Borysław
A Slavic name meaning "glory won in battle", from the roots for glory and fame. It stays rare in Poland: most people here will go a lifetime without meeting a Borysław.
Borysław Pronunciation
Borysław is pronounced bo-RIHS-wahf (/bɔˈrɨswaf/).
What Borysław means
Where Borysław comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
The name "Borysław" is Slavic, built from two old roots. "Bor" means to fight or do battle. "Sław" means glory. Set side by side they yield the short meaning, glory won in battle. The variant Boryslav carries the same parts eastward across the Slavic languages.
Borysław belongs to an old family of two-part Slavic names, kin to Bronisław, Mirosław and Stanisław. In each, "sław" does the same work, promising renown. What sets Borysław apart is the first half, the verb for fighting. The renown here is earned in a fight.
A boy named Borysław usually shortens to Boryś among friends and on a class register. The full form waits on official pages, on the diploma and the form at the urząd. On his imieniny he answers to the whole name.
Borysław is old. It reaches back before Poland kept written records. Its meaning has not drifted far: glory in battle, the same sense the roots gave it.
How many people are named Borysław
1 in 213462 men in Poland is named Borysław. 100 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #3443 among male names.
Borysław's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 boys were given the name in 2025. It has been stable for a decade.
Borysław as a middle name
Borysław is a first name for 100 men in Poland and a middle name for another 47, a 68/32 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 1110th, between Alwin (47) and Czcibor (47).
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#1108 Adrianus47
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#1109 Alwin47
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#1110 Borysław47
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#1111 Czcibor47
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#1112 Dezydery47