Another name

[Tad Davis]

While we're on the subject of names... In A Drama in Livonia, one of the characters, a young woman,  is named Ilka Nicolef. The Nicolef seems clearly to be a version of Nikolaev; but Ilka is a puzzle. Could it be an attempt to render "Yulka," a diminutive of Yulia? And if so, given that Yulka could be either an affectionate nickname or an insult—so several web sites on Russian names inform me—wouldn't it be safer for her friends to use the more common derivative, Yulenka? (Not to mention more euphonic.)

 

Of course, it appears that Yulka and Yulenka can also be derived from Ulyanna.

 

(Her brother is called Jean Nicolef in the French, and to shift that into Ivan Nikolaev doesn't seem too drastic to me.)

 

Any experts in Russian names among the members of the group? (And given that this character is a Baltic Russian, per the novel's terminology, rather than a native Russian—does that change the answer? If there's no clear alternative, like there is for Jean, then Ilka she remains.

 

I know that many of these people were fluent in French, and in the Baltics at the time they would have had to be fluent in German as well. But Verne is at pains to emphasize their Slavic identity. If nothing else, this seems worth a footnote.

 

Tad Davis

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Tad Davis
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[Christian Sánchez]

Ilka may be a diminutive of Ilona, though this is not a traditional Russian name, or of Ilaria, but this is a very old name.

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[Alex Kirstukas]

Yes, Ilka’s a fairly common name in the former Austria-Hungary (and other places; there was a mid-20th-century American actor and writer named Ilka Chase). 

When Verne was writing A Drama in Livonia, the Hungarian prima donna Ilka Palmay was becoming an international star. I wonder if Verne heard about her and didn’t realize she was so far from Latvia - or liked the name and didn’t care about the distance?

On Jun 26, 2026, at 5:04 AM, Christian Sánchez <chvsa...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Tad Davis]

Sounds like Ilka should remain Ilka with a footnote, but I'm still planning to change Jean to Ivan and Nicolef to Nikolaev. I hope that's not stepping too far over the line. At least I'm not giving them any new dialogue or things to do!

 

Tad

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[Tad Davis]

I meant to ask if I might have permission to quote these very helpful responses.

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[Christian Sánchez]

Yes, of course.

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[Jan Rychlik]

Dear Tad,

There are 3 Czech translations of Livonia and two of them somehow manipulate the names. 

Two keep Ilka, one changes it for Olga. Jean is either translated to Czech (which was quite normal at the time of 1st publication of the novel) or changed for Ivan (the name exists in Czech as well). 

Nikoleff is changed for Nikolaev in one translation or Nikolaevich (which is nonsense) in 1960s adaptation of the 1905 translation. Two translations change Yannoff for Ivanov. The most recent translation (1977) also changes Gospodin for Godin. 

Some of the translations also change Johausen for Johansen. It is possible that this name was changed by the editor as it is changed in Le Village aéreen in the same series.

Best

Jan

26. 6. 2026 v 16:01, Tad Davis <tad.dav...@gmail.com>:



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[Tad Davis]

Jan,

 

What a can of worms! Thanks for the additional examples.

 

A strictly conservative approach would leave all things as they are and footnote them. I think I'm steering a middle course—making a few changes and giving Verne's original in a footnote.

• Dimitri Nicolef = Dmitri Nikolaev
• Jean Nicolef = Ivan Nikolaev
• Ilka Nicolef = Ilka Nikolaeva
• Wladimir Yanof = Vladimir Yanov
• Major Werder = Major Verder 
• Etc

And our friend Gospodin? A web search indicates the word isn't a name but a respectful term of address like "Master" or "Sir." Did Verne just like the sound of it? What I've tried to do is make a change where the equivalent seemed clear and leave it alone when there was no obvious equivalent. So I would leave Gospodin (and Johausen, and Doctor Hamine) as is.

 

There's precedent for making modest changes in the names. Existing English translations of The Mysterious Island change Gédéon Spilett to Gideon Spilett.

 

Tad

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Tad Davis
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