The Name Raisa
Raisa is a female name of Greek origin meaning “heroine; carefree”. Below are the forms of the name, name days in the Orthodox calendar, character by tradition, numerology, the first letter, talismans and compatibility with other names.
Origin and meaning
Raisa is a female name of Greek origin. Meaning: “heroine; carefree”. The church form is Iraida. The name is usually derived from the Greek Ἡραΐς, “heroine”, or ῥᾳδία, “light, carefree”.
In the church calendar the name is written as Iraida: this is the name used at baptism and in church.
Forms of the name
| Full form | Raisa |
| Church form | Iraida |
| Short forms | Raya, Rayusha |
| Affectionate forms | Raechka, Rayushka |
Name days (angel’s day)
| September 18 | Martyr Raisa (Iraida) |
| October 6 | Martyr Iraida (Raisa) of Alexandria |
A name day is the feast of the saint after whom a person was baptised. If several saints share the name, custom is to celebrate the first feast after the birthday. Shown here are the main feasts in the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church, with civil (Gregorian) dates.
Character by tradition
Raisa, by tradition, is a calm, practical and friendly nature. She gets on well with people and knows how to run a household. She can be stubborn. Her strength is composure.
Name numerology
Letters of the name Raisa («Раиса») in the Russian 1–9 table: Р 9 + А 1 + И 1 + С 1 + А 1 = 13 → 4. The sum is reduced to one digit; the master numbers 11, 22 and 33 are kept.
Name number 4 — order and work. Four is the number of foundations: discipline, reliability, practicality. The person builds slowly but firmly; the weak spot is conservatism and reluctance to change.
Vowels give the soul number 3 (communication and creativity), consonants the personality number 1 (will and leadership). Inner motive: communication and creativity; outer manner: will and leadership. Such a gap is not bad in itself: others see one side, close people know the other.
In Slavic Cyrillic numerals (using the modern spelling of the name): Р=100 + А=1 + И=8 + С=200 + А=1 = 310, reduced to 4. Letters that had no numeric value are skipped. This is an additional digit, not a second name number: meanings for the Cyrillic numerals were added in the 20th century, modeled on Western numerology.
More: name number with surname, Slavic Cyrillic numerals, number meanings.
First letter and letters of the name
In letter reading — a popular tradition of interpreting letters — the first letter of the name matters most: it sets the main tone of character. The other letters add shades.
Р — confidence and courage. A drive to act, the ability to inspire others; at times dogmatism and sharpness.
Other letters: А — beginning and action; И — refinement and kindness; С — common sense.
Talismans of the name
Name books usually derive talismans from the name number and its planet; lists differ between authors. Here we follow Cheiro (“Book of Numbers”): number 4 is linked with the planet Uranus.
| Planet | Uranus |
| Stones | sapphire |
| Colours | pale blue, grey, electric blue |
| Favourable days | Saturday, Sunday |
Compatibility with other names
In numerology, compatibility of names is judged by their numbers. Number 4 goes most easily with 2, 6 and 7, and has more friction with 3 and 5.
Goes well with: Bogdan, Georgiy, Gleb, Elisey, Efim, Zahar, Kuzma, Leonid, Ruslan, Timur.
More friction with: Aleksey, Vladislav, Gavriil, Ignat, Tihon, Fedor.
Check a couple precisely: compatibility by name.
Outcome
The name Raisa carries the meaning “heroine; carefree”. Name number 4 — order and work; first letter R — confidence and courage. Inner wishes (communication and creativity) and outer manner (will and leadership) differ: a person with this name needs close people to see more than what is shown. Name days: September 18, October 6.