Meaning & History
Etymology and Origin
Ladislav is a Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian and Serbian variant of the Slavic name Vladislav. The root name Vladislav derives from the Old Slavic elements volděti “to rule” and slava “glory,” giving the meaning “to rule with glory.” Folk etymology has occasionally linked Ladislav with the Slavic goddess Lada, but this is not linguistically supported. The female counterpart of Ladislav is Ladislava. In Bulgarian and Russian, the name is spelled in Cyrillic as Ладислав.
Historical and Cultural Significance
Names bearing the elements volděti and slava have a long tradition in Slavic royalty. Vladislav and its variant Ladislav have been borne by kings, princes, and dukes of Croatia, Serbia, Bohemia, Poland, and Wallachia. In Hungarian, the equivalent is László, a name held by several Hungarian kings.Notable Bearers
Numerous notable individuals have carried the name Ladislav, particularly in sports. Ladislav Beneš was a Czechoslovak Olympic handball player; Ladislav Benýšek a Czech ice hockey player; Ladislav Čepčianský a Czechoslovak sprint canoer; Ladislav Dluhoš a Czechoslovak ski jumper; Ladislav Fouček a cyclist; Ladislav Hecht a Czechoslovak/American tennis player; Ladislav Hrubý a cross-country skier; Ladislav Jurkemik a Czechoslovak/Slovak footballer and manager; Ladislav Kačáni a Czechoslovak footballer and coach; and Ladislav Kohn a Czech ice hockey player.
Places
The name also appears in place names. In Croatia, there are villages named Ladislav in Bjelovar-Bilogora County and Virovitica-Podravina County (historically also known as Zvonimirovo).
- Meaning: “to rule with glory”
- Origin: Slavic, from Vladislav
- Type: First name
- Usage regions: Croatia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia
Related Names
Sources: Wikipedia — Ladislav