Vladimir (, pre-1918 orthography: , ) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, widespread throughout all Slavic nations in different forms and spellings. Etymology The Old East Slavic form of the name is Володимѣръ Volodiměr, while the Old Church Slavonic form is Vladiměr. According to Max Vasmer, the name is composed of Slavic владь vladĭ "to rule" and *mēri "great", "famous" (related to Gothic element mērs, -mir, cf. Theodemir, Valamir).
The modern (pre-1918) Russian forms Владимиръ and Владиміръ are based on the Church Slavonic one, with the replacement of мѣръ by миръ or міръ resulting from a folk etymological association with миръ "peace" or міръ "world".Max Vasmer, Etymological Dictionary of Russian Language s.v. "Владимир" (starling.rinet.ru, vasmer.narod.ru)
The Bolshevik reform of Russian spelling in 1918 abolished the orthographic distinction between миръ (peace) and міръ (universe, world): both are now spelled as мир, so the name came to be spelled .
History An early record of this name was the name of Vladimir-Rasate (died 893), ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire.
Following the Christianization of Kievan Rus' in 988 during the reign of Vladimir the Great, the name Vladimir, along with other pagan names, was gradually replaced with Christian names, although the name Vladimir retained its popularity within the princely family in the following centuries.
Three successors of Vladimir the Great shared his given name: Vladimir II Monomakh (1053–1125), Vladimir III Mstislavich (1132–1173) and Vladimir IV Rurikovich (1187–1239). The town Volodymyr in north-western Ukraine was founded by Vladimir and is named after him.Henryk Paszkiewicz. The making of the Russian nation. Greenwood Press. 1977. Cracow 1996, pp. 77–79. The foundation of another town, Vladimir in Russia, is usually attributed to Vladimir II Monomakh. However, some researchers argue that it was also founded by Vladimir the Great.С. В. Шевченко (ред.). К вопросу о дате основания г. Владимира, ТОО "Местное время", 1992. (S. V. Shevchenko (ed.). On the foundation date of Vladimir. in Russian) The veneration of Vladimir the Great as a saint of the Russian Orthodox Church gave rise to the replacement of the East Slavic form of his name with the Old Church Slavonic (Old Bulgarian) one. The immense importance of Vladimir the Great as national and religious founder resulted in Vladimir becoming one of the most frequently-given Russian names.
Variants The Slavic name survives in two traditions, the Old Church Slavonic one using the vocalism Vladi- and the Old East Slavic one in the vocalism Volodi-.
The Old Church Slavonic form Vladimir (Владимир) is used in Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, and Macedonian, borrowed into Slovenian, Croatian Vladimir, Czech and Slovak Vladimír.
The polnoglasie "-olo-" of Old East Slavic form Vladimir (Владимиръ) (probably pronounced as Volodymyr) persists in the Ukrainian form Volodymyr (Володимир), borrowed into Slovak Volodymýr.
Historical diminutive forms include: Vladimirko (Russian), Volodymyrko (Ukrainian).
In Belarusian the name is spelled Uladzimir (Uładzimir, Уладзімір) or Uladzimier (Uładzimier, Уладзімер).
In Polish, the name is spelled Włodzimierz.
In Russian, shortened and endeared versions of the name are Volodya (and variants with diminutive suffixes: Volod'ka, Volodyen'ka, Volodechka etc.), Vova (and diminutives: Vovka, Vovochka, etc.), Vovchik, Vovan. In West and South Slavic countries, other short versions are used: e.g., Vlade, Vlado, Vlada, Vladica, Vladko, Vlatko, Vlajko, Vladan, Władek, Wlodik and Włodek.
The Germanic form, Waldemar or Woldemar, is sometimes traced to Valdemar I of Denmark (1131–1182) named after his Russian maternal grandfather, Vladimir II Monomakh.Ф.Б. Успенский, "ИМЯ И ВЛАСТЬ (Выбор имени как инструмент династической борьбы в средневековой Скандинавии)", In: Фольклор и постфольклор: структура, типология, семиотика ("Folklore and Post-Folklore: Structure, Typology and Semiotics") The Germanic name is reflected in Latvian Voldemārs and Finnic (Finnish and Estonian) Voldemar.
The Greek form is Vladimiros (Βλαδίμηρος). The name is most common in Northern Greece especially among the Slavic speakers of Greek Macedonia. Diminutives of the name among these Slavic speakers are Vlade and Mire.
Wladimir is an alternative spelling of the name.
