Vladimir
About Vladimir
Vladimir is a cultured and deep-rooted Slavic name associated in this country with cultural figures including piano virtuoso Vladimir Horowitz and the author of Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov.
The name Vladimir is rich in history, notably borne by Vladimir the Great, the 10th-11th century ruler of Kievan Rus' who brought Christianity to his nation and is now venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Among the name's other famous – or infamous – bearers are several Russian political figures past and present, including Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin and current Russian president Putin.
Volodymyr is the Ukrainian form of the name, recently made internationally famous by Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy following the Russian invasion of his country. Other variations of this name in other European countries include Valdemar and Waldemar. All derive from Slavic roots vladěti, meaning "to rule," plus meru "great" or miru, "peace" or "world." Common Slavic diminutive forms include Volodya, Vova, Vladan and Vlatko.
Long a common name throughout the Slavic world, Vladimir is featured in novels by Turgenev and Pushkin. Vladimir also has vampirish connections: Dracula is based on Vlad III, three-time ruler of Wallachia in the 15th century, otherwise known as Vlad the Impaler. A more modern literary character is Vladimir, one of the two main figures in Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot.
Pronounced vla-DEE-meer.
As of October 2026, Vladimir ranked #1836 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #1044 in 1997.
Editor's take: The name Vladimir is a boy's name of Slavic, Russian origin meaning "great ruler, peaceful ruler, ruler of the world".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1,146 | 166 | 86.4 |
| 2015 | #1,138 | 167 | 87.1 |
| 2016 | #1,095 | 180 | 94.8 |
| 2017 | #1,168 | 161 | 87 |
| 2018 | #1,274 | 145 | 79.8 |
| 2019 | #1,295 | 144 | 80.3 |
| 2020 | #1,471 | 117 | 67.8 |
| 2021 | #1,451 | 125 | 71.4 |
| 2022 | #1,625 | 108 | 61.9 |
| 2023 | #1,846 | 87 | 50.9 |
| 2024 | #1,947 | 81 | 47 |
| 2025 | #1,836 | 87 | 50.9 |
World rankings
Similar names
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- Albus
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- Málik
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- Horatio
- Valentin
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- Ulysses
- Viktor
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- Cornelius
- Ilmarinen
- Octavian
- Nicodemus
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Vladimir on lists
Famous Vladimirs
- Vladimir the Great
Grand Prince of Kiev
- Vladimir Lenin (born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov)
Soviet leader
- Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
President of Russia
- Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov
Russian,American novelist
- Vladimir Ivanovich Osenev
Soviet stage, film and voice actor
- Vladimir Ducasse
Haitian,American NFL football player
- Vladimir Alvino Guerrero
Dominican baseball player
- Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky
Russian singer,songwriter
- Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik
Russian chess grandmaster
- Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky
Russian poet and playwright
- Vladimir Kozlov (born Oleg Aleksandrovich Prudius)
Russian pro wrestler
- Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov
Russian Soviet test pilot
- Vladimir Kosmich Zworykin
Russian,American inventor, engineer, and TV pioneer
- Vladimir "Wonta" Matovic
Serbian singer & member of Elitni Odredi
- Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld
art dealer, son of former French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld
- Vladimir Prelog
Croatian,Swiss chemist; winner of the Nobel Prize
- Vladimir Nikolaevich Konstantinov
Russian,American ice hockey player
- Vladimir Maslennikov
Russian sport shooter
- Vladimir Andreyevich Tarasenko
Russian ice hockey player
Vladimir in pop culture
- Vladimir Dracula
main character on British TV series "Young Dracula"
- Vladimir "Vlad" Masters/Plasmius
antagonist in animated series "Danny Phantom"
- Dr. Vladimir "Vlad" Stain
character in "Blood Stain"
- Saint Vladimir
namesake of the school in the Vampire Academy series
- Vladimir
also known as Prince Blueblood, character in "My Little Pony" series
- Vladimir
the Crimson Reaper, a playable character in the MOBA game "League of Legends"
- Vladimir Tod
protagonist of The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series written by Zac Brewer
- Vladimir
a vampire in the French online visual novel Moonlight Lovers
Variations & nicknames
- WaldemarScandinavian
- VladimírCzech
- WlodzimirezPolish
- ValdemarScandinavian