Daria (name)

Saint Daria of Rome is a venerated martyr of the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, which contributed to widespread adoption of the name.

There are two theories as to its origin. According to one version, Daria is the female variant of the Persian name Darius (via Latin Darius and Ancient Greek: Δαρεῖος Dareĩos from Old Persian داریوش Dārayavauš, literally "he who holds firm the good", that is, "wealthy", "prosperous" or "maintaining possessions well"). The modern Persian male variant of the name, Daria (Darya), is commonly written as Dara.[1] Daria is a Latinized Late Greek variant spelling of Darya. In Modern Persian, daryā (Old Persian drayah-) coincidentally means "sea".

An alternative origin suggested by Max Vasmer (among other linguists) is that Daria is a Russian form of the Greek name Δωροθέα (Dōrothéa; rendered in English as Dorothy).[2][3] The Greek name in this context means "God's Gift", from δῶρον ("gift") and θεός ("god").

In 18th-century Russia, about 4% of women had the name Daria.[4] By the late 19th century, the name came to be seen as rustic and became associated with traditional peasant women.[5] In the Soviet period, the name entirely went out of fashion and by 1960 almost totally disappeared.[6] However, subsequently the popularity rebounded and increased during the late 20th century and into the 21st, so that by 2006 it was the 3rd most popular name for girls born in Moscow and Saint Petersburg[7] (after Maria and Anastasia). In some regions of Russia it was even the 2nd most popular name.[8] In Romania, in 2014, Daria was the 8th most popular name for baby girls.[9]

The common Russian diminutive form of this name is Dasha (Даша). The English form "Dolly" was used as a nickname for Darya in Leo Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina."

• Pamela Redmond Satran; Linda Rosenkrantz (2007-02-20). The Baby Name Bible: The Ultimate Guide By America's Baby-Naming Experts. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 978-0-312-35220-2.