Yaroslav
Almost unheard of through the 2000s, it took off in the 2020s: from a handful a year to dozens. A Slavic name, the Ukrainian and Russian form of Jarosław, built on roots meaning fierce and glorious.
Yaroslav Pronunciation
What Yaroslav means
Where Yaroslav comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Yaroslav grows from two old Slavic roots. The first, "yar," means fierce, ardent, hot-blooded. The second, "slav," means glory. Together they give the short meaning the name still carries: fierce and glorious.
The best-known bearer is Yaroslav the Wise, Grand Prince of Kyiv, who ruled until 1054 and gave the early Rus its first written law code. Through him the name settled into Ukrainian and Russian ground, and it kept its edge. The root stayed sharp.
Polish reshaped Yaroslav into Jarosław, and daily speech clipped that down to Jarek. A boy read out as Jarek on a school register may never once picture war and glory behind it. The feminine Jarosława belongs to the same root, worn by fewer women, sharing the same claim to be fierce and glorious.
How many people are named Yaroslav
1 in 1066 men in Poland is named Yaroslav. 20,040 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #275 among male names.
Yaroslav's popularity over time
58 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #332 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2017. Still the #275 name among living men, even as it slips to #332 among newborns.
Where parents choose Yaroslav
Yaroslav is most popular in Lower Silesian, 180% above the national average (46 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Lubusz (+131%) and Masovian (+40%). It is least common in Lublin and Subcarpathian, 81% and 76% below average respectively.
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Lower Silesian
+180%1 in 3,416 babies
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Lubusz
+131%1 in 4,138 babies
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Masovian
+40%1 in 6,813 babies
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Lublin
−81%1 in 51,338 babies
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Subcarpathian
−76%1 in 40,188 babies
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Warmian-Masurian
−73%1 in 35,897 babies
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Lower Silesian+180% 46 born1 in 3,416 babies+180%
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Lubusz+131% 12 born1 in 4,138 babies+131%
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Masovian+40% 52 born1 in 6,813 babies+40%
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Greater Poland+38% 31 born1 in 6,943 babies+38%
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West Pomeranian+25% 11 born1 in 7,675 babies+25%
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Łódź+13% 15 born1 in 8,448 babies+13%
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Pomeranian−3% 15 born1 in 9,821 babies−3%
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Holy Cross−31% 4 born1 in 13,858 babies−31%
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Lesser Poland−33% 16 born1 in 14,182 babies−33%
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Silesian−45% 13 born1 in 17,506 babies−45%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian−65% 4 born1 in 27,345 babies−65%
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Warmian-Masurian−73% 2 born1 in 35,897 babies−73%
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Subcarpathian−76% 3 born1 in 40,188 babies−76%
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Lublin−81% 2 born1 in 51,338 babies−81%
Yaroslav as a middle name
Yaroslav is a first name for 20,040 men in Poland and a middle name for another 15, a 100/0 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 2464th, between Winfried (15) and Yousuf (15).
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#2462 Williams15
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#2463 Winfried15
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#2464 Yaroslav15
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#2465 Yousuf15
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#2466 Zachariusz15