Vasili
Greek at root, from the word for "royal" or "kingly", and better known in its Russian form. In Poland it barely registers: about 1,700 men carry it and most Poles will never meet one.
Vasili Pronunciation
What Vasili means
Where Vasili comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Vasili begins with a Greek word for power. Basileus meant king, the man who ruled, and the name grew straight from that title. The short meaning that follows it into Polish is królewski: royal, kingly.
The Russian link is strong. Vasili is the Russian form of the name that English speakers know as Basil and that Poles write as Bazyli. Tsars carried it. Vasili III ruled Moscow in the early sixteenth century, and the bright cathedral on Red Square took its popular name from Basil the Blessed, a holy fool of that city. This is a documented line, not a folk tale.
Behind the rulers stands Saint Basil the Great, the fourth-century bishop of Caesarea whose letters and sermons shaped Eastern Christianity. His feast day fixed the name in the church calendar and gave it a place among the name-days.
So the word inside Vasili keeps pointing one way. Basileus, king, and its Polish gloss królewski.
How many people are named Vasili
1 in 12534 men in Poland is named Vasili. 1,703 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #752 among male names.