Wiesław
Around 133,000 Polish men carry it, but almost no one gives it to a boy now: just three last year. Slavic at root, it's built to mean "great glory."
Wiesław Pronunciation
Wiesław is pronounced VYES-wahf (/ˈvjɛswaf/).
What Wiesław means
Where Wiesław comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Wiesław comes from old Slavic roots. The first part, wiel, means great. The second, sław, means glory. Together they give the short meaning that has followed the name for centuries: great glory. It shares that sław ending with Bolesław and Sławomir, a broad family of old Polish names all built on fame.
In 1820 Kazimierz Brodziński published an idyll called Wiesław, a Kraków village romance that Polish pupils read for generations. The name belongs to Wiesław Myśliwski too, the novelist who won the Nike Award twice, in 1997 and 2007.
Its feminine twin is Wiesława, the same glory under a different ending. Open a school register from the 1950s and a Wiesław sits near the top. The meaning holds. Great glory.
How many people are named Wiesław
1 in 160 men in Poland is named Wiesław. 133,536 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #106 among male names.
Wiesław's popularity over time
3 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #1391 among newborns. It is making a comeback after a low in 2021. Still the #106 name among living men, even as it slips to #1391 among newborns.
Where Wiesław is most popular
Wiesław is most popular in Kuyavian-Pomeranian, 524% above the national average (6 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Lubusz (+358%) and Pomeranian (+132%). It is least common in Masovian, 36% below average.
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian6 boys born+524%
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Lubusz2 boys born+358%
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Pomeranian3 boys born+132%
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Lower Silesian3 boys born+117%
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Greater Poland3 boys born+59%
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Masovian2 boys born−36%
Wiesław as a middle name
Wiesław is a first name for 133,536 men in Poland and a middle name for another 58,007, a 70/30 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 51st, between Jarosław (58,290) and Dominik (57,945).
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49
60,849Mikołaj
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50
58,290Jarosław
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5158,007Wiesław
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52
57,945Dominik
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53
53,242Patryk