The name Asta is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "divine strength". Asta and is often added to lists like Unique Baby Names: Unusual and Rare and discussed in our forums with posts like "Quick Question Thread?!".
From the experts:
This Scandinavian name was made famous in English-speaking countries as the name of the dog in the "Thin Man" series. Danish actress Asta Nielsen was another famous bearer. Asta can be considered as a short form of Astrid or Augusta.
Comments
Heival Says:
autumnreverie Says:
(H)asta la vista, anyone?
alyssum Says:
Sorry. I just can't get the dog association out of my head. And I think Asta was a male dog, too, although it's been a while since I saw any of the Thin Man movies.
Asta Says:
I read in a very old English legends-book at an English-colonial school around 1968 that Asta was the very first name of the goddess of love (before the Greeks', and even before the Phoenicians' civilizations). It later became Astrada, then Aprorodite, then Venus. Also that Asta was one of the very first known names in civilization.
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"Ást" means love in Icelandic. Makes sense for the name to be an "ancestor" (so to speak) of Venus. The 'Á' is pronounced like the 'O' in "owl".