Hungarian2 syllablesSaint's name
Meaning: the Slavic name Vladislav, Magyarised — and Hungary's knight-king saint.
László
| Origin | Hungarian form of the Slavic name Vladislav, known in English as Ladislaus |
|---|---|
| Meaning | Slavic volod- or vlad- (to rule) plus slav (glory): "glorious rule" |
| Pronunciation | LAHS-loh. The sz is a plain s, never sh — that is the trap, since a lone Hungarian s is the one that says sh. Both accents mark long vowels |
| Popularity | Outside the current U.S. top 100 and rare in America; one of the commonest Hungarian male names of the twentieth century |
| Variants | Ladislaus, Ladislav, Władysław, Vladislav, Vlastislav, Lackó |
| Nicknames | Laci, Lackó — Laci is near-universal in Hungary |
| Feast day | 27 June, St Ladislaus, a patron saint of Hungary |
History & meaning
Here is a Slavic name that became completely Hungarian. Vladislav is a standard two-element Slavic compound — rule plus glory — and Hungarian took it from its Slavic-speaking neighbours in the eleventh century, then reshaped it past recognition: the cluster at the front went, the vowels rearranged, and Vladislav came out László. It is worth being precise about what that shows. Hungarian is not a Slavic language and is not related to one; it is Uralic, and the resemblance ends at the border. Borrowing names from the people next door is what every language does, and this one borrowed heavily and then filed the edges off everything it took.
The bearer made the name. László I ruled from 1077 to 1095, extended the kingdom into Croatia, restored order after a bad half-century, and was canonised in 1192 as the model of a Christian warrior king. Medieval Hungary loved him in a very particular way: the legend of St Ladislaus rescuing an abducted girl from a Cuman horseman was painted as a continuous strip cartoon along the north walls of parish churches all over the kingdom, and dozens of those fresco cycles survive, especially in Transylvania. Hungarians have therefore been looking at this name in pictures for eight hundred years.
Why parents choose it
Mostly they used to — László was everywhere among men born between 1920 and 1970, and it has thinned out since. What keeps it alive is the pet form. Laci is warm, short and instantly friendly, and a Hungarian who says it is almost never talking about a king.
Middle names for László
A long o at the end wants a short, blunt partner: László Ferenc, László Márk, László Ábel, László Tibor. The middle names guide sets out how to test the join.
Famous Lászlós
László Bíró, a Budapest journalist tired of smudged fountain pens, patented the ballpoint in 1938, took the design to Argentina, and gave English a common noun: a biro. László Papp won Olympic boxing gold in 1948, 1952 and 1956, the first man to take three, and then had his professional career stopped by the Hungarian state before he could fight for a world title. László Krasznahorkai writes the long unbroken sentences that won him the International Booker Prize in 2015.
Consider instead
Vladislav is the same name in its Slavic form, with the elements still visible. István is the other great sainted Árpád king. Miklós shares the vintage and the shape and is a shade less common.