Varvara

It sounds a bit Gothic to me for no reason.

In Russia it sounds very XIX century, a name from classic literature. Quite harsh. V-r-v-r. But it seems to return these last 5 years or so: I hear more and more about little girls named Varya.
Good name for singer or fashion designer, still pretty much an out of line, drawing attention kind of name.

I used to kind of like this name, and the nickname Varya, but now I dislike it as much as the English name Barbara. Varvara is as dated in Russia as Barbara is in the English-speaking world, though I've heard it's starting to be used a little bit more in recent years. It's just too heavy and old-fashioned for me.

It means barbarian, so that's not really the nicest meaning, but it's a pretty name. I like it better than the English Barbara because I feel like the b's in that name are too harsh.