Origin: Lithuanian
Meaning: “ghost like.”
(VYE-dah; vy-DOH-tey)

In 2016, my home state of Illinois had 5 babies named Vaida, which is not surprising as we do have a significant amount of Lithuanian immigrants, though not as large as other groups, they are still strongly represented in the Southwestern suburbs, such as Lemont and Lisle.

Vaida is derived from the Lithuanian elements, vaid- which is from (vaidytis, vaidentis), meaning “to appear, to ghost, to haunt.”

Its masculine form is Vaidas, and it is uncertain if the male or female name came first.

Alternately, Vaida may be used among English-speaking parents as an alternate spelling of Veda.

Other popular offshoots include Vaidotė, Vaidota, Vaidutė, and Vaidotas for males.

In Lithuania, the designated name-day is April 15th.

Note: This post was updated on 01/02/2018.

Sources

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaidas
2. https://www.behindthename.com/name/vaida/submitted
3. https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/limits.html
4. http://www.vornamen-liste.de/female-lithuanian-first-names-v.html
5. https://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Vaida
6. https://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/6062/