The philologist explained the reasons for the decline in popularity of the names Anastasia and Nikita.

The decline in popularity of the names Anastasia and Nikita is due to their prolonged presence among the most common, rather than a change in attitudes towards the names themselves. On April 9, comparative philologist and public relations manager Alyona Popova informed Izvestia about this.

"Any name that has been in the top for too long begins to be perceived as devoid of personality. Parents want to single out the child, but not so much as to give an exotic name, so they take a step away from the too common ones," the specialist noted.

Popova explained that the fashion for names develops according to the wave principle. At first, the name becomes popular due to famous personalities or heroes of popular culture, then it loses its individuality due to widespread distribution and gradually falls out of use. After one or two generations, such names may return, already being perceived as classic.

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Mass culture, according to the expert, has a noticeable impact on this process. Popular movies, TV series, or sports achievements can quickly increase interest in rare names.

"But this effect is short-term, because the name is too firmly attached to one character. After a few years, parents no longer want their child to be associated with a specific hero who could be outdated," Popova said.

At the same time, getting a name on the "unloved" list is more often associated with its frequency, rather than with negative associations. When a name becomes too common, it begins to be perceived as a background and loses its individuality.

On April 8, Svetlana Ukhaneva, head of the Moscow Registry Office, told what unusual names parents have given newborns in the capital since the beginning of 2026. These included Slavia, Iskra, Sora, Amur, Tsvetai and Patrikey. She noted that the popular names among newborns have not changed at the moment compared to last year.

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