Vasilisa
From Greek, it means "queen" or "royal", and it reaches Polish by way of Russian. Fewer than 500 women here carry it, so most Poles have never met one, and it's given even more rarely now.
Vasilisa Pronunciation
What Vasilisa means
Where Vasilisa comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Vasilisa reaches back to the Greek basilissa, the feminine of basileus, meaning king. The word named a queen, and the short sense stays close to that root: królewska, queen, royal. Few names wear their meaning so plainly.
In Russia the name belongs above all to Vasilisa the Beautiful, heroine of a folk tale that Alexander Afanasyev collected in the nineteenth century. She keeps a small doll left to her by her dying mother, and when she feeds it in secret, the doll survives the errands Baba Yaga sets for her. A royal name went to a girl who gets through by cleverness.
On a Polish school register the five syllables stand out and slow the teacher down. The name stayed rare in Poland, without the homegrown diminutives that soften Katarzyna or Barbara, so it holds its full shape. What sits underneath is basilissa: queen.
How many people are named Vasilisa
1 in 50547 women in Poland is named Vasilisa. 446 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #1401 among female names.
Vasilisa's popularity over time
2 girls were given the name in 2025, ranking #1866 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2020. Still the #1401 name among living women, even as it slips to #1866 among newborns.
Where Vasilisa is most popular
Vasilisa is most popular in Pomeranian, 319% above the national average (4 girls born 2019–2025), followed by Lower Silesian (+293%) and Greater Poland (+43%). It is least common in Masovian, 13% below average.
-
Pomeranian4 girls born+319%
-
Lower Silesian4 girls born+293%
-
Greater Poland2 girls born+43%
-
Lesser Poland2 girls born+36%
-
Masovian2 girls born−13%
Vasilisa as a middle name
Vasilisa is a first name for 446 women in Poland and a middle name for another 2, a 100/0 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 6926th, between Varshini (2) and Veranika (2).
-
#6924 Varduhi2
-
#6925 Varshini2
-
#6926 Vasilisa2
-
#6927 Veranika2
-
#6928 Vibeke2