The baby name Vashti is another Biblical bad girl prime for reinvention.
Thanks to Taylorluia for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
VASHTI in the OLD TESTAMENT
When we first meet Vashti in the Old Testament, she’s the wife of King Ahasuerus of Persia. She’s known for her beauty.
The royal couple hosts a banquet over many days. One night, the king has too much to drink and insists his beautiful wife make an appearance. Reading between the lines, the king might be asking her to appear nude. Other scholars note that, clothed or otherwise, for a queen to enter a roomful of men was already scandalous.
Vashti flatly refuses.
The king is humiliated, and decides to put the beautiful Vashti aside. He marries again, to Esther.
Queen Esther gives another story there, of course.
Back to Vashti. Some accounts make her prideful and stubborn. Others paint her as a hero, a strong-willed woman who refused to debase herself – no matter the consequences. It’s easy to forget Vashti, especially because Esther truly does risk all to save lives. But Vashti feels notable – and noble, too.
Is any part of the story true? Probably not, though Ahasuerus is usually identified with King Xerxes I, and his wife was Amestris. Her name means “strong woman” in Persian. History suggests Amestris was cruel and vengeful. While it’s hard to know for certain, her story does not resemble the Old Testament events around Vashti or Esther.
THE MEANING of VASHTI
Read her story, and the baby name Vashti means “strong and uncompromising ancient queen,” at least in the popular imagination.
But how about the origin of Vashti?
The name could mean:
- Beauty, goodness, excellence – from Old Persian, and the meaning widely accepted today.
- Others have argued for Hebrew roots, and the meaning thread. But this seems to be a later suggestion.
- It could be borrowed from the name of an Elamite goddess.
VASHTI from the 1800s to TODAY
The baby name Vashti has been used in small numbers over the years.
- In Charlotte Bronte’s Villette, Lucy Snowe is a young English woman teaching at a girl’s school in the European village of Villette. Lucy admires an actress, referring to her as Vashti.
- E.M. Forster wrote a cautionary tale about man’s dependence on technology called “The Machine Stops.” One of the main characters is Vashti.
- In 1956’s Giant, a tale of a Texas family, Vashti is a minor character, the BFF to Elizabeth Taylor’s future matriarch. It was based on Edna Ferber’s 1952 novel. The movie was a commercial and critical success, still watched all these years later.
- Folk singer-songwriter Vashti Bunyan had a brief career in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Thirty years later, her music was discovered and Vashti became a cult sensation. She came out of retirement and recorded new music. Vashti was her middle name, said to be inspired by her father’s boat. Bunyan dropped the more pedestrian Jennifer long ago.
Other writers have used the name, for at least two poems in the nineteenth century. Toni Morrison gave the name to a minor character in her novel Beloved.
As a given name in the US, Vashti has held steady. 19 girls received the name in 2012, and 23 in 1912. As of 2023, 15 girls were named Vashti.
The numbers vary in between, but between ten and three dozen girls receive the name most years.
DARING RARITY
If you’re after a daring rarity with rich history, the baby name Vashti might be one to consider.
It’s easy to overlook Vashti’s story, but there are hints of a strong, principled woman in the Old Testament account. And the name’s sparing use across so many years makes it an intriguing choice. Vashti hides in plain site, a modern and surprising sound and style with centuries of history behind it.
What do you think of the baby name Vashti?
First published on January 7, 2014, this post was revised on August 1, 2024.
I was just hearing about the soon to be Olympic high-jumper Vashti Cunningham, which led me to look up the name and this website. My great-aunt (my grandmother’s sister) was named Vashti. She was born sometime in the 1905-1915 range. She pronounced it “Vashta”.
Several years ago, I discovered the unusual name of Vashti in my family tree. Upon looking for a meaning I was surprised to learn that it came from the story of Esther in Bible. I remembered the story but didn’t remember ever hearing or learning the name of the Queen whom Esther replaced. It’s quite a nice name.
I know a couple of women called Vashti. Both are Australian.
Vashti, great choice. Memorable and spelt how it sounds. Vashti Whitfield has a very touching blog WW. Maybemcqueen.com she is great woman bringing up 2 kuds after losing her talented and ridiculously handsome husband who was a rising star in the acting field. Take a look. Vashti Whitfield!
Vashti was always a goodie in my mom’s telling of the Purim story. I dressed up as her more than one year.* If Vashti had less dignity/bravery/stubbornness, she would have just conceded to his demands, she’d say, and there’d have been no Queen Esther and the Jews of Persia would have been wiped out.
I’ve always kind of liked the name Vashti. Not as much as some Biblical names but I’d certainly not say it’s unusable.
I always wondered, as a kid, if Vashti wasn’t her real name – Esther being a Hadassah, was Vashti something else at home, or after being put aside?
*Of course my mom had TWO little girls to dress up as queens for the holiday, which might have something to do with it…
There’s something very rich and luxurious about this name, and Queen Vashti is a surprisingly attractive namesake.
I first learned to love this name through “Villette”, by the way.
A friend from HS used Vashti for their daughter’s middle name. All of their kids have NT first names and OT middle names, but Vashti is probably the most unusual of the bunch.
Vashti is an interesting sound and story! My grandmother (the Lota whose name you profiled) was born in Vashti, Texas, in 1923. The town is pronounced Vash-tie (long I sound), but I suspect that most people would say Vash-tee (long E sound). I prefer the latter myself.