On the reverse side of the old photograph, pencil was written: «Shura, 1956.».
The child asks his grandmother who it is.
«Uncle Sasha.
«So right here is Shura.».
«Well, yes, Alexander.».
Three names for three lines, and all three belong to one person.
Three names of one person
Shura, Sasha, and Alexander do not represent three stages of life. Alexander remains Alexander at the age of five and at the age of forty. It is not the person or the entry in the documents that changes, but the situation and the person who approaches him.
On old family photographs, the same person could very well have been either Shura or Sasha. The older relatives kept the usual childhood name, while friends and colleagues used a different one.
The full name remained unchanged. It was written in the passport, in the employment record, and on the plaque by the office door.
And the son's birth certificate lists the surname Aleksandrovich. Not Shurovich or Sasevich, no matter what they call him at home.
Last name here acts as a anchor. It preserves the connection to the full name of the father, no matter how far the home form has drifted away. How it works Russian surnames, We discussed it separately.
Where did Shura herself come from
Even Sasha doesn't seem like a completely foreign word next to Alexander.
It's more difficult with Shura. There are no «sh» or «u» sounds in Alexandra.
You can get to it by going in not from the right direction. In Alexander’s old speech there were more conversational variants than there are now. In the old speech, names like Lexandr, Lexaniya, and Lexasha were common. The initial «A» was lost in the name, and it changed within it, adding the usual suffixes. Sasha came out of this company.
And then the language did something unexpected. It didn’t stop shortening Sasha any further; it first lengthened it. A soothing form of Sasha appeared. And now the beginning of the word has already fallen off.
That's how Shura came about.
To understand a short name, you sometimes have to make it longer first.
In the same album
Nura is signed on the adjacent page of the album.
It turned out exactly the same with her. From Anna there existed the form of Anura, and from it came Nura, which lost its beginning.
Therefore, Nura and Shura resemble each other more than any of them by their full names. They both went the same path, and only the endings of their names remain the same.
But Yuri, pictured in the group photo, is not suitable for this company. In the documents, his name is Yuri, and that is his full name, not a shortened form. Yuri, Yegor and Georgiy are indeed related; they all descend from the Greek name Georgios, but in the Russian language their paths diverged long ago. Today, these three names are three separate ones with different surnames and different entries in the passport.
About that, Why there are so many forms of Russian names And how Sasha differs from Sasha and Shasha, we have already discussed separately. But Shura and Nura cannot be explained by just modern forms. We have to resort to those that have hardly been used for a long time.
What to do about it with my grandson
The child who grows up outside the Russian language sees Shura in the photos and hears about Uncle Sasha, while in the family documents he meets Alexander. It is almost impossible to connect them on their own.
But when the connection is found, the old album ceases to be a collection of strangers.
Get old photos of the children and ask who is signed on them and what the names of the people at home were. The conversation usually goes far beyond the names. You can get to know the Palme School by visiting two free lessons, First, the methodologist will determine the child's level, then the child will try to participate in the selected group.
Frequently asked questions about Russian name shortening
Why is Shura called Alexander?
Alexander had old colloquial forms Lexandr, Lexanya and Lexasha, from which Sasha was formed. She then gave the form Shasuara, and after further shortening it became Shura.
Why is Dmitry called Mitya?
Mitya originated from the old form of Dimitriy, which is still used in church usage. After the shortening of the initial syllable, the form Mitya was obtained, and from it Mitya and Mityusha.
Why does Yakov turn into Yashu?
The church form of the name Yaakov, commonly spelled Yaakov. In the household form, the initial «ya» remains, and the ending of the word is rearranged. «Sha» is here a common element of Russian household names, the same as in Maša, Dasha, and Góša.
Is Sasha Alexander or Alexandra?
Both. The form refers to both the masculine and feminine names, so one «Sasha» does not indicate the gender of the interlocutor. In conversation, this is usually clear from the verbs and adjectives.
Where to check which short name is formed from which name?
In the Russian dictionary of personal names, where each name is listed with its derivative forms. In English, people look for such pairs as confusing Russian nicknames or unexpected Russian diminutives.
