Behind the Name: Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Svetlana

SVETLANA

Gender: Feminine

Usage: Russian, Slovak, Bulgarian, Serbian

Other Scripts: Светлана (Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian)

Pronounced: svyet-LAH-nah (Russian), sveet-LAH-nah (Russian) [key]

Derived from the Slavic element svet meaning "light, holy". It was popularized by the poem 'Svetlana' (1813) by the Russian poet Vasily Zhukovsky.

(see also SVĚTLANA)