Larissa (name)

Larissa (Ancient Greek: Λάρισα) is a female given name of Greek origin that is common in Eastern European nations of Orthodox church heritage. It is derived either from Larissa, a nymph in Greek mythology who was a daughter of Pelasgus, or from the name of the ancient city of Larissa in Greece which meant "citadel".^[1] The name was later borne by the Christian martyr of the fourth century Saint Larissa. The name is spelled Λάρισα in modern Greek and Лариса in Cyrillic, and based on either may also be Latinised as Larisa. A Russian short form is Lara, made famous through Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago (1957).^[2]

People named Larissa/Larisa

• Saint Larissa (died c.375), early martyr venerated by the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches
• Larisa Bergen (born 1949), Soviet Olympic volleyball player
• Larisa Blazic (born 1970), video installation artist and academic
• Larissa Fiallo (born 1983), Miss Dominican Republic in the 2004 Miss Universe pageant
• Larissa França, Brazilian beach volleyball player
• Larissa Mabel Riquelme Frutos (born 1985), Paraguayan model and actress
• Larissa Tahireh (Lara) Giddings (born 1972), Australian politician
• Larissa Kelly (born 1980), American scholar and Jeopardy! winner
• Larissa Lai (born 1967) ,Canadian writer, critic, and professor
• Larisa Latynina (born 1934), Russian-Ukrainian former Soviet gymnast
• Larissa-Antonia Marolt (born 1992), Austrian fashion model
• Larissa Meek (born 1978), American model and former beauty queen
• Larissa Mondrus (born 1943), German stage name of Soviet expatriate singer
• Larisa Savchenko Neiland (born 1966), Latvian tennis player
• Larisa Oleynik (born 1981), American actress
• Larisa Ratushnaya (1921 – 1944), Hero of the Soviet Union
• Larisa Shepitko (1938–1979), Soviet film director
• Larissa Tudor (b. ??? - d. 1926), woman rumored to be Grand Duchess Tatiana of Russia
• Larissa Volokhonsky, Russian-born translator

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