Ludmyla
The Ukrainian spelling of Polish Ludmiła, a Slavic name meaning "favour of the people". Only about 300 women in Poland carry it, and no girls have been given it in years, so meeting one would stay with you.
Ludmyla Pronunciation
Ludmyla is pronounced lood-MIH-lah (/ludˈmɨla/).
What Ludmyla means
Where Ludmyla comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Ludmyla grows from two Slavic roots: lud, the people, and mil, meaning dear or favoured. The roots are plain. Together they give the sense recorded in Polish as miła ludziom, favour of the people. The Ukrainian spelling Людмила sits close to the Polish variant Ludmiła, and both go back to the same old compound.
The name found an early carrier in Saint Ludmila of Bohemia, who lived across the ninth and tenth centuries and raised her grandson, the future Saint Wenceslas. Her cult spread the name through Central Europe long before it settled into modern registers.
Say the name in a Ukrainian classroom and heads turn. A teacher reads Lyudmyla from the register, and the word already says something about belonging to a community.
In Polish practice the imieniny falls in September, and Ludmiła keeps its old shape on an urząd form: lud and mił, the people and their favour.
How many people are named Ludmyla
1 in 73433 women in Poland is named Ludmyla. 307 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #1728 among female names.