Larisa
Greek at root, with an unusually solid meaning: a citadel or fortress. It stays rare in Poland, given to only a handful of girls each year and unknown to most people you would meet.
Larisa Pronunciation
Larisa is pronounced lah-REE-sah (/laˈrisa/).
What Larisa means
Where Larisa comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Larisa begins in Greek, in the city of Larissa on the plain of Thessaly. The fortified height at the center of such towns was called a larisa, and from that word the name took its meaning: citadel, fortress. Lara is the diminutive.
The name traveled north and settled deep into Russian use, where it became common enough to feel native. Part of that comes from the church calendar. Larisa of Gothia, a fourth-century martyr, is remembered among the saints of the Orthodox tradition, which gave Russian families a name-day to keep.
In Polish the name appears as Larisa and in the variant Larysa. On a class register, a Larysa sits among names of older local standing, her own reaching back to a Greek fortress wall.
How many people are named Larisa
1 in 19827 women in Poland is named Larisa. 1,137 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #905 among female names.
Larisa's popularity over time
2 girls were given the name in 2025, ranking #1653 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2010. Still the #905 name among living women, even as it slips to #1653 among newborns.
Where Larisa is most popular
Larisa is most popular in Kuyavian-Pomeranian, 559% above the national average (2 girls born 2019–2025), followed by Greater Poland (+235%) and Silesian (+217%).
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian2 girls born+559%
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Greater Poland2 girls born+235%
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Silesian2 girls born+217%
Larisa as a middle name
Larisa is a first name for 1,137 women in Poland and a middle name for another 40, a 97/3 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 1093rd, between Heidi (40) and Martine (40).
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#1091 Hazel40
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#1092 Heidi40
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#1093 Larisa40
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#1094 Martine40
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#1095 Meryem40