Ruslana
A Slavic name that means "lioness". Only about 6,000 women in Poland carry it today, all of them women, so meeting one tends to stick with you.
Ruslana Pronunciation
Ruslana is pronounced roos-LAH-nah (/rusˈlana/).
What Ruslana means
Where Ruslana comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Ruslana is the feminine counterpart of Ruslan, and both belong to the Slavic naming tradition. Alexander Pushkin fixed the masculine form in memory with his 1820 poem Ruslan and Ludmila, where the hero rides out to reclaim a stolen bride. The feminine Ruslana followed after, and it is the form Polish and Ukrainian families still reach for.
The short meaning handed down for Ruslana is "lioness," lwica in Polish. That reading attached to the name later; it was never the literal root. Still, it lends Ruslana a hard, unbowed edge.
In Ukraine the name gained a living face when the singer Ruslana won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004 with "Wild Dances," the country's first victory there. On a Polish class register, Ruslana stands out among the Katarzynas and Annas. The lioness stays. Lwica, in one plain word.
How many people are named Ruslana
1 in 3754 women in Poland is named Ruslana. 6,009 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #453 among female names.
Ruslana's popularity over time
3 girls were given the name in 2025, ranking #1343 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2021. Still the #453 name among living women, even as it slips to #1343 among newborns.
Ruslana as a middle name
Ruslana is a first name for 6,009 women in Poland and a middle name for another 5, a 100/0 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 3834th, between Runyararo (5) and Rużena (5).
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3832
5Rozyta
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3833
5Runyararo
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38345Rusłana
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3835
5Rużena
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3836
5Różamaria