Vadim
Masculine
Vadim the Bold led a revolt against Rurik in Novgorod in 864, according to a chronicle written two centuries later. He may not have existed, and the name's origin is disputed, which is a fitting combination.
How old is the name Vadim?
Vadim first appears in US birth records in 1993 — 32 years ago. The typical Vadim alive today was born around 2007, making them about 18 years old. About 500 people named Vadim are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Vadim most popular?
Vadim peaked in 2002, reaching #3259 nationally. Today it ranks #10695, 7,436 places below that high. See the whole 2002 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Vadim
The Russian Primary Chronicle, compiled around 1113, says that the Slavic and Finnic tribes of the north invited Varangian rulers to govern them because there was no order among them, and that Rurik came and settled at Novgorod. Under the year 864 a later version adds that Rurik killed Vadim the Bold and his followers, who had resisted. That is the entire record. Vadim survives as a Russian given name and is common in Russia and Ukraine today, while the story behind it is one of the most argued-over passages in early Slavic history, since the invitation of the Varangians has carried political weight for three hundred years of nationalist and anti-nationalist scholarship.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Vadim is a Russian name of unsettled origin. Derivations from a Slavic root meaning to accuse or to argue, and from a shortened form of a longer Slavic compound, have both been proposed. The American peak is 2002.
Pronouncing Vadim
vah-DEEM
Two syllables, stress on the second. English speakers regularly move the stress to the first.
Nicknames for Vadim
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1993
- Most boys named
- 200227 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3259reached in 2002
- Change vs 2024
- −33.3%6 in 2025, from 9
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Vadim in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Vadim in Russian — same name
- Vadym in Ukrainian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Florida.
Vadims among us
people named Vadim are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 284,679 born in 2025 was named Vadim
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Bright test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Vadim's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Bright climbed just as high around 1924, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Bright's path sketches the road Vadim is walking now.
Vadim sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Vadim beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Vadim in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two syllables and five letters, easy to spell.
- It is a current ordinary name across Russia and Ukraine.
- Vadik works as a short form.
- Its origin is genuinely unsettled.
- English speakers stress the wrong syllable.
- The 2002 peak dates its American use.
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What they receive
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Vadim
Masculine · #10695 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Vadims are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Vadim are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Vadim in 2025?
- Vadim ranks #10695 among US boy names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Vadim?
- About 1 in every 284,679 US boys born in 2025 was named Vadim — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Vadim with classmates?
- Vadim will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Vadim
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Dudley#10695 · Dell#10695 · Buford#10695 · Toney#10695 · Allison#10695 · Candido#10695 · Jodie#10695 · Nora#10695
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Vadim? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Vadim and another name?
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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