Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
She has all the romance of a doomed Russian princess, plus plenty of peppy nicknames should your daughter prefer cleats to crinolines.
Thanks to Photoquilty for suggesting Anastasia as Name of the Day.
Royal references tend to favor ah nah STAY jheh, while religious ones usually opt for ah nah STAH see ah. Both pronunciations are valid.
One of the earliest Anastasias is a saint, and that’s appropriate as the name comes from the Greek anastasis – resurrection. St. Anastasia is remembered by name in the Catholic mass. Little is known about her life, but she died in the Diocletian persecutions.
The name is Eastern leaning, and indeed many – but not all – bearers of the name are Slavic:
- A second Saint Anastasia was a sixth century lady-in-waiting to the Byzantine Empress Theodora;
- Aelia Anastasia was the wife of sixth century Roman Emperor Tiberius II Constantine;
- The eleventh century Anastasia of Kiev was Queen of Hungary;
- Christine de Pisan mentions an illuminator of manuscripts working in Paris circa 1400 called Anastasia;
- Sixteenth century Anastasia was wife of Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible;
- King Nikola I of Montenegro used the name for his daughter, born in 1868;
- Anastasia Arapova married Carl Gustaf Mannerheim, the military commander and Marshal of Finland. She gave the French version of her name, Anastasie, to their daughter;
- Countess Anastasia Mikhailovna de Torby was a Romanov cousin known as Zia.
Then there’s Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, fourth child born to the last Tsar of Russia. The entire royal family was murdered during the revolution. Then, in the 1920s, Anna Anderson surfaced. She claimed she’d survived the massacre with the help of a sympathetic guard. She died in 1984. Several years later, DNA testing proved that Ms. Anderson was not the ill-fated princess.
Her tale is irresistible, and it has been adapted for the silver screen more than once. In 1956, Ingrid Bergman played Anna Anderson in Anastasia; an animated musical version was released in 1997.
The name remains extremely popular in Russia and is heard worldwide. Anastasia has ranked in the US Top 1000 every year since 1963, and was also popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through the 1970s, however, short forms Stacy and Stacey were chart-toppers. Stacia and Stasia are modern variants; Anstice is a medieval version. The formal name has slowly risen and stood at #313 by 2007.
It’s not a surprise. All those Stacys grew up with girls wearing the full name. Lois Lowry’s Anastasia Krupnik series of young adult novels debuted in 1979. (They’re banned with some regularity, adding to their appeal.) In 1950, Disney dubbed one of Cinderella’s evil stepsisters Anastasia. Subsequent sequels have shown a kinder side to this stepsib, and she even gets prettier.
Today there’s Anastasia “Nastia” Liukin, a second generation Olympic gymnast and 2008 gold medalist and pop singer Anastacia. She’s American, but she’s best known internationally.
On the map, there’s Anastasia Island, off the Atlantic coast of Florida, and St. Anastasia Island on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.
Anastasia’s vibe – feminine, royal, historic – works well with current favorites like Isabella and Alexandra. But she’s far less common, making her a great alternative for parents seeking something just slightly different.
Anastasia says
January 15, 2017 at 12:08 PMAnastasia is my first name and I love both my name and its meaning! I love both pronunciations (American Ana-stay-jia and European Ahna-stah-see-yah). Though here in Europe the second is how it’s usually pronounced. It means “resurrection – the one who will rise again”. Everyone tells me my name is adorable when they hear it. The only two things I dislike is that many people have trouble spelling it correctly (I’ve heard at least four versions) and that because of it’s length people will always try to shorten it when I like it just as it is. Nicknames people usually use for me are Annie, Ana, Stasia, Tasia, Nastia.
Anastasia says
February 9, 2015 at 6:03 AMAnastasia is my name and I love it! Even though it is way overused in Eastern Europe, so where I am from it is in no way rare, but I still love it.
anastacia Stratton says
December 22, 2013 at 4:11 PMMy name is Anastasia!
saracita00 says
September 18, 2012 at 2:10 AMI just now came across this post and I find it fascinating that it was written within a few days of my own daughter’s birth — we used Anastasia as the middle to a sweet one-syllable first. I wanted Anastasia to be pronounced in the 5-syllable style, but you would be amazed at all the dumbfounded looks we get over that so I gave up and say it the more familiar 4-syllable way. Nice name feature; I enjoyed the read.
annamaria says
June 16, 2012 at 7:32 PMI find myself loving the name Anastasia lately. I do wonder if it would sound strange with my other favorite girls names, Cordelia and Leonora. Hm I suppose its unlikely I’d have three daughters anyway but I do love this name.
emily says
August 29, 2011 at 9:02 PMmy best friend is named Tasia…..just Tasia. she loves the movie Anastasia, though. her mom named her that after hearing someone use it. a bit random, but its pretty!
Juliet says
December 24, 2009 at 8:27 AMI love the name. I honestly don’t know how people consider it pretentious. It boggles me. I think because the name isn’t overly popular in America and it is a very distinctly, foreign name, that maybe that is why it doesn’t always get a very positive response (just trying to reason it out).
