The name Vyacheslav, its Slavic forms and its link to the name Stefan

It is curious that the Russian name Vyacheslav corresponds to the common Slavic name Wenceslas, popular among the Poles and Bulgarians. The name is occasionally found among Italians as well.

Alexandra Superanskaya, a classic of Russian onomastics, points out that Wenceslas may have been a free rendering of the name Stephen. Stephen is a Greek name meaning ring, wreath, crown. In Russian pronunciation it is Stepan, in France Étienne, in Hungary István.

Among the Czechs, the name Wenceslas is identical with the name Václav.

Wenceslas (in the old spelling, Venceslav), an old name of Slavic origin, is the same as Vyacheslav and means "more famous", "more renowned", and, for that matter, literally "crown of glory". It derives from the Slavic roots [vyashche, vyache], "more" + [slava], "glory". The name Boleslav has the same meaning.

Among the Slavic peoples there also exists, separately, the name form Venets.

Such is the unusual chain that runs from Slava to Vyacheslav to Boleslav, and on to Wenceslas, Václav and Venets, and to Stephen, Stepan, István and Étienne.

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