The more I dig for names, the more I find myself gravitating to odd ones. [name_m]Even[/name_m] though I know SO will likely NEVER agree to something as “out there” as [name_m]Vlad[/name_m], I just have to see what you berries think of it. I think it’s historical and awesome. I could honestly see it working for a modern boy (as one and two syllable names seem to be quite popular these days.) [name_m]How[/name_m] do you feel about it?
I agree with you; it’s historical and awesome. I really like it and have it on my GP list, although my SO would never agree to it. Vlad is very associated with Vlad Tepes, though, but I don’t mind.
I just think ‘[name_m]Vlad[/name_m] the Impaler’ and heads on stakes. [name_m]Bram[/name_m] (author of Dracula) is about as close as I’d get.
Ditto @rkrd. I really can see the appeal, but the [name_m]Vlad[/name_m] Tepes reference is too strong.
I don’t know who [name_m]Vlad[/name_m] Tepes is?
I think there are enough associations that people won’t all jump to one or another. I’ve actually known a few Vlads here in the US - all around my age (20-30). I think it’s a great name.
I work with a guy called [name_m]Vlad[/name_m] - very cool name and even though it is a large organisation, everyone knows him - I think the name helps!
While definitely historical and in that sense a solid choice, I am not big on the sound of the name at all. I think it sounds odd even in the language of origin.
You probably know him as [name_m]Vlad[/name_m] the Impaler.
I just adore [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m] and I had very seriously considered it for my son (I’m [name_m]French[/name_m] with Yugoslavian origins, my husband is American but born in Romania, so it made total sense for us) – we had a trend on name berry at the time. We ended up not going for it because of Putin, mostly, and also because I was afraid of him being teased, with [name_m]Vlad[/name_m] the Impaler especially.
I guess it really depends on where you live – in [name_f]France[/name_f], [name_m]Vlad[/name_m] would just sound Eastern European and deliciously exotic ; in the UK, where we live now and where anti-immigration sentiment is riding quite high, it might be a disadvantage ; and in the US, he might get teased a lot. That being said, the only adult [name_m]Vlad[/name_m] I know is a Romanian who immigrated to the US as a child, like my husband, and he works in finance now. Name obsessed as I am, of course I asked him if his name had been a burden when he first came to the US, and he said he never really had a problem, other than the usual “it’s weird” from close-minded people (but then, he told me, every “different” kid had the same problems), or “where are you from ? oh, how interesting” from regular folks.
At any rate, I am all for a rehabilitation of [name_m]Vlad[/name_m] / [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m] (seriously, it is such a beautiful, noble name) – for instance, I feel [name_m]Ivan[/name_m] (another beautiful name) has moved from purely “[name_m]Ivan[/name_m]-the-Terrible” to a name that can be used again, at least in more “culturally open” social circles, in its own right, without having little boys endlessly teased (I think [name_m]Ivan[/name_m] was the name of [name_m]David[/name_m] [name_u]Cameron[/name_u]'s son who passed away, and the Camerons, whatever one thinks of their politics, have a great taste in names for their kids! ).
Oh wow, I hadn’t even thought of him, @tfzolghadr. Then again, does he ever go by [name_m]Vlad[/name_m]? All I hear of him is on the news, and they almost always refer to him by his surname.
And I agree with you completely, @francelise! I feel that [name_m]Vlad[/name_m] can be rehabilitated. After all, “the Impaler” is not as ominous a namesake as he once was. That is to say, he’s quite in the past. He lived in the 1400’s, after all. This is one of those names for me that I think if people hear it on an acquaintance or something, it’ll become normalized. In the US, anyway, where there are so many different names from different cultures.
[name_m]Vlad[/name_m] just makes me think of vampires. Then again, I’ve never met a Russian with a Russian name, so I don’t really have any associations with [name_m]Vlad[/name_m] other than spooky castles and ashy men that sleep in coffins.
I tend to think impaler rather than Putin, with the first being a better candidate for rehabilitation.
If it’s the sound you like and the associations prove too much, you could try Vad, short for [name_m]Vadim[/name_m] (another Russian name). I have a friend with that name and I think it works well (apart from the time the barista misheard and wrote his name as Bad!)
When it comes to just “[name_m]Vlad[/name_m]”, I associate it with [name_m]Vlad[/name_m] the Impaler, not [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m] Putin. I prefer [name_m]Vlad[/name_m] as a nickname for [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m].
I like it, it’s exotic and regal
I know a [name_m]Vlad[/name_m] whose full name is [name_m]Vladislav[/name_m]. He is Russian. All Vladimirs I know usually go by [name_m]Vova[/name_m], I guess including Putin.
I don’t like [name_m]Vlad[/name_m] but [name_m]Vladimir[/name_m] is nice. I think they are all usable.