I think it”s gorgeous as a full name. Angelina, Elizabeth,Charlotte,Penelope,Magdeleina etc are all long names that are of a similar vibe. I really don’t understand how someone can say its too long when you compare it to the above mentioned names.
I actually dislike the name Anna. I think Anna is a bit overrated and isn’t nice enough for its popularity. Anna is a good name, but it’s a name since I have passionately gotten into name etymology- that is now dull and boring to me. I think Anna is far to simple a nickname for such stunning name. Also, people will assume Anna is the full name.What’s the point of using a gorgeous, exotic name if you are going to use Anna every day?
I would use Stasia. It sounds more exotic and is straight forward.It keeps its Russian routes
and sounds more modern.
I don’t consider the name unique at all – it is a timeless classic to me. By the way, Anastasia is in no way popular where I live. After doing a lot of research about the names, it’s not unique – it’s just not super popular; specifically, in the US.It is number in 3 European countries, though
Tusia Kolodziej says
July 16, 2009 at 3:48 PMI also love Anastasia! Truth be told, it’s my name. Name? Anastazja Maria Kolodziej. I’m slavic, from Poland. But I don’t go by Stace, Stacee, Stacey, Staci, Stacia, Stacie, Stasa, Stasee, Stasey, Stasha, Stasia, Stasie, Staska, Stasy, Staycee, Staycey, Staysie, Staysy, Tacy, Ana or Taisie. All those seem to me as if somebody was trying to find a popular, “cool” nickname to a special, royal name.
I don’t uae the ones I posted, I use Tusia (Too-shia). And I don’t use Anastasia (Ana-STAI-jia), but Anastazje (Ana-stah-zee-a).
appellationmountain says
July 16, 2009 at 4:33 PMCzesc, Tusia! I have family in Warsaw, Krakow & Czestochowa – it is always nice to hear from someone in Poland!
Tusia is lovely in Polish; probably a little awkward in American English. Ana is, I think, the most sophisticated nickname option here, but Tacy and Stacy are fine, too – and I love the look of Anastazje, but it would REALLY trip up speakers of American English!
Emmy Jo says
April 5, 2009 at 4:57 PMI love Anastasia! It first made my list because of its religious meaning, but its great sound and royal feel have kept it on there.
My husband doesn’t care for it (he says it’s too long and princessy), so it’s not one we’re likely to use. Oh, well.
rockingfetal says
April 5, 2009 at 2:17 PMI really don’t care for it. I think it’s over the top and down-market. The potential for the nickname Stac(e)y curdles my stomach. Anna is so lovely; I don’t see the need for the rest.
JNE says
April 4, 2009 at 6:19 PMAnastasia is lovely. It’s a little long for me personally, but it’s a great name with lots of history and interest. I agree with Lola, it’s quite a frilly, romantic name – reminds me of ruffles and lace and I prefer the slavic names that are a little more edgy and sultry. I could definitely see the appeal of trying Anastasia as an alternative to Alexandra/Alexandria. But I will say, I don’t love Stacy or Nastia as nicknames… sticking with Anstice, Anya, Tasha, or Stasia is preferable to me.
Lola says
April 4, 2009 at 5:14 PMI like Anastasia but she’s a bit too frilly for me (I like smaller frills, thanks) and it’s quite formal in full. I’m not a fan of the nicknames, overmuch and while it is a family name for me and I did consider it for Josephine (long story there) I now have two younger cousins with the name (one Anna, one Stacey) so while I like it, I don’t like it enough to add a third to the family. It’d be lovely on anyone else’s girl though.. so regal and lushly frilly. Pretty!
Cat says
April 4, 2009 at 4:45 PMI don’t care too much for Anastasia, hate to say. It seems tawdry to me for a reason I can never put my finger on. I didn’t know Anstice was a form of it, though! One of my favorite books has an evil housekeeper Anstace Crouch, so it’s really interesting to know where the name came from.
photoquilty says
April 4, 2009 at 1:52 PMI’ve reserved Anastasia for the middle spot. It’s too long a name, too formal, but I find it works nicely after a short-sweet first name. Thanks for researching it.
Laney McDonald says
April 4, 2009 at 4:27 AMI like Anastasia, but my daughter is Anya so I couldn’t use it. It is a great name though.
One of my aunt’s friends from work has a daughter named Anastasia but she goes by Stacy, and Stacy’s brother is Alex, short for Alexander. Their parents love Russian names as much as I do. lol
I was thinking of calling my daughter Anastasia at one point, but I kept it sweet and simple and called her Anya.
SophieGray says
April 4, 2009 at 4:02 AMDH’s cousin has an Anastasia, siblings Max and Tabitha. I think she’s darling. I like Anastasia. She seems a bit too ‘heavy’ for me to use with my own kids, but I do find her lovely. She encompasses history, sophistication, interest and an abundance of nn into a lovely name.
I studied the Russian Revolution for years, and I was intruiged by Anastasia’s story, and the whole private life of the royal family, so maybe that’s the connection that grabs me?!