Vadim
A masculine Russian name derived from the Slavic element "vad" meaning to persuade.
Name Census estimates that about 527 living Americans carry the first name Vadim. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Vadim today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vadim births was 2002 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vadim. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
527
~ 1 in 650,388 Americans
Peak year
2002
27 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,897
Tracked since 1993
Popularity
Vadim: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vadim from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 228 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vadim by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Vadim during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vadims live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Washington, California, New York recorded the most babies named Vadim, while Florida, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 33 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vadim
The name Vadim has its origins in the Russian language and culture, with its roots dating back to the early Slavic era. It is derived from the Old Slavic word "vaditi," which means "to lead" or "to guide." This name was particularly popular among the Slavic nobility and aristocracy during the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Vadim can be found in the Russian Primary Chronicle, a historical text written in the 12th century. The chronicle mentions a prince named Vadim, who ruled over the region of Novgorod in the late 9th century. This historical figure is regarded as one of the earliest known individuals to bear this name.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the name Vadim. One such figure was Vadim Mikhailovich Frolov (1885-1939), a Russian mathematician and academic who made significant contributions to the field of differential geometry. Another prominent bearer of this name was Vadim Andreyevich Filatov (1896-1984), a Soviet ophthalmologist and surgeon renowned for his groundbreaking work in corneal transplantation techniques.
In the realm of literature, the name Vadim gained prominence through the works of the Russian writer Mikhail Lermontov. His novel "A Hero of Our Time," published in 1840, featured a central character named Vadim Petrovich Huguenot, who embodied the traits of a typical Byronic hero.
The name Vadim has also been associated with the world of sports. Vadim Nikolayevich Devyatovsky (1936-2008) was a Soviet weightlifter who won multiple Olympic gold medals and set numerous world records in his career. Additionally, Vadim Leonidovich Khrapovitsky (1899-1949) was a notable Soviet football player and manager who played a significant role in the development of the sport in the early Soviet era.
While the name Vadim has its roots in Russian and Slavic cultures, it has also gained popularity in other parts of the world. For instance, Vadim Jean Meerson (1926-2013) was a French film director and screenwriter of Russian descent, known for his collaborations with acclaimed actors such as Brigitte Bardot and Romy Schneider.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Vadim
People
Vadim + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vadim as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Vadim: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vadim?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 527 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vadim going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 650,388 US residents.
Is Vadim a common name?
We classify Vadim as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 533 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vadim most popular?
The single biggest year for Vadim was 2002, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vadim is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Vadim a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vadim in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.