The Russian female name Vasilisa (russian: Василиса) is of Greek origin ( gr, βασίλισσα, '' basilissa''), which means "queen" or "empress". It is the feminine form of

Vasily Vasili, Vasily, Vasilii or Vasiliy ( Russian: Василий) is a Russian masculine given name of Greek origin and corresponds to ''Basil''. It may refer to: *Vasili I of Moscow Grand Prince from 1389–1425 *Vasili II of Moscow Grand Prince fr ...

, the

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

form of the name

Basil Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also k ...

. Its use was inspired by a third-century Christian child martyr, Vasilissa, and several other early saints who are venerated by the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

and

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

churches. It was the name of several early princesses.

People with the name

Vasilisa Bardina Vasilisa Alekseyevna Bardina (russian: link=no, Василиса Алексеевна Бардина, born 30 November 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. As of 10 August 2007, her highest ranking was world No. 48, achieved in ...

(b. 1987), Russian tennis player * Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, Russian

operatic Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libret ...

mezzo-soprano *

Vasilisa Davankova Vasilisa Alexandrovna Davankova (russian: Василиса Александровна Даванкова; born 2 May 1998) is a Russian YouTuber and a former ice dancer and pair skater. With former partner Andrei Deputat, she was the 2012 Worl ...

, Russian ice dancer * Vasilisa Davydova, Russian tennis player * Vasilisa Forbes, Russian film director * Vasilisa Kaganovskaya, Russian ice dancer *

Vasilisa Kozhina Vasilisa Kozhina (russian: Василиса Кожина, —) was a Russian guerrilla in the Patriotic War of 1812 who fought against the invading French '' Grande Armée''. Biography Vasilisa came from Russian peasants. She was a wife of Gorshko ...

, Russian guerilla fighter * Vasilisa Marzaliuk, Belarusian wrestler *

Vasilisa Melentyeva Vasilisa Melentyeva (russian: Васили́са Меле́нтьева) (died 1579) was the legendary sixth wife of Ivan the Terrible. The marriage (not authorized by the Church) may have been celebrated in 1575 or she was simply a concubine. M ...

* Vasilisa Semenchuk, Russian freestyle skier * Vasilisa Volodina, Russian television host * Vasilisa Volokhova, Russian noblewoman

Fictional characters

Today the name is also associated with a

fairy-tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...

princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subs ...

because of its frequent use in Russian fairy tales. The princess Vasilisa the Beautiful or Vasilisa the Wise is a stock character in Russian fairy tales, including "The Frog Tsarevna" and "

Vasilisa the Beautiful Vasilisa the Beautiful (russian: Василиса Прекрасная) or Vasilisa the Fair is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in '' Narodnye russkie skazki''. Synopsis By his first wife, a merchant had a single daughter, ...

". The character often rises in status from a peasant girl to the wife of a prince; or she is a princess who marries the hero after helping him to accomplish difficult tasks. Unlike other fairy-tale heroines who wait to be rescued, Vasilisa often accomplishes a series of tasks that help her defeat the villain of the story. In the tales, the character is also usually a successful housekeeper, which helps her win the love of the prince.Tatar (2002). Fictional characters with this name include: * Vasilisa Dragomir, a character in the book series ''

Vampire Academy ''Vampire Academy'' is a series of six young adult paranormal romance novels by American author Richelle Mead. It tells the story of Rosemarie "Rose" Hathaway, a dhampir girl, who is training to be a guardian of her moroi best friend, Vasilisa " ...

'' by

Richelle Mead Richelle Mead (born November 12, 1976) is an American fantasy author. She is known for the '' Georgina Kincaid'' series, '' Vampire Academy'', '' Bloodlines'' and the '' Dark Swan'' series. Education and career Richelle Mead was born in Michigan, ...

* Vasilisa Petrovna, the protagonist of the

Winternight trilogy The ''Winternight'' trilogy is a series of adult historical fantasy novels written by American author Katherine Arden. The trilogy consists of '' The Bear and the Nightingale'' (2017), '' The Girl in the Tower'' (2018), and '' The Winter of the Wit ...

Katherine Arden Katherine Arden Burdine (born 1987), best known by her pen name Katherine Arden, is an American novelist. Known primarily for her ''Winternight'' trilogy of fantasy novels, which are set in medieval Russia and have garnered nominations for Hug ...

Similar names

* Basilissa (name)

Notes

References

*Satran, Paula Redmond, and Rosenkrantz, Linda (2007). ''Baby Name Bible''. St. Martin's Griffin. *Tatar, Maria (2002). ''The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales''. W.W. Norton and Company. {{ISBN, 0-393-05163-3 Russian feminine given names