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Svetlana (Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbian: Светлана; Belarusian: Святла́на; Ukrainian: Світла́на) is a common Slavic female name, deriving from the Slavic root свет svet, which translates into English as "light", "shining", "luminescent", "pure", "blessed", or "holy", depending upon context. The name was coined by Alexander Vostokov and popularized by Vasily Zhukovsky in his eponymous ballad, first published in 1813. The name is also used in Ukraine, Belarus, Slovakia, and Serbia, with a number of occurrences in non-Slavic countries.
In the Russian Orthodox Church Svetlana is used as a...