Daria (given name)

Daria or Darya (Дарья) is a traditional Russian female name, also used in some other predominantly Eastern Orthodox countries in Europe.

Origin
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 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. 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). The Greek name in this context means "God's Gift", from δῶρον ("gift") and θεός ("god").

Usage
In 18th-century Russia, about 4% of women had the name Daria. By the late 19th century, the name came to be seen as rustic and became associated with traditional peasant women. In the Soviet period, the name entirely went out of fashion and by 1960 almost totally disappeared. 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 (after Maria and Anastasia). In some regions of Russia it was even the 2nd most popular name. In Romania, in 2014, Daria was the 8th most popular name for baby girls.

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."

Spelling variants

 * Dārā Persian
 * Dareia Late Greek
 * Daria Latinized Late Greek, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Spanish & English
 * Darija (name) Croatian, Macedonian, Lithuanian & Serbian
 * Darinka Slovene
 * Dariya (name) Ukrainian & Bulgarian
 * Darya (name) Belarusian
 * Darja (name) Czech, Latvian & Slovene
 * Daruška Czech
 * Derya Kurdish
 * Derya Turkish
 * Daryna Ukrainian
 * Tarja Finnish

People

 * Daria Abramowicz, Polish sports psychologist
 * Daria Atamanov, Israeli rhythmic gymnast
 * Daria Bijak, German gymnast
 * Darya Dadvar, Iranian soprano soloist and composer
 * Daria de Pretis, Italian judge
 * Daria Dmitrieva, Russian rhythmic gymnast
 * Dariya Nikitichna Dobroczajeva, Ukrainian botanist and university teacher
 * Darya Domracheva, Belarusian biathlete
 * Daria Dolan, American business news anchor, author and radio host
 * Darya Dugina, Russian journalist and activist
 * Daria Gaiazova, Russian-Canadian cross-country skier
 * Daria Gavrilova, Russian-Australian tennis player
 * Daria Halprin, American psychologist, author, dancer and former actress
 * Daria Hazuda, American biochemist
 * Daria Joura, Russian-Australian gymnast
 * Daria Kasatkina, Russian tennis player
 * Daria Klimentová, Czech ballet dancer and teacher
 * Darya Klishina, Russian long jumper and model
 * Daria Kondakova, Russian rhythmic gymnast
 * Daria Kozlova (disambiguation)
 * Darya Kustova, Belarusian tennis player
 * Daria Lorenci, Croatian actress
 * Daria Marchenko, Ukrainian artist
 * Daria Nauer, retired Swiss long-distance runner
 * Daria Nekrasova, Belarusian-American actress and podcaster
 * Daria Nicolodi, Italian actress and screenwriter
 * Daria Obratov, Croatian luger
 * Daria O'Neill, American radio and television personality
 * Daria Onysko, Polish sprint athlete
 * Daria Pratt, former American golfer
 * Darya Pchelnik, Belarusian hammer thrower
 * Daria Pikulik, Polish track cyclist
 * Darya Pishchalnikova, Russian discus thrower
 * Darya Poverennova, theatre and film actress
 * Darya Saltykova, Russian serial killer
 * Daria Semegen, American composer
 * Daria Serova, Russian freestyle skier
 * Daria Shkurikhina, Russian gymnast
 * Daria Strokous, Russian model and film actress
 * Darya Safonova, Russian sprinter
 * Darya Saltykova (disambiguation)
 * Daria Timoshenko, Russian-Azerbaijani figure skater
 * Daria Trubnikova, Russian rhythmic gymnast
 * Tarja Turunen, Finnish singer
 * Daria Usacheva, Russian figure skater
 * Darja Varfolomeev, German rhythmic gymnast
 * Daria Varlamova, Australian pageant titleholder
 * Daria Virolaynen, Russian biathlete
 * Daria Werbowy, Canadian-Ukrainian model
 * Daria Widawska, Polish actress
 * Daria Willis, American academic administrator and historian
 * Daria Yurlova (born 1992), Estonian biathlete
 * Daria Zawiałow, Polish singer-songwriter
 * Daria Zuravicki, American figure skater
 * Daria Zhukova, Russian fashion designer
 * Daria Spiridonova, Russian Artistic Gymnast

Fictional characters

 * Daria Morgendorffer, title character of the MTV animated series Daria (1997-2002)
 * Daria, main female character in the 1970's movie Zabriskie Point
 * Princess Daria from the 2002 film The Princess and the Pea