Larissa (name)
Larissa (Ancient Greek: Λάρισσα) is a female given name of Greek origin, 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]
Famous people
- Saint Larissa (died c.375) - early martyr venerated by the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches
- Larisa Latynina (born 1934) - Russian-Ukrainian former Soviet gymnast
- Larissa Volokhonsky - Russian-born translator
- Larissa Mondrus (born 1943) - German stage name of Soviet expatriate singer
- Larisa Bergen (born 1949), Soviet Olympic volleyball player
- Larisa Savchenko Neiland (born 1966) - Latvian former tennis player but she was born in Lvov, Ukraine
- Larissa Lai (born 1967) - Canadian writer, critic, and professor
- Larissa Tahireh (Lara) Giddings (born 1972) - Australian politician
- Larissa Meek (born 1978) - American model and former beauty queen
- Larissa Kelly (born 1980) - American scholar and Jeopardy! winner
- Larissa Fiallo (born 1983) - Miss Dominican Republic in the 2004 Miss Universe pageant
- Larissa Mabel Riquelme Frutos (born 1985) - Paraguayan model and actress
- Larisa Shepitko (1938–1979) - Soviet film director
- Larissa Tudor (b. ??? - d. 1926)- looked strikingly similar to former Grand Duchess Tatiana of Russia. Her background was sketchy and contained a lot of irregularities. Following her death it was rumored that she was the former grand duchess. Sixty years after her death when author Occleshaw was writing a book about her, those who had known her identified a pictured of Grand Duchess Tatiana of Russia as being Larissa.