How Many Names Do You Have?

Some names may be shortened or have typical nicknames. We may call Alexander as Alex, Robert as Bobby, Jeffrey as Jeff and Bethany may be called Betty. My name is Anna, but in Russia, there are just a few situations when people call me Anna: when it’s an official event or when my mom wants to talk to me seriously. The problem is that we have a lot of forms for every Russian name. This is just the list for Anna: Anya, Anechka, Anyuta, Annushka, Anyutochka, Nyuta, Nyusha, Anka, etc. So I mostly used to hear Anya or Anyuta than Anna. Different people call me differently depending on the situation and their mood. And no asks what can they call me because we have the list of nicknames for everyone. Sometimes we change the official names so radically that you may think they are not connected at all. For example, Alexander in Russia is also Sasha, Sanya, Sanyok, Sashulya, Sashenka, Sanyochek or even Shura and Shurik. That is why I am becoming a little shocked when people ask me what they can call me. I usually say “just call me Anna” because I do not want people to be confused remembering all my Russian nicknames but my close friends here know that I am also Anya.

You definitely know more than me about American names and their short versions. Do your family and friends call you a lot of names?