Russian names - popular abroad

Russian names are getting more and more popular abroad with every passing day. German scientists have noticed the following thing - fewer and fewer families give German names to their children. They prefer the names of their 'neighbors'. Scientists say it is connected with the fact that there are many immigrants in Germany. They are of absolutely different nationalities, from absolutely different countries, but what is interesting - Russian names are popular with all of them.

The list of the most popular names in Germany has greatly changed during the past 100 years. Such names as Fritz, Hans, Berta and Gertrude have completely disappeared. The generation of newborn babies usually get names that are well-spread in countries boarding with Germany.
The most popular names in 2003 are Alexander and Mary that are also on the top of the list in Russia. Such Russian names as Sofia and Ann, Elena and Ekaterina have got the following positions. The most popular male names are Maximilian, Paul, David and Lucka.
This statistics has been calculated according to the data given to scientists by 108 registry offices of Germany.

We can observe the same situation in Latvia, where Russian names are also very popular. It is clear when you have a look at the statistics. Last year the most popular name was Russian name Anastasia. It was given to 280 babies. Among the most popular names in Latvia there are also such Russian names as Nikita and Artem, which are in the 12th and 14th place. Probably it is due to the fact that approximately 38% of the population are Russian-speaking.