Larysa
A feminine variant of the Greek name "Laura" meaning "laurel plant".
Name Census estimates that about 143 living Americans carry the first name Larysa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Larysa today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Larysa births was 1993 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Larysa. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Larysa with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
143
~ 1 in 2,396,883 Americans
Peak year
1993
10 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2008 SSA rank
#19,215
Tracked since 1951
Census
Larysa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,305 people with the first name Larysa, which placed it at #10,283 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#10,283
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,305 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
95.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Larysa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Larysa is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Black (0.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Larysa described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Larysa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.8% · 1,250
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 32
- Black or African American0.8% · 10
- Two or more races0.5% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Larysa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Larysa from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 58 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Larysa remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Larysa by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Larysa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Larysa
The name Larysa has its origins in the Greek language and culture, tracing back to ancient times. It is a feminine form of the Greek name Laurentius, which is derived from the Latin word "laurus," meaning "laurel." The laurel tree held great significance in ancient Greece, symbolizing victory, honor, and poetic inspiration.
In Greek mythology, the laurel was closely associated with the god Apollo, who was considered the patron of poetry and the arts. Laurel wreaths were often awarded to victors in athletic competitions and poetic contests, further solidifying the name's connection to achievement and creativity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Larysa can be found in the works of ancient Greek historians and writers. Notably, Pausanias, a Greek traveler and geographer from the 2nd century AD, mentioned a city called Larissa in his famous work "Description of Greece." This city, located in ancient Thessaly, was believed to have been named after a mythological figure named Larissa, possibly a nymph or a local goddess.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Larysa or its variations. One of the earliest recorded examples is Larissa of Ephesus (circa 340 BC), a Greek woman philosopher and student of Plato. She is remembered for her contributions to the development of Platonic philosophy and her teachings in the city of Ephesus.
Another prominent figure was Larissa of Thessaly (circa 300 BC), a Greek philosopher and mathematician who lived during the Hellenistic period. She is credited with contributing to the field of geometry and is believed to have written works on mathematical subjects.
In the realm of literature, Larissa Shevchenko-Petrivska (1915-1965) was a renowned Ukrainian poet and writer. Her poetic works explored themes of love, nature, and the human experience, earning her a place among the most celebrated poets of 20th-century Ukraine.
Moving into the modern era, Larysa Petrivna Kosach-Kvitka (1871-1913), better known by her pen name Lesia Ukrainka, was a prominent Ukrainian writer, poet, and playwright. Her works played a significant role in shaping Ukrainian literature and promoting national identity during a time of cultural suppression.
Finally, Larysa Arkadevna Shepitko (1938-1979) was a renowned Soviet Ukrainian film director and screenwriter. Her films, such as "Wings" and "The Ascent," received critical acclaim and made significant contributions to the Soviet cinema of the 1960s and 1970s, earning her a place among the most influential filmmakers of her time.
People
Larysa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Larysa as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Larysa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Larysa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 143 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Larysa going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,396,883 US residents.
Is Larysa a common name?
We classify Larysa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 155 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Larysa most popular?
The single biggest year for Larysa was 1993, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Larysa is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Larysa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,305 people with the name Larysa, or 0.43 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,283 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Larysa in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Larysa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Larysa appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,302 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Larysa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Larysa is White at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.5%) and Black (0.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Larysa most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Larysa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.8% (1,250 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Larysa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Larysa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Larysa in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Larysa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Larysa in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Larysa can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Larysa?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.