Witalij
A Latin name at root, from the sense "of life, vital," and carried into Polish through Russian and Ukrainian use. Only about 440 men hold it here, all of them: most Poles will never meet one.
Witalij Pronunciation
Witalij is pronounced vee-TAH-leey (/viˈtalij/).
What Witalij means
Where Witalij comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Witalij traces back to the Latin adjective vitalis, "of life" or "vital," built on vita, the Latin word for life. The Roman world used it as a personal name, and early Christianity carried it forward through figures such as Vitalis of Milan, a martyr venerated since antiquity. The Polish sense stays close to that root: żywotny, dający życie.
In Poland the form Witalij reads as an eastern name, familiar from Russian and Ukrainian usage, where Vitaly names generation after generation of men. The variant vitalij keeps the same Latin bones under a spelling that shifts as the alphabet behind it changes. On a school register the name stands out among the Piotrs and Jakubs.
Its meaning has stayed unusually literal. Where many names drift from their origins, Witalij still points straight at vita, life itself. A boy given this name is handed a Latin adjective for being alive.
How many people are named Witalij
1 in 48514 men in Poland is named Witalij. 440 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #1410 among male names.
Witalij's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 boys were given the name in 2025. It has been stable for a decade.
Witalij as a middle name
Witalij is a first name for 440 men in Poland and a middle name for another 11, a 98/2 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 3028th, between Wim (11) and Yamid (11).
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#3026 Vinicio11
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#3027 Wim11
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#3028 Witalij11
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#3029 Yamid11
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#3030 Yashar11