Vladimir
Masculine · “ruler of the world”
Vladimir is ruler of the world, or ruler in peace — the Slavic mir means both, which makes the name genuinely two-sided.
How old is the name Vladimir?
Vladimir first appears in US birth records in 1913 — 112 years ago. The typical Vladimir alive today was born around 2004, making them about 21 years old. About 5,700 people named Vladimir are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Vladimir most popular?
Vladimir peaked in 1997, reaching #1040 nationally. Today it ranks #1826, 786 places below that high. See the whole 1997 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From vlad mir to Vladimir
The story of Vladimir
Vladimir the Great ruled Kievan Rus from 980 and converted to Orthodox Christianity in 988 — the decision that put the eastern Slavs in the Byzantine rather than the Latin world. He was canonized. The name is standard across Russia, Ukraine, Serbia and the Czech lands, and appears in American records in current use.
Meaningscholars disagree
ruler of the world; famous ruler
From the Slavic vlad, 'rule', and mir, which means both 'world' and 'peace' in the modern languages. The second element may originally have been the Germanic mer, 'famous', reshaped by Slavic folk etymology. All three readings are documented and the ambiguity is genuine.
How the name formed
- vlad mir
- Vladimir
Related forms: Владимир · Volodymyr · Vladimír · Vladimir
Pronouncing Vladimir
VLAD-ih-meer
Three syllables, stress on the first in English. Russian says vla-DEE-meer with the stress in the middle.
Nicknames for Vladimir
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
- 1913
- Most boys named
- 2010179 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1040reached in 1997
- Change vs 2023
- 0.0%87 in 2025, from 87
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.
Vladimir in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Владимир in Russian — transliteration
- Volodymyr in Ukrainian — related form
- Vladimír in Czech — same name
- Vladimir in Serbian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Vladimirs among us
people named Vladimir are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 19,633 born in 2025 was named Vladimir
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 Damen test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Vladimir's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Damen climbed just as high around 1978, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Damen's path sketches the road Vladimir is walking now.
Vladimir 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
Where Vladimir is headed
Vladimir is easing off slowly — about 21% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Vladimir beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Vladimir in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The double meaning of mir — world and peace — is a genuinely rich ambiguity.
- A ruler whose one decision shaped a thousand years of history carries it.
- Vova is a warm and very widely used short form.
- The stress placement differs between English and Russian.
- Contemporary political associations are strong for many people.
- The Vlad clipping carries a separate Romanian association.
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What they receive
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Vladimir
Masculine · #1826 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Vladimirs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,700 people named Vladimir are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Vladimir in 2025?
- Vladimir ranks #1826 among US boy names in 2025, with 87 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Vladimir?
- About 1 in every 19,633 US boys born in 2025 was named Vladimir — 87 in all.
- Will my child share the name Vladimir with classmates?
- Vladimir will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Vladimir
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Radley#1826 · Jaysen#1826 · Darell#1826 · Charley#1826 · Azaire#1826 · Mylan#1826 · Oziah#1826 · Raghav#1826
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Vladimir? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Vladimir and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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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