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Help[Opinions] Vasya on a girl?
Saw this in a book where it was short for Vasilisa, but on this site it's only listed as male (short for Vasiliy). Does anyone know if it's ever used for girls?
And WDYT about Vasya in general? Could it be used as a first name on its own or does it have to be short for something?
And WDYT about Vasya in general? Could it be used as a first name on its own or does it have to be short for something?
This message was edited 2/7/2019, 11:12 PM
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I took Russian through high school, so I feel somewhat qualified to answer this accurately.
Vasya can be used for both Vasiliy and Vasilisa, like Zhenya can be used for both Yevgeniy and Yevgeniya, and Sasha for Aleksandr and Aleksandra.
In Russia, they don’t really use nn as a stand-alone fn. So if you met a Russian Vasya (whether male or female) it’s safe to assume that’s only their nn.
In a non-Russian setting where it wouldn’t matter as much (though would perhaps be a bit humorous if anyone knew better) you could certainly use Vasya as a fn, but I would personally prefer it as a nickname for Vasilisa (since were talking about girls here).
Vasya can be used for both Vasiliy and Vasilisa, like Zhenya can be used for both Yevgeniy and Yevgeniya, and Sasha for Aleksandr and Aleksandra.
In Russia, they don’t really use nn as a stand-alone fn. So if you met a Russian Vasya (whether male or female) it’s safe to assume that’s only their nn.
In a non-Russian setting where it wouldn’t matter as much (though would perhaps be a bit humorous if anyone knew better) you could certainly use Vasya as a fn, but I would personally prefer it as a nickname for Vasilisa (since were talking about girls here).
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I know a lot of Russians, Bulgarians and Ukrainians. I have only ever heard this on girls, strictly as a nickname for Vasalisa or Vasalina. I know Vasaliys too, but don't recall what they go by for short
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Coming from someone with limited knowledge of Russian names, it could definitely sound feminine (particularly since it ends in -a).
Coming from someone who is familiar with Russian names, or us name nerds, it would probably be more strictly masculine especially as a given name. As a nn, though, I think it's fair game for both boys or girls in this day and age.
I personally prefer the sound of Vasilisa.
Coming from someone who is familiar with Russian names, or us name nerds, it would probably be more strictly masculine especially as a given name. As a nn, though, I think it's fair game for both boys or girls in this day and age.
I personally prefer the sound of Vasilisa.
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