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Girl · Old High German / Frankish
Brunhild
Say it: BROON-hilt
Meaning
From Germanic brunja 'coat of mail, armour' and hild 'battle'.
Likelythe main view, with some doubt.
Borne by a powerful 6th-century Frankish queen and by the shield-maiden of the Nibelung and Völsung legends.
Its wave through time
No birth counts are recorded for this name in the records loaded here: it has been given to fewer than five babies a year, or not at all, since records began.
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Brunhilde, Brünnhilde, Brunhilda
| Old Norse | Brynhildr |
|---|---|
| French | Brunehaut |
| Italian | Brunilde |
Famous bearers
- Brunhilda of Austrasia, Visigothic princess and Frankish queen
- Brünnhilde, the valkyrie of Wagner's Ring cycle
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Royal and noble genealogies
- The Icelandic sagas and other Old Norse literature
- Well-known works of literature
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.