Vasiliy
A masculine Russian name meaning "royal" or "kingly."
Name Census estimates that about 75 living Americans carry the first name Vasiliy. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Vasiliy today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vasiliy births was 2020 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vasiliy. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Vasiliy. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
75
~ 1 in 4,570,058 Americans
Peak year
2020
9 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2020 SSA rank
#8,669
Tracked since 1994
Popularity
Vasiliy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vasiliy from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 29 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Vasiliy remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vasiliy 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 Vasiliy 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 Vasiliy
The name Vasiliy has its origins in the Greek language, derived from the word "basileus," which means "king" or "ruler." It was a popular name in the Byzantine Empire, where it was given to several emperors and members of the royal family.
In the early days of Christianity, the name Vasiliy gained significance as it was borne by several prominent saints and church leaders. One of the most notable figures was St. Basil the Great, a fourth-century bishop and theologian who played a crucial role in shaping the doctrine of the Trinity.
As Christianity spread throughout Eastern Europe, the name Vasiliy became widely adopted in regions such as Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. It was particularly popular among the Slavic peoples, who embraced the Orthodox Christian faith and its associated traditions.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Vasiliy can be found in the Primary Chronicle, a historical document dating back to the 12th century. It mentions Prince Vasiliy Svyatoslavich, who ruled the principality of Novgorod in the late 11th century.
Throughout history, several notable figures have carried the name Vasiliy. One of the most famous was Vasili III, the Grand Prince of Moscow, who ruled from 1505 to 1533 and played a significant role in the unification of Russia. Another prominent bearer of the name was Vasili Zhuravlev (1914-1996), a Soviet military officer who fought in World War II and later became a Hero of the Soviet Union.
Vasili Kandinsky (1866-1944), a Russian painter and art theorist, is also widely recognized as one of the pioneers of abstract art. His innovative works and theories on the spiritual and emotional aspects of art had a profound impact on the development of modern art movements.
In the realm of literature, Vasili Grossman (1905-1964) was a Soviet writer and journalist known for his novels and short stories that explored the harsh realities of life under Stalin's regime. His masterpiece, "Life and Fate," is considered one of the greatest works of 20th-century Russian literature.
Another notable figure was Vasili Arkhipov (1926-1998), a Soviet naval officer who played a crucial role in preventing a possible nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. His decision to refuse to launch a nuclear torpedo against the United States is widely regarded as a pivotal moment in averting global catastrophe.
People
Vasiliy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vasiliy as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Vasiliy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vasiliy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 75 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vasiliy 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 4,570,058 US residents.
Is Vasiliy a common name?
We classify Vasiliy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 76 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vasiliy most popular?
The single biggest year for Vasiliy was 2020, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vasiliy is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Vasiliy a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vasiliy in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.