Anastasia (from Greek: Ἀναστασία, romanized: Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word anástasis (ἀνάστασις), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe.
Pronunciation | English: /ˌænəˈsteɪʒə/, UK also /-ziə/ Greek: [anastaˈsi.a] Russian: [ɐnəstɐˈsʲijə] Ukrainian: [ɐnɐstɐˈs⁽ʲ⁾ijɐ] |
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Gender | Female |
Language(s) | Greek: Αναστασία Russian: Анастасия Ukrainian: Анастасія Serbian Cyrillic: Анастасија Bulgarian: Анастасия |
Origin | |
Meaning | "Resurrection" |
Region of origin | Greece |
Other names | |
Short form(s) | Asya, Nastya, Sia, Stacey, Stacie, Stacy, Stasia, Tasia, Tacy |
Related names | Anastacia, Annastasia, Anastasiya, Anastasya |
See also | Athanasia |
The name Anastasia originated during the early days of Christianity and was given to many Greek girls born in December and around Easter.[1] It was established as the female form (Greek: Ἀναστασία) of the male name Anastasius (Greek: Ἀναστάσιος Anastasios pronounced [anaˈstasi.os]),[2] and has the meaning of "she/he of the resurrection".[2][3] It is the name of several early saints; including Anastasia of Sirmium, a central saint from the 3nd century who is commemorated during the first Mass on Christmas Dawn each year according to the traditional calendar of the Catholic Church[1] and on December 22 according to the Eastern Orthodox Church. Slavic diminutives include Nastya,[2] Nastia or Nastja (Serbian, Slovenian) as well as various hypocoristics: Nastenka, Nastyusha, Nastyona, Nastasia, Nastunja.
Anastasia is a very popular name for girls, especially in Europe, where most names have Christian associations.[2] Anastasia was the most popular name for girls for many years in Russia until 2008, when it was surpassed by the name Sophia.[4][5] It remains one of the top ten names for Russian girls,[4][5] as well as for girls in Belarus,[3] Moldova,[3] Serbia,[6] Georgia,[7] and Montenegro.[8]