Ladislav
Fewer than a hundred men in Poland carry it, so meeting one would stick in your memory. It's a variant of Władysław, from a Slavic root meaning "glorious ruler".
Ladislav Pronunciation
What Ladislav means
Where Ladislav comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Ladislav is the Czech and Slovak form of a Slavic name assembled from two old parts. "Vlad" means to rule. "Slav" means glory. Set together they give the sense the name still holds, glorious ruler, what a Polish speaker would call sławny władca. The Polish variant is Władysław, and everyday use shortens it to Władek.
The name traveled far. Ladislaus I of Hungary, an eleventh-century king, was canonized in 1192, and his feast falls on 27 June. Poland kept its own line of crowned Władysławs, among them Władysław Jagiełło, who commanded the army at Grunwald in 1410. The meaning matched the men.
There is a feminine form as well, Władysława, given to daughters.
On a Polish class register today you might still find one Władek listed among the boys. The two roots underneath stay the same, and they still spell out sławny władca, glorious ruler.
How many people are named Ladislav
1 in 227087 men in Poland is named Ladislav. 94 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #3586 among male names.
Ladislav as a middle name
Ladislav is a first name for 94 men in Poland and a middle name for another 4, a 96/4 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 5553rd, between Ladislaus (4) and Lakhdar (4).
-
#5551 Kuldeep4
-
#5552 Ladislaus4
-
#5553 Ladislav4
-
#5554 Lakhdar4
-
#5555 Lakshan4