Wladyslaw
From two Slavic roots, *wład* "to rule" and *sław* "glory": a glorious ruler. Barely 200 Poles carry it now, rare enough that most people will never meet one.
Wladyslaw Pronunciation
Wladyslaw is pronounced vlah-DIHS-lahf (/vlaˈdɨslaf/).
What Wladyslaw means
Where Wladyslaw comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Władysław is built from two old Slavic roots. The first, wład, means to rule; the second, sław, means glory or fame. Put together they give the sense recorded in Polish as sławny władca, a glorious ruler.
Poland handed the name to kings. Władysław I Łokietek reunited the fragmented duchies and was crowned in 1320, and Władysław II Jagiełło founded a dynasty that held the throne for almost two centuries. The name traveled beyond thrones too. Władysław Reymont won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1924 for his novel Chłopi.
The feminine form is Władysława. At home a Władysław usually becomes Władek. That short form does a lot of work.
Read a name-day list at the urząd and you will find Władysław marked in late June. The roots stay legible after all these centuries: a ruler, and glory.
When Wladyslaw celebrates name day
Wladyslaw appears 4 times in the Polish name day calendar, 1 of them as a main name, the first on 27 June.
The days Polish calendars list this name on. By custom you celebrate one of them, usually the first after your birthday.
Rarer dates. Only the most complete calendars add this name on these days. Most skip them, so hardly anyone celebrates then.
How many people are named Wladyslaw
1 in 107809 men in Poland is named Wladyslaw. 198 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #2241 among male names.
Wladyslaw's popularity over time
3 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #1394 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2020.
Where Wladyslaw is most popular
Wladyslaw is most popular in Lublin, 283% above the national average (2 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Masovian (+177%) and Lower Silesian (+150%).
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Lublin2 boys born+283%
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Masovian5 boys born+177%
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Lower Silesian2 boys born+150%
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Silesian2 boys born+73%
Wladyslaw as a middle name
Wladyslaw is a first name for 198 men in Poland and a middle name for another 117, a 63/37 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 649th, between Willem (117) and Theodor (116).
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#647 Sławoj117
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#648 Willem117
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#649 Wladyslaw117
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#650 Theodor116
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#651 Ulrich116