Anastasia阿納斯塔西婭

Additional information: As the female variant of the Greek male name Anastasius, Anastasia has been used as a female name since around the middle ages in Europe. The meaning of the name is thought to be “resurrection”. Because of this, it was a name commonly given to female children born on or around Christmas day in many Greek Christian communities.

There are several saints named Anastasia. St. Anastasia of Sirmium was a fourth century martyr. December 25 is St. Anastasia's Day. St. Anastasia the Patrician lived in the sixth century. In order to escape the advances of Emperor Justinian she dressed as a man and lived in a monastery for twenty-eight years.

Anastasia is also the name of the daughter of Russian Tsar Nicholas II, who was executed with his family in 1918. Anastasia, a young girl at the time, is thought to have escaped before this happened. Stories have emerged about how Anastasia escaped, and a grave containing the bodies of the rest of her family did not contain a body that fitted her description. An alternate version of the story was told in the animated film 'Anastasia'.

Variations exist in the spelling of Anastasia, with common alternate spellings being Anastacia, Annastasia, and Annastatia. The name also boasts of many different variants internationally. While most English speaking countries stick to Anastasia, Eastern European countries such as Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus spell the name as Anastasiya with a slightly different pronunciation. In France the name can be used as Anastasie and in Poland the name is sometimes used as Anastazja. Commonly used nicknames for Anastasia include Ana, Anna, Anya (Russia), Stacy, Stacia, Nastya (Russia), Stasya (Russia), or Stacie. Short forms Stacy, Stacie, or Stacey can be seen as full, separate names as well.

The popularity of Anastasia has not been high in many English speaking countries. In 2014, the US saw this name ranked as the 240th most popular female baby name, the highest rank it has ever received in the country. Chile has this name ranked as the 80th most popular female baby name in 2014, on an upward trend. In the UK Anastasia was ranked as the 276th most popular in 2014. In Russia, the name was the most popular female baby name for many years up until 2008. It remained in the top 10 most popular through 2014.

Famous people with the name Anastasia are: Anastasia Baranova, an actress; Anastasia Grishina, a gymnast; tennis player Anastasia Myskina; Anastasia Nikolaevna, daughter of tsar Nicholas II; and Anastasia Bezrukova, a model.