Victor
Meaning of Victor
Derived from the Latin cognomen “victor,” literally signifying “conqueror” or “winner,” Victor entered the onomastic repertoire of the early Christian world through several third- and fourth-century martyrs, migrated into the major vernaculars of Europe during the Middle Ages, and has retained an unbroken record of use in Anglo-American contexts since at least the seventeenth century; in contemporary phonology it is rendered as VIK-tər in English, VEEK-tohr in Italian, and VEEK-tor in Spanish. The name’s semantic core of triumph lends it an enduring aura of disciplined strength, a quality reinforced by cultural exemplars such as the novelist Victor Hugo, the film director Victor Fleming, and multiple popes and monarchs who adopted the appellation to signal fortitude in leadership. Within the United States, Social Security data indicate that Victor hovered inside the national top-100 male names from 1890 through the late 1990s, reached a twentieth-century apex at rank 82 in 1990, and has since experienced a gradual but steady attenuation, situating at rank 204 in 2024; this trajectory suggests a transition from mainstream visibility to a position of understated familiarity, thereby offering parents a historically resonant yet currently less-saturated choice.
Pronunciation
Italian
- Pronunced as VEEK-tohr (/ˈvi.ktor/)
Spanish
- Pronunced as VEEK-tor (/ˈbiːk.tor/)
British English
- Pronunced as VIK-tuh (/ˈvɪk.tə/)
American English
- Pronunced as VIK-tur (/ˈvɪk.tər/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Victor
| Victor Hugo was a French Romantic author, journalist, and politician who championed human rights. |
| Kehinde Babatunde Victor Oladipo is a Nigerian American basketball player and ESPN analyst who starred at Indiana with major 2013 awards and most recently played for the Miami Heat. |
| Victor Borge, a Danish American actor, comedian, and pianist, became a beloved radio and TV star in North America and Europe with his musical comedy, earning nicknames such as the Clown Prince of Denmark. |
| Victor Lindelöf - Victor Lindelof is a Swedish professional footballer who plays center back for Aston Villa and captains the Sweden national team. |
| Victor Garber is a Canadian stage and screen actor and singer, a multiple Gemini, Tony, and Emmy nominee who was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2022. |
| Victor Peter Chang was a Chinese born Australian cardiac surgeon who pioneered modern heart transplantation in Australia. |
| Victor Khrisanfovich Kandinsky was a Siberian-born Russian Empire psychiatrist, second cousin to artist Wassily Kandinsky, renowned for pioneering insights into hallucinations. |
| Victor Niederhoffer is a multitalented American hedge fund manager, statistician, champion squash player, and bestselling author. |
| Victor Fleming was an American director, cinematographer, and producer best known for Gone with the Wind, which won him the Best Director Oscar, and The Wizard of Oz, both in AFI's top ten. |
| Victor Vu is a Vietnamese American film director and producer known for both a plagiarism controversy that led to Inferno being disqualified from the Golden Kite Awards and for the award winning 2019 hit Mat Biec. |
| Victor Efosa Uwaifo was a Nigerian music legend and multitalented artist who won Africas first gold disc with Joromi in 1965, recorded as Victor Uwaifo and His Titibitis, and later became the first commissioner for arts culture and tourism in Nigeria. |
| Victor Kermit Kiam II was an American entrepreneur and Remington TV pitchman who revived the company and owned the New England Patriots from 1988 to 1991. |
| Victor Bolden Jr. - Victor Vaughn Bolden Jr is an American wide receiver who played at Oregon State, signed with the San Francisco 49ers as a 2017 undrafted free agent, and won 2022 Championship Game MVP with the Birmingham Stallions. |
| Victor Emmanuel I, King of Sardinia from 1802 to 1821, regained Piedmont after Napoleon fell and abdicated amid a liberal revolution, after which his brother Charles Felix succeeded him. |
