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Vladimir

vla-DEE-meer
Slavic
"great ruler, peaceful ruler, ruler of the world"
Clare Green
By Clare Green
Updated Tue Jul 01 2025

Vladimir Origin and Meaning

The name Vladimir is a boy's name of Slavic, Russian origin meaning "great ruler, peaceful ruler, ruler of the world".

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.

# 574 on Nameberry

Vladimir Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Vladimir

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Famous People Named Vladimir

  • 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

The name 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

International Variations of the name Vladimir

  • Waldemar
    Scandinavian
  • Vladimír
    Czech
  • Wlodzimirez
    Polish
  • Valdemar
    Scandinavian