Dzierżysława
Two Old Polish roots sit behind it: *dzierżyć*, to hold, and *sława*, glory. Together they read as one who holds glory. Just nine women in Poland carry it, so most Poles will never meet a single one.
Dzierżysława Pronunciation
Dzierżysława is pronounced jer-zhihs-WAH-vah (/d͡ʑɛrʐɨsˈwava/).
What Dzierżysława means
Where Dzierżysława comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Dzierżysława grows from two Old Polish roots. The verb dzierżyć meant to hold or to keep, and sława meant glory. Set side by side, they give the sense recorded for the name today: to hold glory. It belongs to the old Slavic class of compound names, where each half stayed a full word rather than an ornament.
The masculine form, Dzierżysław, is the better documented of the pair. Polish records attest it from the 13th century, among the two-part names favoured by early noble families. The feminine mirrors it and keeps the same two roots. In the PESEL register in January 2025, only 14 men held Dzierżysław as a first name, so both forms are rare.
A girl named Dzierżysława would stand out at once on a class register. Her name-day falls on 24 March, one of three dates the masculine form also keeps. What the Polish gloss fixes under the spelling is plain, dzierżąca sławę, one who holds glory.
How many people are named Dzierżysława
1 in 2504870 women in Poland is named Dzierżysława. 9 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #17146 among female names.
Dzierżysława as a middle name
Dzierżysława is a first name for 9 women in Poland and a middle name for another 9, a 50/50 split, almost evenly. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 2542nd, between Drogosława (9) and Edeltrauta (9).
-
#2540 Dorothee9
-
#2541 Drogosława9
-
#2542 Dzierżysława9
-
#2543 Edeltrauta9
-
#2544 Eirini9