Larysa
From Greek, it means "citadel" or "fortress". Around 17,000 Polish women carry it and it stays close to Ukrainian usage, so meeting one is something you remember.
Larysa Pronunciation
Larysa is pronounced lah-RIH-sah (/laˈrɨsa/).
What Larysa means
Where Larysa comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Larysa reaches Polish from Greek, by way of a place. Larissa was a city in ancient Thessaly, and its name has long been linked to a Greek word for a citadel. That link gives the Polish reading of the name: twierdza, forteca. A fortress does not move.
The name feels Ukrainian to many ears, and one bearer fixed that association. Larysa Kosach, born in 1871, published under the name Lesya Ukrainka and became one of the central poets of the Ukrainian language. Her given name, the one on her birth records, was Larysa.
In Polish paperwork the fuller form Larissa sometimes appears, while Lara does the daily work as a diminutive. Read down a class register near the end of March and you may find a Larysa waiting for her imieniny. The meaning underneath stays the same, a fortress.
How many people are named Larysa
1 in 1297 women in Poland is named Larysa. 17,383 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #292 among female names.
Larysa's popularity over time
29 girls were given the name in 2025, ranking #446 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2001. Still the #292 name among living women, even as it slips to #446 among newborns.
Where Larysa is most popular
Larysa is most popular in Greater Poland, 149% above the national average (54 girls born 2019–2025), followed by Kuyavian-Pomeranian (+63%) and Silesian (+44%). It is least common in Lublin and Lubusz, 71% and 60% below average respectively.
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Greater Poland54 girls born+149%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian18 girls born+63%
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Silesian33 girls born+44%
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Opole6 girls born+29%
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Lower Silesian19 girls born+20%
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Lesser Poland24 girls born+5%
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West Pomeranian7 girls born−18%
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Pomeranian10 girls born−33%
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Łódź8 girls born−37%
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Podlaskie4 girls born−40%
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Masovian20 girls born−44%
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Warmian-Masurian4 girls born−45%
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Subcarpathian6 girls born−51%
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Lubusz2 girls born−60%
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Lublin3 girls born−71%
Larysa as a middle name
Larysa is a first name for 17,383 women in Poland and a middle name for another 499, a 97/3 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 311th, between Cristina (505) and Gabryela (497).
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309
507Mira
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310
505Cristina
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311499Larysa
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312
497Gabryela
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313
496Klaudyna
When Larysa celebrates name day
Larysa appears 1 time in the Polish name day calendar. The main date is 26 March.