Тима? Джима

Is Тима (Тимофей) a Russian name?

My wife's little brother's name is Тимофей and I told her that I could go by Джима (Джаймс), but she said that this isn't possible.

Both names Timothy and James are taken from the Bible... Except Timothy is probably more common in Russia than James. But that doesn't make Тима any more Russian than Джима. Right? My wife says that Тима is a Russian name and I can only go by Джим.

Help me out here. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by jjjiimm

Is Тима (Тимофей) a Russian name?

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Yes.

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My wife's little brother's name is Тимофей and I told her that I could go by Джима (Джеймс), but she said that this isn't possible.

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Both names Timothy and James are taken from the Bible...

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Many names in many languages are originally taken from the Bible. But it doesn't matter. In Russian, we say Иаков, Яков, and in English, you say Jacob (Джейкоб), and in French they say Jaques (Жак). Every nation has its own names.

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Except Timothy is probably more common in Russia than James.

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Both Timothy and James are not common in Russia at all; they're just foreign English names. Тимофей (Timofey) and Timothy are completely different names for Russian ears (although they have the same roots).
The only thing is that the English name Timothy has a strict equivalent in Russian (Тимофей), and the name James does not. Historically, English kings James's are called Иаков (Яков) in Russian, but actually, I don't know why; because there is a closer English name for Яков: Jacob.

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But that doesn't make Тима any more Russian than Джима. Right?

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No, that's wrong. Тима is common and sounds completely familiar and Russian. Джима sounds just incomprehensible and weird (and probably like a female foreign name). Then again, in Russian, we don't have the "J" sound. We convey it as "дж" in Russian, but it sounds foreign anyway.

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My wife says that Тима is a Russian name and I can only go by Джим.

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She's right.
You should believe your wife. :)

Olya's right. And James is a modified English version of Jacob.
Timothy comes from Greek Τιμόθεος (Timotheos) meaning "honouring God". It's not a Jewish name, but Greek. And Russian Тимофей is closer to the 'original' than Timothy.

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Originally Posted by Оля

Джима sounds just incomprehensible and weird (and probably like a female foreign name).

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I agree with Оля. If someone heard "Джима," he/she may think it's the mispronounced Джина (Geena? Gina?) which is female, or the name Джим (Jim) in the genitive case.

I used to know two guys whose name was Тимофей, one of them was called Тим by his friends (I don't remember about the other guy)).

Thanks a lot for your guys' awesome replies. Now I understand where she was coming from and have a better understanding of names in soceity.

I definitely don't want to go by Яков because it sounds like Jacob (or Jake) and not James (or Jim) at all. Джим is good.