Given name
Vadim
“a good-looking man”
Vadim is used as a given name. One Russian interpretation is “a good-looking man.” Its derivation is not certain.
Original RussianВадим
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Russian interpretation is “a good-looking man.” Its derivation is not certain.
Where it comes from
A possible origin is Russian, although the derivation remains uncertain.
The story
Vadim was in use during the Middle Ages.
Vadim through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 539
- 539 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2002
- 27 babies
- 2025
- 6
- #11,893 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −39%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 11,893 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 39.5% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 27 in 2002. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 4,673 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Vadim’s family of names
In English usage, Vadim shares a linguistic root with the Latvian form VADIMS. Vadim has a related form in Vladimir. In English usage, Vadim has a related form in Vadym.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Vadim has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Russian roots to each of them.
Russianwhere Vadim comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Vadim
- Vadim KrasnoselskyTransnistrian political figure (born 1970)
- Vadim AbdrashitovRussian film director (1945–2023)
- Vadim ShipachyovRussian ice hockey playerborn 1987
- Vadim GlownaGerman actor (1941-2012)
- Vadim Bakatinlast chairman of the KGB (1937–2022)
- Vadim DemidovNorwegian footballerborn 1986
- Vadim YevseyevRussian footballerborn 1976
- Vadim MilovIsraeli-Swiss chess playerborn 1972
- Vadim BrovtsevRussian politician (1969–2024)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Vadim, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Stalin
“steel”
>99% boys
Yeltsin
Yeltsin is a surname from Russian.
>99% boys
Marat
“the goal, the aim”
>99% boys
Adrijan
Adrijan is a masculine given name. It is used in Slovene.
>99% boys
Gavriil
“helper of God”
>99% boys
Zakhary
Zakhary is a masculine given name from Russian.
>99% boys
Alexey
“helper and defender of mankind”
>99% boys
Artem
“safe and sound”
>99% boys