Given name & surname · also Old Slavonic
Vladimir
“be strong”
Vladimir is a masculine given name, possibly from Russian, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European. It is used in English, Spanish, Italian, Romanian, and 3 other languages.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Vladimir possibly goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁-, meaning “be strong.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
A possible origin is Slavic, although the derivation remains uncertain.
How it developed
In English usage, Vladimir developed from Володимѣръ.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1913. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Vladimir through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 6,190
- 6,190 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 180 babies
- 2025
- 87
- #1,836 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −35%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 87 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,836 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 34.5% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 180 in 2016. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (11). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 23,369 as a first name in 2020; 107 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Vladimir’s family of names
In English usage, Vladimir has a diminutive in Vlad. In English usage, Vladimir shares an earlier linguistic root with Volodymyr. Vladimir has a related form in Vadim.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Vladimir has relatives in 29 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Slavic roots to each of them.
29 related names in 29 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 21
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 40
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Bladimirequivalent
- BaldomeroSpanish
- Waldemarcognate · Portuguese
- Valdemarcognate · Portuguese
- WladimirDutch, German
- Мирчоequivalent
- Ladoequivalent
- Włodzimirequivalent
Show 32 moreShow fewer
- ვლადიმერequivalent
- Уладзімерequivalent
- Voldiměrъequivalent
- فلاديميرequivalent
- Włodzmiérzequivalent
- 弗拉基米爾Chinese
- Vladimírcognate · Czech, Hungarian
- Уладзімірequivalent
- Uładzimierequivalent
- Volodimirequivalent
- Uladzimirequivalent
- Mirchoequivalent
- Włodzimierzcognate · Polish
- VladimirsLatvian
- Vladimiroalso known as · Italian, Portuguese
- ΒλαδίμηροςGreek
- ভ্লাদিমিরBengali
- VladimirasLithuanian
- ウラジーミルJapanese
- WładimirPolish
- ValdemiroPortuguese
- 블라디미르Korean
- วลาดีมีร์Thai
- ValdemaroItalian
- ΒλαντίμιρGreek
- Володимѣръroot · orv
- 울라지미르Korean
- VladimirusLatin
- владимиръcu
- ВолодимирUkrainian
- ΒλαδιμίρGreek
- Vladimirafeminine form
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Vladimir
- Vladimir PutinPresident of the Russian Federationborn 1952
- Vladimir Leninfounding leader of the Soviet Union (1870–1924)
- Vladimir NabokovRussian-American novelist, lepidopterist, professor (1899–1977)
- Vladimir MayakovskyRussian and Soviet poet (1893–1930)
- Vladimir VysotskySoviet singer-songwriter and actor (1938–1980)
- Vladimir the GreatGrand Prince of Kiev956–1015
- Patriarch Kirill of Moscowbishop, priest, eastern Orthodox priest, eastern Orthodox bishop, patriarchborn 1946
- Vladimir KramnikRussian chess grandmasterborn 1975
- Vladimir ZhirinovskyRussian politician (1946–2022)
Characters named Vladimir: Vladimir Harkonnen (Dune).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Vladimir, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Vladislav
“one who rules with glory”
>99% boys
Kasimir
“one who demands peace”
>99% boys
Damir
“one who promotes peace”
>99% boys
Iker
“a visitor”
>99% boys
Vlastimir
Vlastimir is a masculine given name from Slavic. It is used in English and Serbo-Croatian.
97% boys · 3% girls
Laszlo
“one who rules with glory” · “a glorious ruler”
>99% boys
Zander
“helper and defender of mankind”
>99% boys
Ziven
“one who is vigorous; full of life”
>99% boys