Liudmila
A Slavic name meaning "dear to the people", usually written Ludmiła in Poland. This spelling stays rare: around 2,400 women carry it, and no newborns have taken it in years, so most Poles have never met one.
Liudmila Pronunciation
Liudmila is pronounced lyood-MEE-lah (/ljudˈmila/).
What Liudmila means
Where Liudmila comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Liudmila comes from Slavic roots, from lud, meaning the people, and mila, meaning dear or gracious. Read together, the parts describe someone dear to the people. Polish uses the form Ludmiła.
The name spread across many Slavic lands and took strong hold in Russian, where Lyudmila grew common enough to sound homegrown. In Russian literature it belongs to the heroine of Pushkin's poem Ruslan and Lyudmila, published in 1820. Among the oldest bearers we can point to is Saint Ludmila of Bohemia, born around 860, grandmother to Duke Wenceslas and one of the first saints from a Slavic ruling house.
The sense stays close to daily life. To call a child dear to the people is to place her among neighbors rather than above them. On a Polish class register, Ludmiła sits with a soft ending that marks it as feminine and familiar.
The Polish form Ludmiła keeps the same sense: miła ludziom, dear to the people.
How many people are named Liudmila
1 in 9323 women in Poland is named Liudmila. 2,420 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #647 among female names.