Name profile

Svetlana

A name meaning "light, world".

PronunciationRussian /svʲɪt.ˈɫa.nə/; Bulgarian /svɛt.ˈɫa.nɐ/; Macedonian /ˈsvɛt.ɫa.na/; Macedonian /svɛt.ˈɫa.na/; Lithuanian /sʲvʲɛt.ɫɐ.ˈnɐ/
Usage languagesArmenian, Bulgarian, Estonian, Georgian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak
US rank (2025)#6,325

Meaning and history

Světlana is derived from Russian svet meaning “light” or “world” and was popularized by Vasily Zhukovsky’s 1813 poem Svetlana. It is sometimes used as a translation of Photine.

Popularity over timeUS births · girls
20062006: 29 births, rank #4,811
2007: 51 births, rank #3,289
2008: 35 births, rank #4,360
2009: 28 births, rank #5,097
2010: 18 births, rank #6,904
20112011: 22 births, rank #5,935
2012: 40 births, rank #3,854
2013: 29 births, rank #4,755
2014: 17 births, rank #6,987
2015: 26 births, rank #5,127
20162016: 20 births, rank #6,186
2017: 24 births, rank #5,338
2018: 29 births, rank #4,662
2019: 21 births, rank #5,798
2020: 27 births, rank #4,757
20212021: 22 births, rank #5,573
2022: 21 births, rank #5,793
2023: 26 births, rank #4,999
2024: 23 births, rank #5,443
20252025: 18 births, rank #6,325

In 2025, 18 babies were recorded with the name Svetlana, ranking #6,325 among girls.