Contribute your knowledge to the name Vashti

Comments and insights on the name Vashti

Personal experiences with the name Vashti

Nicknames for Vashti

Meanings and history of the name Vashti

Biblical name of uncertain meaning, possibly "thread" in Hebrew, but it was more likely to have Old Persian origins. As a modern Persian name it is understood to mean "beauty" or "goodness".

In the Old Testament, Vashti was the first wife of King Ahasuerus of Persia before he married Esther. In recent years, Vashti has become a feminist icon.

Famous real-life people named Vashti

Vashti Bunyan, British folk singer (1960s-70s)
Vashti McCollum, plaintiff in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case involving separation of church and state.
Vashti Murphy McKenzie, first female bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Vashti in song, story & screen

Vashti, character in James Thurber's story "A Sequence of Servants" in "My Life and Hard Times".

In E.M. Forster's 1909 short story "The Machine Stops", a featured main character is Vashti, a mother. Oddly enough, only at one point is she called Vashanti.