Lechosław

Lechosław belongs to the old Slavic family of two-part names, built from a first element, Lech, and the ending "-sław," which means glory or fame. Put together, the pieces give "glory of Lech." That meaning points back to Lech, the legendary forefather of the Poles, the brother said in medieval chronicles to have settled the plains where Gniezno later rose.

The "-sław" ending links Lechosław to a long shelf of Slavic names: Bolesław, Mirosław, Stanisław. In that company it is rarer, and it wears its Lech openly, right at the front where you cannot miss it.

The short form is simply Lech. That name stands on its own and has for many centuries, worn by Polish kings and, more recently, by Lech Wałęsa. So a boy called Lechosław already holds a second, everyday name inside the first. There is a feminine counterpart built the same way: Lechosława.