Wacław
A Slavic name built from roots meaning "more glory". Around 20,000 men carry it, but it's fading fast: no newborns took it last year, and meeting one now is memorable rather than routine.
Wacław Pronunciation
Wacław is pronounced VAHTS-wahf (/ˈvat͡swaf/).
What Wacław means
Where Wacław comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
The name Wacław grew from Slavic soil. Its older shape was Więcesław, built from więce, an old word for "more," and sław, "glory." Put together, they add up to more glory, więcej sławy. The meaning sits right in the parts.
History gave the name a famous bearer. Wacław, known in the West as Wenceslaus, was the tenth-century duke of Bohemia, later honored as a saint and a patron. His feast falls on September 28, and Polish calendars still mark that day for every Wacław. The English carol about "Good King Wenceslas" draws on the same duke.
In daily use the name loosens up. A small boy answers to Wacek. A girl who carries the feminine form is Wacława. On the imieniny, a teacher reading down the class register might land on Wacław and pause at a name less common now than it once was.
Whatever the form, Wacek or Wacława, the root keeps its old sum: more glory.
How many people are named Wacław
1 in 1032 men in Poland is named Wacław. 20,675 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #270 among male names.
Wacław's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 boys were given the name in 2025. It has been falling steadily since 2000.
Where Wacław is most popular
Wacław is most popular in Masovian, 510% above the national average (2 boys born 2019–2025).
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Masovian2 boys born+510%
Wacław as a middle name
Wacław is a first name for 20,675 men in Poland and a middle name for another 24,968, a 45/55 split, almost evenly. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 81st, between Leon (25,610) and Bolesław (24,574).
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#79 Bronisław27,598
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#80 Leon25,610
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#81 Wacław24,968
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#82 Bolesław24,574
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#83 Hubert23,737