Yevgeniy[/name_m] and people who can’t pronounce it just aren’t trying. The spelling is nearly phonetic so it’s not hard. I’d go with Yev or [name_u]Gene[/name_u] as a nickname

5

As soon as I saw the title of this thread, I was going to say [name_m]Evgeni[/name_m], because of [name_m]Evgeni[/name_m] “[name_m]Geno[/name_m]” [name_f]Malkin[/name_f] who you mentioned.

I’m a huge Pittsburgh Penguins fan so your name is familiar to me, and [name_m]Evgeni[/name_m] is the most familiar form to me because of [name_m]Geno[/name_m].

6

[name_m]Trust[/name_m] me, it’s not gonna hurt any American to learn how to pronounce a foreign name.

My suggestion is to use the full Russian name, and perhaps offer up a nickname for people who really continue to struggle pronouncing it. It is annoying to constantly have to repeat the spelling and pronunciation of your name, but [name_f]IMO[/name_f] your attachment to the name, it’s history, and preserving the name’s international usage trumps that. [name_u]America[/name_u] is supposed to be “the melting pot” after all.

I certainly wouldn’t blame you if you tried to go by a name most American English speakers would deem “easier”, such as [name_m]Eugene[/name_m]. But to me, the attachment of my name would be more important than spelling hassles.

7

I’m going to put my ignorance on display, because I have NO IDEA how to pronounce [name_m]Yevgeniy[/name_m]. I would guess “yev -[name_f]GEN[/name_f]-ee” with the G being a hard-G as in “gate.” I’m absolutely confused by the [name_u]Gene[/name_u] and [name_m]Jack[/name_m], soft-G/J suggestions. Is the name supposed to be Yev-[name_f]Jenny[/name_f]? Yev-Jeen-ee? I tried to find it at Forvo.com but there were no entries for [name_m]Yevgeniy[/name_m].

If the name is supposed to be with a hard-G sound, then that seems obtainable, and I think that just dropping the Y would help a lot. [name_m]Yevgeni[/name_m] LOOKS more phonetic, and the thing that’s intimidating to the American speaker is that “iy” at the end. I’d guess that the average American would look at [name_m]Yevgeni[/name_m] and give it a try, but because [name_m]Yevgeniy[/name_m] is so obviously foreign, we overthink it and give up.

Shortening to just Yev would be a very “American” thing to do, and might be a useful option. You do not have to change any papers or anything like that to use a short version of your name in that way.

If the name is supposed to have a J sound in it, then I see why people are getting confused. The J variations make sense to me if this is the case, and [name_m]Eugene[/name_m] makes sense to me also.

I definitely would not use Zh, unless you want people to use a Z sound instead of a J sound.

I’m sorry that your name is proving to be a challenge in your new country. I have a kid sister named [name_f]Tikvah[/name_f] and she has so much trouble with that name, even among children and youth, who are generally thought to be more open-minded than adults. The name is just tick-vuh. Easy. It’s not unusual for her to tell people “[name_m]Just[/name_m] call me [name_f]Hope[/name_f]” instead. It can really be a pain out there. In the end, you’re the one who has to deal with the daily headache of a foreign name. If you would rather have a more “American” name, I think that’s completely understandable, but I think if you want to keep your given name, there are ways to make it less intimidating to those around you.

Best wishes, and welcome!

8

I am so glad you posted this because if our next baby is a girl, one of her middle names will be [name_f]Yevgenia[/name_f]. My husband’s grandfather and my grandfather both have the middle name [name_m]Eugene[/name_m], and both are from [name_f]Russia[/name_f]. We wanted to give our daughter the original Russian spelling, but didn’t know if we should start with an E or a Y and what the difference really was. Your post helped us see the difference.

Keep your original name or the Russian diminutive like Zhenia. It’s a great name the way it is. Like a previous poster said, it won’t hurt Americans to learn how to pronounce foreign names.

9

I can’t believe that people would have difficulty pronouncing this name, it seems so basic to me. I would recommend keeping your full Russian name of [name_m]Yevgeniy[/name_m] and using the nickname Yev. I love the nickname Yev, I think it is so cool and it stays true to your name.

10

Same here. Keep YOUR name, it’s great. And Yev is the perfect and most natural nn.

11

I’d say use whatever you prefer to be called and most people will be able to pronounce it. We might flunk the spelling test if given but otherwise will be fine. It may help to say it slowly and have some hints/rhymes to help people hear it better. I have friends named Deepnaryan, My, Hoa, Ismet, Fahtu, etc.

12

I second the opinion of just going by Yev. Easy to say, easy to spell, makes sense as a nickname. All the things you’re looking for :slight_smile:

P.S. I don’t get all the people saying the name is intuitive to pronounce. There is no intuitive way to tell if the G is supposed to be hard or soft. We can’t follow English phonological rules because it isn’t an English name, so how did you figure it out?