2

Well, as I practicing Russian writing and its languages. I just want to know if some other name can be translate into Russian?

For mine, Aaron can be translate into "Аарон". Any Russian can help me do translate on this some names:

Samuel
Aahmes
Jeffrey
Eduard
Cathleen
Lawrence
Janine
Neil
Steffie
Simon

Anyway, I just want to extend my knowledge in Russian about people names.

3
  • 4
    There are Russian analogues for some of these names: Samuel -> Самуил, Eduard - Эдуард, Lawrence - Лаврентий, Janine - Янина, Simon - Семён
    – kotlomoy
    Oct 16, 2014 at 7:27
  • 3
    Use "analogues" with a caution or you can end up translating Michael Jackson as Михаил Иванов.
    – Artemix
    Oct 16, 2014 at 7:45
  • thanks, but I want to know how to use "analogues" on each name because in some Russian alphabets, there's no letter like w, j, c and h in Romanized letters. Oct 16, 2014 at 11:34

4 Answers 4

1

As for me, all of this names (except Eduard) - will be looking foreign for russian reader and probably should be just transliterated. Something like

Samuel - Сэмюэль,  Сэмуэл
Aahmes - Эймс
Jeffrey - Джеффри
Eduard - Эдуард (more russian), Эдвард (more foreign)
Cathleen - Кэтлин
Lawrence - Лоуренс
Janine - Джанин
Neil - Нил
Steffie - Стеффи
Simon - Саймон

Some tip: there is "russian IMDB" http://www.kinopoisk.ru/ - so search for famous actor/actress with desired names and take russian translation for it.

1
  • Thanks, I just want to know everything about Russian language. Oct 16, 2014 at 6:43
4

When transcribing the names of contemporary people, you should follow the usual rules of English-Russian transcription. Thus said:

Samuel    Самьюэл
Aahmes    Амс
Jeffrey   Джеффри
Eduard    Эдуард
Cathleen  Катлин
Lawrence  Лоренс
Janine    Джанин
Neil      Нил
Steffie   Стеффи
Simon     Саймон

Note that transcriptions above reflect rules codified by Gilyarevsky and Starostin, Kuznetsova and others.

They do not necessarily reflect the actual pronunciations of the names by American or British English speakers (or in fact any variety of English) and are results of multiple compromises made when developing those rules.

Those rules are not in any way comprehensive, nor widely known to general public. That's why, especially with the advent of the Internet, you might find name of the same person transcribed dozens of ways. You can find Samuel Jackson's name transcribed as Самуэль, Самуэл, Самюэль, Сэмюэл, etc., with pretty much every possible combination of open/close versions of all three vowels and palatalized/unpalatalized final л.

When transcribing the names of historical persons, or European monarchs, or Christian saints, or in multiple other special cases, you should use historically accepted transcriptions of those names (or their origins):

Samuel the Prophet        Пророк Самуил
Queen Aahmes              Царица Яхмес
Jeffrey of Monmouth       Гальфред Монмутский
Edward Longshanks         Эдвард Длинноногий
Lawrence of Arabia        Лоуренс Аравийский
Neil of the Nine Hostages Ниалл Девять Заложников
Simon Peter               Симон Пётр
1
Original   | Foreign variant  | Russian variant

Samuel       Сэмьюэл            Самуил
Aahmes       Эймс               -
Jeffrey      Джеффри/Джефри     -
Eduard       Эдвард             Эдуард
Cathleen     Кэтлин             -
Lawrence     Лоуренс            Лаврентий
Janine       Джанин             -
Neil         Нейл               -
Steffie      Стэфи/Штэфи        -
Simon        Саймон             Семён
2
  • Russian variant of Neil is Нил (for example Saint Нил Столобенский ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/…)
    – aknew
    Oct 20, 2014 at 14:46
  • 1
    @aknew: "Neil" is rendered Нил in Russian indeed, but St. Nilus's name is not related to "Neil" in any way.
    – Quassnoi
    Oct 21, 2014 at 7:36
0

Samuel - Самуэль(Сэмюэл)
Aahmes - Эмэс?
Jeffrey - Джеффри
Eduard - Эдуард
Cathleen - Кэтлин
Lawrence - Лоуренс
Janine - Джанин
Neil - Нил
Steffie - Стэфи?
Simon - Симон(Саймон)

1
  • thanks! anyway, I have some name there that are unique and I want to know if can be translated in Russian word. Oct 16, 2014 at 6:41

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.