Valdemar
Germanic in origin, built from roots that read as "famous ruler". Around 60 men in Poland carry it, so rare that most Poles will never meet one, and almost no boys are given it now.
Valdemar Pronunciation
What Valdemar means
Where Valdemar comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Valdemar grows from Germanic roots: wald, to rule, and mar, famous. Put together they mean famous ruler, in Polish sławny władzą. The Polish spelling settles as Waldemar, and the everyday form shortens to Waldek, the version a boy actually hears in a school register.
The name found its home in Scandinavia. Valdemar the Great ruled Denmark in the twelfth century, and after him the name passed to sons and grandsons on the throne. A ruler's name that then meant a ruler. Danish and Swedish families kept it long after the crowns changed hands.
In Poland the name reads as slightly formal, a little northern. Waldek softens that at once. On an official form at the urząd a man writes Waldemar; among friends he is Waldek, and few think about the wald buried inside.
The meaning holds up well. A child called Waldemar carries, in the plain sense of the parts, the words famous ruler.
How many people are named Valdemar
1 in 355770 men in Poland is named Valdemar. 60 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #4787 among male names.
Valdemar's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 boys were given the name in 2025. It has been climbing since 2025.
Valdemar as a middle name
Valdemar is a first name for 60 men in Poland and a middle name for another 15, an 80/20 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 2459th, between Ulaş (15) and Vilhelm (15).
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#2457 Tú15
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#2458 Ulaş15
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#2459 Valdemar15
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#2460 Vilhelm15
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#2461 Wiaczesław15