Larissa () 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".
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. It is used in Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian and Latvian languages. In 2009, Larisa was the 21st most common name for girls born in Romania.
A Russian short form is Lara, made famous through Boris Pasternak's novel Doctor Zhivago (1957).
People named Larissa
Saint Larissa (died c.375), early martyr venerated by the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches Larissa Behrendt (born 1969), Australian legal academic, writer, filmmaker and Indigenous rights advocate Larissa Fiallo (born 1983), Miss Dominican Republic in the 2004 Miss Universe pageant Larissa França (born 1982), Brazilian beach volleyball player Larissa Giddings (born 1972), Australian politician Larissa Iapichino (born 2002), Italian female long jumper Larissa Kalaus (born 1996), Croatian handball player Larissa Kaur (born 1941), Estonian ballerina Larissa Kelly (born 1980), American scholar and Jeopardy! winner Larissa Lai (born 1967), Canadian writer, critic and professor Larissa Adler Lomnitz (1932–2019), French-born Chilean-Mexican social anthropologist Larissa Lowing (born 1973), Canadian artistic gymnast Larissa de Macedo Machado, professionally known as Anitta, Brazilian singer Larissa Manoela (born 2000), Brazilian actress and singer Larissa-Antonia Marolt (born 1992), Austrian fashion model Larissa Meek (born 1978), American model and beauty queen Larissa Mondrus (born 1943), German stage name of Soviet expatriate singer Larissa Riquelme (born 1985), Paraguayan model and actress Larissa Tago Takeda, Japanese-Brazilian voice actress Larissa Tudor (died 1926), woman rumored to be Grand Duchess Tatiana of Russia Larissa Volokhonsky (born 1945), Russian-born translator Larissa Werbicki (born 1996), Canadian rower