A female name. Greek άσπασία ‘welcome’; the name of the celebrated mistress of Pericles, and used by Beaumont and Fletcher for a principal character in their play The Maid’s Tragedy 1619. It was occasionally used as a christian name in the 17th C. Charlotte Mary Yonge, History of ChristianNames, 2 vols. 1863. Revised ed. 1884 has a story of finding the name in use for a village child, whose mother explained ‘Her name’s Aspasia, but us calls her Spash.’

Greek ‘welcome’, it is now rare. Yonge, 1884, notes that ‘it has even been heard as a Christian name in a cottage. “Her name’s Aspasia, but us calls her Spash.”’ Adopted in England in C17 from the literary fame of Aspasia, the mistress of Pericles. C20 avoidance arises from the fact that Aspasia has become generic for a statesman’s cultured mistress. (For a witty ‘portrait’ of the Greek Aspasia, see Richard Ince’s ‘Lipstick’ in The Window, October, 1930.)

Found as a female name. So called from ’Ασπάσια, priestess of the sun, famous for her personal charms; or from Aspasia, who came to Athens to teach eloquence, and had for her pupils, not only Socrates, but Pericles, whose wife she afterwards became. From ασπασιος, agreeable, pleasing, welcome.

Greek (feminine) - Winning.

A Greek name, meaning: Welcome.