People with the name Royalty Ordered chronologically Vladimir of Bulgaria (), Knyaz (king) of Bulgaria Vladimir the Great (c. 958–1015), prince of Novgorod, grand Prince of Kiev, and ruler of Kievan Rus' Vladimir of Novgorod (1020–1052), Prince of Novgorod Vladimir II Monomakh (1053–1125), Grand Prince of Kievan Rus', prince of Kiev; also ruled in Rostov and Suzdal Vladimir II Mstislavich (1132–1173), Prince of Dorogobuzh, Vladimir, and Volyn, Slutsk, Tripolye and Grand Prince of Kiev Vladimir III Rurikovich (1187–1239), Prince of Pereyaslavl, Smolensk and Grand Prince of Kiev Vladimir the Bold (1353–1410), prince of Serpukhov, one of the principal commanders of Lithuanian–Muscovite War (1368–1372) and Battle of Kulikovo Vladimir of Staritsa (1533–1569), Appanage Prince of Russia, cousin to Tsar Ivan the Terrible Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia (1847–1909) Vladimir Kirillovich, Grand Duke of Russia (1917–1992)
Presidents and prime ministers Vladimir Ivashko (1932-1994), Soviet Ukrainian politician, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Vladimir Kokovtsov (1853–1943), Russian politician, prime minister of Russia from 1911 to 1914 Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924), Russian revolutionary, head of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, founder and first leader of the Soviet Union Vladimír Mečiar (born 1942), Slovak politician who served as the prime minister of Slovakia three times, from 1990 to 1991, from 1992 to 1994 and from 1994 to 1998 Vladimir Pashkov (born 1961), Prime Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). Vladimir Putin (born 1952), current president of Russia and former prime minister. Vladimir Špidla (born 1951), Czech politician who served as the prime minister of the Czech Republic Vladimir Vasilyev (politician) (born 1949), Russian politician and Head of the Republic of Dagestan Vladimir Voronin (born 1941), former president of Moldova
Religious figures Metropolitan Vladimir (disambiguation) Vladimir Bogoyavlensky (1848–1918), bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna between 1898 and 1912, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga between 1912 and 1915, and Metropolitan of Kiev and Gallich between 1915 and 1918 Vladimir Gundyayev (born 1946), known as Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, Russian Orthodox bishop, Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church
Military leaders Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko (1883–1938), Ukrainian Bolshevik leader and diplomat, one of the principal commanders of October Revolution, Ukraine Offensive (1919) and Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War Vladimir Arshba (1958-2018), Abkhaz soldier and politician who served as the first Minister of Defence of the Republic of Abkhazia, an unrecognised state, from 1992 until 1993, one of the principal commanders of War in Abkhazia (1992-1993) Vladimir Baer (1853-1905), Russian captain of the Russo-Japanese War Vladimir Boldyrev (born 1949), Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces, one of the principal commanders of Second Chechen War, Russo–Georgian War and Insurgency in the North Caucasus Vladimir Chirkin (born 1955), Russian military officer and a former commander of Russian Ground Forces, one of the principal commanders of Insurgency in the North Caucasus Vladimir Constantinescu (1895–1965), Romanian general in World War II, one of the principal commanders of Battle of the Caucasus Vladimir Cukavac (1884-1965), Serbian general holding the title of army general in the Royal Yugoslav Army, one of the principal commanders of Invasion of Yugoslavia Vladimir Dobrovolsky (1834-1877), Russian general of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Vladimir Gelfand, Soviet soldier in World War II who became known for his published war time diaries Vladimir Gittis (1881–1938), Soviet military commander and komkor, one of the principal commanders of Battle for the Donbas (1919) and Latvian War of Independence Vladimir Kondić (1863-1940), Serbian general of World War I Vladimir Kotlinsky (1894–1915), Russian Second Lieutenant of World War I Vladimir Kuroyedov (1944–2026), Russian admiral of the fleet Vladimir Lazarević (born 1949), Serbian general and convicted war criminal, one of the principal commanders of Kosovo War Vladimir Lobov (born 1935), former Soviet and Russian military commander, Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces in 1991, General of the Army and People's Deputy of the USSR Vladimir Marushevsky (1874-1951), Imperial Russian general, last chief of staff of the Russian Republic Vladimir May-Mayevsky (1867-1920), general in the Imperial Russian Army, one of the principal commanders of Battle for the Donbas (1919) Vladimir Mikhaylov (1943), Russian general, former commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force Vladimir Miklukha (1853–1905), Russian captain of the Russo-Japanese War Vladimir Padrino López (born 1963), Venezuelan general, Minister of Defense of Venezuela from 2014 to 2026. Vladimir Shamanov (born 1957), retired Russian colonel general, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Airborne Troops, one of the principal commanders of the First Chechen War, First Nagorno-Karabakh War and Russo–Georgian War, the leading perpetrator of Alkhan-Yurt massacre Vladimir Stoychev (1892–1990), Bulgarian general in the Second World War Vladimir Sukhomlinov (1848–1926) Russian general of the Imperial Russian Army, Chief of the General Staff and Minister of War Vladimir Triandafillov (1894-1931), Soviet military commander and theoretician considered by many to be the "father of Soviet operational art" Vladimir Tributs (1900-1977), Soviet admiral Vladimir Vazov (1868–1945), Bulgarian general in the Balkan Wars and the First World War Vladimir Vol'skii (1877–1937), Russian revolutionary, one of the principal commanders of Russian Civil War Vladimir Zaimov (1888–1942), Bulgarian general and Soviet spy Vladimir Zhoga (1993–2022), Russian-Ukrainian separatist who commanded the Sparta Battalion, a pro-Russian separatist force
Intelligence officers Vladimir Dekanozov (1898–1953), Soviet senior state security operative and diplomat, deputy chief of GUGB Vladimir Kolokoltsev (born 1961), Russian politician and police officer, General of the police, Moscow Police Commissioner and Russian Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kvachkov (born 1948), Russian former Spetsnaz colonel and military intelligence officer, known for being arrested and charged for the attempted assassination Vladimir Pozner Sr. (1908–1975), Russian-Jewish émigré to the United States who spied for Soviet intelligence while employed by the US government Vladimir Semichastny (1924–2001), Soviet politician, who served as chairman of the KGB
Cosmonauts Vladimir Aksyonov (1935–2024), former Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Dezhurov (born 1962), Russian former cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov (born 1942), former cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov (1927–1967), Soviet test pilot, aerospace engineer, cosmonaut and the first person to die in a space flight Vladimir Kovalyonok (born 1942), Soviet retired cosmonaut Vladimir Lyakhov (1941–2018), Ukrainian Soviet cosmonaut Vladimír Remek (born 1948), Czech politician and diplomat and former cosmonaut and military pilot Vladimir Shatalov (1927–2021), Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Solovyov (cosmonaut) (born 1946), former Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Titov (cosmonaut) (born 1947), retired Russian Air Force colonel and former cosmonaut Vladimir Vasyutin (1952–2002), Soviet cosmonaut