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There are also the "canonical" nicknames that are not obvious to non-Russian speakers. E.g. Nikolai is Kolja.

OnACoffeeBreak 4mo ago
And then we add the diminutives like Kolichka. Though, admittedly, there's much more of a pattern there.
somenameforme 4mo ago
With different transliteration that one at least makes sense. Nikolay = Kolya. But one that'll send most non-Russian speakers for a loop is Alexander = Sasha. It's like Richard = Dick, though there there's at least a rule that makes that one make sense (a rhyme with a shortened name so Richard -> Rick -> Dick, William -> Will -> Bill, etc). I wonder why it didn't just end up as Lexa, which would fit the other patterns for Russian names/diminutives.
- maxgashkov 4mo ago
  Lexa (to be more precise, Lyoha) is a shortened version of Alexey (Aleksei); but if it wasn't reserved for that, Lyoha sounds a bit rude (and a more gentle version akin to Sasha would be Lyosha).
- orthoxerox 4mo ago
  The "-sha" pattern is relatively consistent: Pavel-Pasha, Mikhail-Misha, Natalya-Natasha, Nikolay-Nikolasha, Alexey-Alyosha, Mariya-Masha, Ilya-Ilyusha. So, Aleksandr-Aleksasha. The dropping of "Alek" is the only inconsistent part, on par with Agrippina-Agrusha-Grusha.
  - LearnYouALisp 4mo ago
    Interesting, never heard 'Nikolasha' once
    - pavel_lishin 4mo ago
      Ditto.
    - yurish 4mo ago
      It is not common. Usually you say Kolya.
    - chokolad 4mo ago
      > Interesting, never heard 'Nikolasha' once It's archaic, used in Peter I times. Modern one is Kolya
- pavel_lishin 4mo ago
  > I wonder why it didn't just end up as Lexa One of the potential diminuitives for "Aleksandr" is indeed "Lesha", although I think it's more common as a diminuitive for "Aleksei"?
  - yurish 4mo ago
    Never heard anyone using "Lesha" for "Aleksandr". It is always "Aleksei".
- childofhedgehog 4mo ago
  Because Lexa is short for Alexei, not Alexander!
  - wolfreiser 4mo ago
    Sometimes people also confuse Vlad with Vladimir, but it's actually Vladislav. Vladimir would be Vova.
selicos 4mo ago
Russian diminutives, making nicknames much harder to track for those not familiar with the culture and language. Vladimir is Vova is Volodya, same person. Then other parts of their full name may have variations depending on use.

And then we add the diminutives like Kolichka. Though, admittedly, there's much more of a pattern there.

With different transliteration that one at least makes sense. Nikolay = Kolya. But one that'll send most non-Russian speakers for a loop is Alexander = Sasha. It's like Richard = Dick, though there there's at least a rule that makes that one make sense (a rhyme with a shortened name so Richard -> Rick -> Dick, William -> Will -> Bill, etc). I wonder why it didn't just end up as Lexa, which would fit the other patterns for Russian names/diminutives.

maxgashkov 4mo ago
Lexa (to be more precise, Lyoha) is a shortened version of Alexey (Aleksei); but if it wasn't reserved for that, Lyoha sounds a bit rude (and a more gentle version akin to Sasha would be Lyosha).
orthoxerox 4mo ago
The "-sha" pattern is relatively consistent: Pavel-Pasha, Mikhail-Misha, Natalya-Natasha, Nikolay-Nikolasha, Alexey-Alyosha, Mariya-Masha, Ilya-Ilyusha. So, Aleksandr-Aleksasha. The dropping of "Alek" is the only inconsistent part, on par with Agrippina-Agrusha-Grusha.
- LearnYouALisp 4mo ago
  Interesting, never heard 'Nikolasha' once
  - pavel_lishin 4mo ago
    Ditto.
  - yurish 4mo ago
    It is not common. Usually you say Kolya.
  - chokolad 4mo ago
    > Interesting, never heard 'Nikolasha' once It's archaic, used in Peter I times. Modern one is Kolya
pavel_lishin 4mo ago
> I wonder why it didn't just end up as Lexa One of the potential diminuitives for "Aleksandr" is indeed "Lesha", although I think it's more common as a diminuitive for "Aleksei"?
- yurish 4mo ago
  Never heard anyone using "Lesha" for "Aleksandr". It is always "Aleksei".
childofhedgehog 4mo ago
Because Lexa is short for Alexei, not Alexander!
- wolfreiser 4mo ago
  Sometimes people also confuse Vlad with Vladimir, but it's actually Vladislav. Vladimir would be Vova.

selicos 4mo ago

Russian diminutives, making nicknames much harder to track for those not familiar with the culture and language. Vladimir is Vova is Volodya, same person. Then other parts of their full name may have variations depending on use.