‘Anya’ (Аня)
A2N0Y6A posted a photo:
This early morning i thought i would take a moment and explain my name and my interest in Russia, something apparent perhaps when viewing many of my ‘favorites’ here in Flickrland.
I’m sure a lot of people wonder why i chose the name i did as a Transgender person a long time ago now and i figured i’d solve this mystery today for you all with a nice post of a photomanipulation of mine i had not yet included here, done in 2018.
Before ‘Anya’, i was known as ‘Squirrel’ to everyone, not legally but for a very long time and even to coworkers, employers and everyone who knew me… I was known by a Nickname i’ve had since i was a teenager.
When i chose my name after becoming open about my gender, beginning the process of transition by changing it as well as laser facial hair removal long ago now i chose a name i’ve always loved but it also has some meaning behind it.
My Mother’s middle name was ‘Ann’, a name that in some form appeared on the Polish side of my family for a few generations. I wanted to take a name that connected somehow to the women in my family.
I’ve had a lifelong interest in Russia, Russian history and culture and i chose the Russian ‘Anya’ (Аня) which is related to the Polish ‘Ania’ or the English ‘Anne’. I always thought Anya was a beautiful name and it fit nicely given my interests as well.
Some wonder if i am Russian having this name which to my knowledge i am not but there’s always a possibility given i don’t fully know the story of my family like many here in the USA where our ancestors came from elsewhere. Here in the USA it’s common for people to name their children anything they like and you’ll find people of all sorts of ethnic backgrounds bearing names that aren’t part of their genealogy which may be confusing to some elsewhere where this is not as common.
As far as i’m aware, i’m 1/2 French, 1/4 Polish and 1/4 Irish.
I still went by ‘Squirrel’ largely until i began hormones 3 years ago now and some still know me by that name. Anyone i knew decades ago when i see them again still calls me Squirrel which is fine but it’s not how i introduce myself and given where i am at in life in transition on hormones Anya is much more fitting.
So, there you have it… Mystery solved. 😉
*I’m unsure if in a ‘former life’ i was Russian, i believe in reincarnation but i thought it was funny one day when a Russian friend told me ‘I must have been Russian in a former life’ after she had known me for awhile. Who knows, maybe she’s right… Or, maybe i just appreciate Russia for the history, beauty and what i continue to learn from people there. Either way, i’m happy it’s my name.
I’m unable to travel lacking the resources to do so but if i could go anywhere in the world, travel and photograph it extensively… Russia absolutely would be my choice.
