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Boy · Germanic, through Norman French
Walter
Say it: WAWL-ter
Meaning
From Germanic wald 'rule' and heri 'army'.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Very common in medieval England, where its pet form Wat gave the name of the rebel Wat Tyler.
Its wave through time
Fading since the 1880s
In the United States
- 628,272 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1880, about 1 in 63 boys
- 1,221 babies in 2020
Through the ages
- The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450
- The Renaissance1400 to 1600
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Walt, Wat, Water, Gautier
| German | Walther |
|---|---|
| French | Gautier |
| Italian | Gualtiero |
| Spanish | Gualterio |
| Dutch | Wouter |
Famous bearers
- Walther von der Vogelweide, German poet
- Sir Walter Raleigh
- Sir Walter Scott
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- The Domesday Book (1086) source
- English poll taxes and lay subsidy rolls (13th and 14th centuries)
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- Royal and noble genealogies
- Medieval European charters and records
- National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
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.