Volodymyr
The eastern Slavic spelling of Włodzimierz, kept in Ukrainian and given only to boys. Around 65,000 men in Poland carry it, enough that it rings familiar, though few newborns get it now.
Volodymyr Pronunciation
What Volodymyr means
Where Volodymyr comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Volodymyr is a Slavic name built from two old parts. The first meant to rule. The second was heard by early Slavic speakers as "great," and only later did it drift toward "mir," the word for peace. The tidy gloss "ruler of peace" came with that shift, fitted onto the name after the fact.
In Polish the same name turns into Włodzimierz, shortened by friends to Włodek.
Its most documented bearer is Volodymyr the Great, prince of Kyiv, who accepted Christianity around 988 and turned Rus toward Byzantium. The east Slavic spelling with an o has held firm in Ukraine ever since. Picture a Polish class register: a Volodymyr might sit a few rows from a Włodek, one Slavic root wearing two spellings.
How many people are named Volodymyr
1 in 328 men in Poland is named Volodymyr. 65,124 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #157 among male names.
Volodymyr's popularity over time
23 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #491 among newborns. It is making a comeback after a low in 2012. Still the #157 name among living men, even as it slips to #491 among newborns.
Where parents choose Volodymyr
Volodymyr is most popular in West Pomeranian, 209% above the national average (11 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Greater Poland (+88%) and Masovian (+54%). It is least common in Subcarpathian and Silesian, 61% and 37% below average respectively.
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West Pomeranian
+209%1 in 7,675 babies
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Greater Poland
+88%1 in 12,661 babies
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Masovian
+54%1 in 15,403 babies
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Subcarpathian
−61%1 in 60,283 babies
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Silesian
−37%1 in 37,931 babies
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian
−35%1 in 36,460 babies
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West Pomeranian+209% 11 born1 in 7,675 babies+209%
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Greater Poland+88% 17 born1 in 12,661 babies+88%
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Masovian+54% 23 born1 in 15,403 babies+54%
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Pomeranian+29% 8 born1 in 18,415 babies+29%
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Łódź+12% 6 born1 in 21,120 babies+12%
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Lower Silesian−9% 6 born1 in 26,189 babies−9%
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Holy Cross−14% 2 born1 in 27,717 babies−14%
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Lesser Poland−27% 7 born1 in 32,417 babies−27%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian−35% 3 born1 in 36,460 babies−35%
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Silesian−37% 6 born1 in 37,931 babies−37%
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Subcarpathian−61% 2 born1 in 60,283 babies−61%
Volodymyr as a middle name
Volodymyr is a first name for 65,124 men in Poland and a middle name for another 52, a 100/0 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 1049th, between Tomisław (52) and Zdzislaw (52).
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#1047 Stéphane52
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#1048 Tomisław52
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#1049 Volodymyr52
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#1050 Zdzislaw52
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#1051 Björn51