Bronislava
Just 125 women in Poland carry it, and no newborn girl has been given it in years. Slavic at root, it means "defender of glory".
Bronislava Pronunciation
What Bronislava means
Where Bronislava comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Bronisława is built from two old Slavic roots. The first, bronić, means to defend or guard. The second, sława, means glory or renown. Together they give the meaning the name holds today: defender of glory. The masculine form is Bronisław, and the pair has traveled through Polish records for centuries.
Blessed Bronisława, a Norbertine nun who died in 1259, made the name a fixture of the Polish calendar. Her feast lands on the first of September. A girl with this name would find that date circled as her imieniny.
The name belongs to Bronisława Wajs too, the Romani poet known as Papusza. She was among the first Roma poets published in Polish.
The long form softens at home. Bronia and Bronka do the daily work, on the class register and at the door. Bronisława stays for the certificate and the name-day card. The glory it defends is right there in sława.
How many people are named Bronislava
1 in 180351 women in Poland is named Bronislava. 125 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #2989 among female names.