Anastasia

Anastasia (from ) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word, meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe. Origin The name Anastasia originated during the early days of Christianity and was given to many Greek girls born in December and around Easter. It was established as the female form (Greek: ) of the male name Anastasius (Greek: Anastasios ), and has the meaning of "she/he of the resurrection". It is the name of several early saints; including Anastasia of Sirmium, a central saint from the 3nd century who is commemorated during the first Mass on Christmas Dawn each year according to the traditional calendar of the Catholic Church and on December 22 according to the Eastern Orthodox Church. Slavic diminutives include Nastya, Nastia or Nastja (Serbian, Slovenian) as well as various hypocoristics: Nastenka, Nastyusha, Nastyona, Nastasia, Nastunja. Popularity Anastasia is a very popular name for girls, especially in Europe, where most names have Christian associations. Anastasia was the most popular name for girls for many years in Russia until 2008, when it was surpassed by the name Sophia. It remains one of the top ten names for Russian girls, as well as for girls in Belarus, Moldova, Serbia, Georgia, and Montenegro. Given name