Vladimir (name)

For other uses, see Vladimir (disambiguation).

Vladimir
Gender	male
Origin
Word/name	Slavic
Meaning	origin: of great power (modern Russian reinterpretations: ruler of the world/peace/People)
Other names
Alternative spelling	Włodzimierz, Volodymyr, Waldemar, Uladzimir, Vladimiro, Bladimir, Wladimir
Variant form(s)	Vladimira (f)
Related names	Valamir, Vladislav, Wladyslaw, Baltazar

Vladimir Putin

Vladimir the Great

Vladimir (Russian Cyrillic: Влади́мир Russian pronunciation: [vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr], Old Church Slavonic: Владимѣръ) is a male Slavic given name of Church Slavonic and Old Slavic origin, now widespread throughout all Slavic nations. It is also a common name in former Soviet non-Slavic countries where Christianity is practised, such as Armenia. While being a Russian calque of the Ruthenian Wolodimer, today Vladimir is more preferred version in the English language.

Etymology

Max Vasmer in his Etymological Dictionary of Russian Language explains the name as meaning "regal". Folk etymology interprets the meaning as "person of the people" or "the one with peace on one side". This confusion is introduced by other meanings of the Slavic word "Mir" or "Myr" – peace, people/community, and the world. There was no ambiguity prior to reforms of Russian orthography in 1918. The spelling of the two words was миръ (peace) or мiръ (the Universe), but the name was spelled a third way, Владимѣръ, from the Gothic suffix mērs meaning "great". Thus the name originally meant "Great in His Power". (compare: Theodemir, Valamir) but Russian speakers understood and still understand the meaning as "Peace Owner" or "World Ruler".

• In Old Church Slavonic tradition, preserved in Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian and later borrowed into Slovenian, Croatian, the name is spelled Vladimir. In Czech and Slovak, the name is spelled Vladimír. In Polish, the name is spelled Włodzimierz.
• In Old East Slavic tradition, preserved in Ukrainian, the name is spelled Volodimir, Volodimer (Володимѣръ), or more commonly as Volodymyr (Володимир).
• In Belarusian the name is spelled Uladzimir (Uładzimir, Уладзімір) or Uladzimier (Uładzimier, Уладзімер).
• In East Slavic languages, short versions of the name are Vova, Volodka, Volodya (but not Vlad, which is common short version for other Slavic name - Vladislav) In other West and South Slavic countries, other pet or boy versions are used: e.g., Vladi, Vlada, Vlado, Vladko, Vlatko, Vladik, Wladik, Wladek, Wlodik and Wlodek.
• In Germanic languages, the name is spelled Waldemar or Valdemar. ("wald": rule, "meri": famous)
• Romanian derivations are Vlad and Vlăduț.
• In Latvian the derivation is Voldemārs.
• In Finnish and Estonian the derivation is Voldemar.
• In Latin-Romance languages: Vladimiro/Vladimir/Bladimir in Spanish, Vladimir/Wladimir in Portuguese, Vladimiro/Wladimiro in Italian (stressed syllable in bold).
• In Greek language: Vladímiros/Bladímēros (Βλαδίμηρος).

People

• Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia (1847–1909)
• Vladimir the Great (958–1015), Grand Prince of Kiev
• Vladimir II Monomakh (1053–1125), Grand Prince of Kiev
• Vladimir III Mstislavich (1132–1173), Grand Prince of Kiev
• Vladimir IV Rurikovich (1187–1239), Grand Prince of Kiev
• Vladimir of Bulgaria (died 893), ruler of Bulgaria
• Vladimir Akopian (born 1971), Armenian chess player
• Vladimir Ashkenazy (1937–) Russian-Icelandic renowned classical pianist and conductor
• Vladimir Becić (1886–1954), Croatian painter
• Vladimir Beschastnykh (born 1974), Russian football player and manager
• Vladimir Bukovsky (born 1942), Russian dissident
• Vladimir Colin (1921–1991), Romanian writer
• Vladimir Constantinescu (1895–1965), Romanian general
• Vladimir Conta (born 1954), Romanian conductor
• Vladimir Cosma (born 1940), Romanian composer
• Vladimir Divljan (1958–2015), Serbian songwriter and singer
• Vladimír Dolník (born 1993), Slovak ice hockey player
• Vladimír Dzurilla (1942–1995), Slovak ice hockey player
• Vladimir Farrell (born 1981), Montserratian football player
• Vladimir Gardin (1877–1965), Russian actor and director
• Vladimir Georgiev (chess player) (born 1975), Bulgarian chess player
• Vladimir Guerrero (born 1975), Dominican baseball player
• Vladimir Gessen (born 1955), Venezuelan psycologist
• Vladimir Horowitz (1903–1989), Russian-born American pianist
• Vladimir Jankélévitch (1903–1985), French philosopher and musicologist
• Vladimir Koman (born 1989), Hungarian football player
• Vladimir Komarov (1927–1967), Russian pilot and cosmonaut
• Vladimir Kramnik (born 1975), Russian chess player
• Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), Russian politician
• Vladimir Léon (born 1969), French actor and director
• Vladimir Lozano (1958–) Venezuelan singer
• Vladimir Matveevich Gessen (1868–1920), Russian jurist and politician
• Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893–1930), Russian writer
• Vladimír Mečiar (born 1942), Slovak politician and Prime Minister
• Vladimir Myshkin (born 1955), Russian ice hockey player
• Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977), Russian author
• Vladimir Nazor (1876–1949), Croatian poet and politician
• Vladimir Núñez (born 1975), Cuban baseball player
• Vladimir Oravsky (born 1947), Swedish writer
• Vladimir Orlando Cardoso de Araújo Filho (born 1989), Brazilian football player
• Vladimir Padwa (1900–1981), American musician
• Vladimir Padrino Lopez (born 1963), Venezuelan militar
• Vladimir Petrović (born 1955), Serbian football player and coach
• Vladimir Pravik (1962–1986), Russian firefighter
• Vladimir Putin (born 1952), Russian politician and President
• Vladimir Radmanović (born 1980), Serbian basketball player
• Vladimír Růžička (born 1963), Czech ice hockey player and coach
• Vladimír Růžička (born 1989), Czech ice hockey player
• Vladimir Socor (born 1945), American political analyst
• Vladimir Tarasenko (born 1991), Russian ice hockey player
• Vladimir Terebilov (1916–2004), Russian judge and politician
• Vladimir Tismăneanu (born 1951), American political scientist
• Vladimir Troshin (1926–2008), Russian actor and singer
• Vladimir Villegas (born 1961), Venezuelan journalist
• Vladimir Volkov (born 1986), Montenegrin football player
• Vladimir Voronin (born 1941), Moldovan politician and President
• Vladimir Vysotsky (1938–1980), Russian musician
• Vladimir Yelagin (born 1955), Russian politician
• Vladimir Zhirinovsky (born 1946), Russian politician

See also

• Slavic names
• Waldemar (disambiguation)
• Walter (name)
• Włodzimierz (given name), a Polish variant

External links

• Behind the name Vladimir