Given name & surname · also Old Czech
Wenceslao
“greater, more”·“fame, glory”
Wenceslao is a masculine given name from Old Czech, ultimately from Proto-Slavic. It is used in Spanish and Cebuano.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Wenceslao is built from elements meaning “greater, more” and “fame, glory”.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
Wenceslao comes from Old Czech, and ultimately from Proto-Slavic.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
From Old Czech Venceslav, from Proto-Slavic *Vęťeslavъ, built from Proto-Slavic *vęťьjь (“greater, more”) + *slava (“fame, glory”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1926. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Wenceslao through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 332
- 332 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2005
- 13 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2019. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 13 in 2005. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,450 as a first name in 2020; 262 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.
Wenceslao’s family of names
In Spanish usage, Wenceslao shares an earlier linguistic root with Vyacheslav. In Spanish usage, Wenceslao has a conventional equivalent in the German form Wenzel. In Spanish usage, Wenceslao has a conventional equivalent in the Hungarian form Vencel.
The ring: across languages.
Around the world
Wenceslao has relatives in 7 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Slavic roots to each of them.
7 related names in 7 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Across languages 9
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- WenceslausEnglish
- WenzelGerman
- Vyacheslavdoublet · Spanish
- Wenceslauequivalent
- Wenceslasequivalent
- ВячеславRussian
- WacławPolish
- VencelHungarian
Show 1 moreShow fewer
People named Wenceslao
- Wenceslao PadillaFilipino Scheut priest (1949–2018)
- Wences CasaresArgentine businessmanborn 1974
- Wenceslao Fernández FlórezSpanish writer (1885-1964)
- Wenceslao RetanaSpanish polymath (1862–1924)
- Wenceslao MoguelMexican execution survivor (1896–1976)
- Wenceslao VinzonsFilipino politician (1910–1942)
- Wenceslao CarrilloSpanish politician (1889–1963)
- Wenceslao PauneroArgentinian politician and diplomat1805–1871
- Wenceslao RoblesParaguayan military personnel1820–1866
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Wenceslao, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Simion
Simion is a masculine given name from Old Church Slavonic, ultimately from Hebrew. It is used in Romanian.
>99% boys
Dimitar
Dimitar is a masculine given name from Slavic. It is used in English and Serbo-Croatian.
>99% boys
Nemanja
“no” · “flaw”
>99% boys
Damek
“of the red earth”
>99% boys
Vladislav
“one who rules with glory”
>99% boys
Dimitrie
Dimitrie is a masculine given name from Old Church Slavonic. It is used in Romanian.
>99% boys
Janko
“God is gracious”
>99% boys
Jaromir
“from the famous spring”
>99% boys