Boy names that start with V
V is the letter of winning: Victor, Vincent, Vittorio, Vetri and Voitto all mean some version of victory, in five unrelated languages. No V name is in the current U.S. top 100 — the letter is deep rather than fashionable — but forty-seven are catalogued here, and the distance between Vaughn and Volodymyr is about as far as one initial can stretch.
The most familiar V names
These are the V names an American ear already knows. All of them sit outside the current U.S. top 100, but none of them needs explaining.
- VictorVIK-turLatin
Conqueror, winner. An early Christian name adopted as a statement of faith; outside the current U.S. top 100, but instantly readable in a dozen languages.
- VincentVIN-sentLatin
Conquering, prevailing. Van Gogh's name and a saint's; still widely used in America though outside the current top 100.
- ValentineVAL-un-tyneLatin
Strong, healthy, vigorous. The February saint makes it impossible to hear neutrally, which is either the problem or the point.
- VaughnVAWNWelsh
Small, the younger. From Welsh bychan, softened to fychan after a name; a surname that turned into a crisp one-syllable first name.
- VanceVANSSEnglish
Of the marsh, of the fen. Flat, short and very American.
- VernonVUR-nunEnglish
Place of alders, from a Norman place name. A gentle Edwardian survivor.
- VirgilVUR-jilLatin
From the Roman family name Vergilius, of uncertain sense. The poet of the Aeneid guides Dante through hell.
- VitoVEE-tohItalian
Life. From Latin Vitus, the saint behind the old name for Sydenham's chorea.
- ViggoVIG-ohDanish
War, battle. Common in Denmark for centuries; Viggo Mortensen did the rest.
- ValeVAYLEnglish
A valley. A word name, open and quiet, with no history to argue with.
Classic V names from Italy, Spain and Portugal
- Vittoriovit-TOH-ryoItalian
Conqueror, winner. Vittorio De Sica directed Bicycle Thieves.
- Vicentebee-SEN-tehSpanish & Portuguese
Conquering, prevailing. The Spanish and Portuguese Vincent, and far commoner than the English form in Latin America.
- Valeriovah-LEH-ree-ohItalian
Strong, healthy, of worth — from Latin valere, to be strong.
- VascoVAHSH-kooPortuguese
Uncertain; a short form of medieval Velasco. Vasco da Gama opened the sea route to India.
- VitorVEE-torBrazilian
Conqueror, victor. A Latin agent noun that became a Christian name and then a Brazilian staple.
Slavic and Central European V names
- Vladimirvlah-DEE-meerRussian
Great in rule, later reheard as ruler of peace. Vladimir the Great brought Christianity to the Kievan Rus.
- Volodymyrvo-lo-DIH-mihrUkrainian
Great ruler; ruler of the world. The Ukrainian form of the same name, and now the better known of the two.
- VladislavVLAH-dyi-slafCzech
Glorious rule. Vlad and Slavik are the usual short forms.
- VratislavVRAH-tyi-slafCzech
One who returns in glory. The Polish city of Wrocław is traditionally said to be named for a duke called Vratislav.
- VsevolodFSYE-vuh-lotRussian
Ruler of all — built from Slavic parts rather than borrowed from Greek or Latin, which most Russian names were.
- Vasilyvuh-SEE-leeRussian
Royal, from the Greek word for a king. The Russian Basil.
- Vasylva-SYLUkrainian
Royal, kingly. The Ukrainian form, stressed on the second syllable.
- VáclavVAHTS-lafCzech
Greater glory. Good King Wenceslas of the carol was Václav, duke of Bohemia; Václav Havel led the country out of communism.
- VojtěchVOY-tyekhCzech
Solace of the army. The birth name of St Adalbert of Prague, patron of Bohemia and Poland.
- VajkVOYKHungarian
The pagan birth name of Stephen, the first Christian king of Hungary, who took the name István at his baptism.
Nordic and Finnish V names
- ValdemarVAL-duh-marDanish
Great ruler. Four kings of Denmark bore it, beginning with Valdemar the Great in the twelfth century.
- VidarVEE-darNorse
The silent god who avenges Odin at Ragnarök. Short, hard and mythologically serious.
- VetleVET-lehNorwegian
Bear cub; literally, winter-traveller. A genuinely Norwegian name with no English equivalent.
- VegardVEH-gardNorwegian
The protection of the sanctuary — a compound of the words for holy place and guard.
- VilhelmVIL-helmSwedish
Resolute protector. The Nordic William, and the harder-edged version of it.
- VilladsVIL-lassDanish
A ruler's glory. Danish and almost nothing else.
- VideVEE-dehSwedish
Willow. One of the Swedish nature names that came back into fashion in the 2000s.
- VäinöVY-nuhFinnish
Short form of Väinämöinen, the old singer of the Kalevala; the root väinä is a wide, slow river.
- VeikkoVAYK-kohFinnish
Brother — the warm word for it, not the formal one.
- VesaVEH-sahFinnish
A young shoot; the new growth that comes off a cut stump.
- VoittoVOYT-tohFinnish
Victory — and, in a ledger, profit. Finnish does not distinguish.
V names from Armenia, India and Vietnam
- Vahagnvah-HAHKNArmenian
Victory; the smiting of resistance. The old Armenian god of fire and thunder, cognate with Persian Verethragna.
- Vahanvah-HAHNArmenian
Shield. Plain, ancient and still in use.
- Vahevah-HEHArmenian
Uncertain, but tied to the same Iranian root as Vahagn.
- Vardanvar-DAHNArmenian
Rose; the one of the rose. Vardan Mamikonian led the Armenian revolt of 451.
- VarunVAH-roonSanskrit
The Vedic god of the waters and of cosmic order — the keeper of oaths.
- VeerVEERSanskrit
Hero; a brave man. The same root gives Hindi vir and English virile a shared Indo-European ancestor.
- Vihaanvee-HAHNSanskrit
Dawn; the first light of morning. One of the fastest-rising names in India.
- Vikramvik-RUMSanskrit
Valour; literally, a stride. The legendary king Vikramaditya gives it its heroic cast.
- VetriVET-reeTamil
Victory; a win. Tamil rather than Sanskrit, and proudly so.
- VietVYETVietnamese
The Việt — the Vietnamese people themselves. A name that is also a nationality.
- VinhVINGVietnamese
Glory, honour — the character 榮. Also a city on Vietnam's north-central coast.