Wladimir
Only about 67 men in Poland carry this spelling, so meeting one would stick with you. It's a foreign form of Włodzimierz, built on a Slavic root meaning "famous ruler".
Wladimir Pronunciation
Wladimir is pronounced vlah-DEE-meer (/vlaˈdimir/).
What Wladimir means
Where Wladimir comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Wladimir grows from Slavic soil. Two elements build it, władać, meaning to rule, and an old mir read as great or famous. Together they yield "famous ruler". In Polish the name reads as Włodzimierz, and the short gloss władca świata sits close beside it.
The best known bearer is Vladimir the Great, Grand Prince of Kiev, who accepted Christianity around 988 and pulled the Rus toward Byzantium. The Russian form kept his memory near. That link explains why many Poles hear the name as Russian first.
Polish families who chose it usually reached for the home spelling. Włodzimierz appears on baptism records, and Włodek does the daily work. Picture the class register. A teacher reads Włodzimierz once, then the boy answers to Włodek for the rest of the year.
The name means famous ruler, władca świata in Polish, and the diminutive Włodek shortens it for every day.
How many people are named Wladimir
1 in 318600 men in Poland is named Wladimir. 67 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #4458 among male names.