Zbysław
A Slavic name with a counterintuitive sense: "to dispel glory", the opposite of the usual boast built into old two-part names. Around 890 Polish men carry it and almost no boys get it now, so meeting one would stick in your memory.
Zbysław Pronunciation
Zbysław is pronounced ZBIHS-wahf (/ˈzbɨswaf/).
What Zbysław means
Where Zbysław comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Zbysław comes from Slavic roots, built the way many old Polish names were, from two pieces joined into one. The first part, "zby-", carries the sense of dispelling or getting rid of something. The second, "-sław", means glory or fame, the same element you meet in Bolesław, Mirosław, and Stanisław. Put together they give the short meaning recorded for the name: to dispel glory.
That reading sits oddly, and it should. Old Slavic names paired elements more for sound and lineage than for literal instruction. The same "zby-" opens Zbigniew, whose second half means anger, so the two names are close cousins in how they were assembled.
Most people who carry Zbysław rarely say the full form. In a school register it might appear complete, then never again. Everyday life shortens it to Zbyszek, the diminutive that does the daily work. The feminine Zbysława exists too, less common now.
How many people are named Zbysław
1 in 23984 men in Poland is named Zbysław. 890 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #1006 among male names.
Zbysław's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 boys were given the name in 2025. It has been stable for a decade.
Zbysław as a middle name
Zbysław is a first name for 890 men in Poland and a middle name for another 388, a 70/30 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 358th, between Franz (389) and January (384).
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#356 Alexandre389
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#357 Franz389
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#358 Zbysław388
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#359 January384
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#360 André383