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Walter (name)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Walter
Pronunciationval-ter (Walter, German)

valt-her (Walther, German)

walt-er (Walter, English)
GenderMale
Origin
Word/name Germanic
MeaningArmy ruler, powerful ruler
Region of originNorthern Europe
Other names
Nickname(s)Wally, Walt
Related namesWalther, Valter, Valtyr, Wouter, Gauthier, Gualtiero, Gutierre, Gualter, Guterres, Gutiérrez, Valteri, Valtteri, Valters

Walter is a German and English[1] masculine given name of Germanic origin, composed of the elements walt- (Proto-Germanic *wald-) "power", "ruler", and hari (Proto-Germanic *χarja) "army".[2]

The name was first popularized by the epic German hero Walther von Aquitaine, and later from the name of the writer Walther von der Vogelweide.

The name is first recorded in the 6th century, with Walthari son of Wacho, who was king of the Lombards during 539–546. Old Germanic forms are recorded as Walthari, Waltari, Walthar, Waltar, Waltere, Waldheri, Waldhere, Waltheri, Walthere, Walther, Walter, Waldher, and Valter. The Old English equivalent is Wealdhere, Old Norse has Valðar and Valdarr.[3] The name entered the French language as Gauthier, Spanish as Gutierre, Portuguese as Gualter and Italian as Gualtiero. The modern Dutch form of the name is Wouter. The German name has also been adopted in a number of languages in the spelling Valter.

The Latinized form is Waltharius, the title of a poem of the late 9th or early 10th century on the legendary Gothic king Walter of Aquitaine. A fragmentary Old English poem on the same character is known as Waldere. Jacob Grimm in Teutonic Mythology speculates that Walthari, literally "wielder of hosts", may have been an epithet of the god of war, Ziu or Eor, and that the circumstance that the hero of the Waltharius poems loses his right hand in battle may be significant, linking him to the Norse tradition of Tyr.

Geographical distribution

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As of 2014, 43.5% of all known bearers of the surname Walter were residents of Germany (frequency 1:643), 23.4% of the United States (1:5,374), 5.0% of Nigeria (1:12,307), 4.0% of France (1:5,814), 2.0% of Austria (1:1,467), 1.9% of England (1:10,157), 1.8% of Brazil (1:38,529), 1.6% of Australia (1:5,113), 1.4% of Angola (1:6,511), 1.3% of Canada (1:9,641), 1.3% of Switzerland (1:2,176), 1.2% of Ghana (1:7,682), 1.1% of Argentina (1:13,353), 1.0% of Poland (1:12,776) and 1.0% of South Africa (1:19,181).

In Germany, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:643) in the following states:[4]

  1. Baden-Württemberg (1:386)
  2. Bremen (1:422)
  3. Brandenburg (1:450)
  4. Hesse (1:526)
  5. Saxony-Anhalt (1:539)
  6. Rhineland-Palatinate (1:599)
  7. Thuringia (1:603)
  8. Bavaria (1:606)
  9. Saxony (1:621)
  10. Saarland (1:627)

Given name

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Middle ages

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Modern era

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Fictional and legendary characters

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  • Walter of Aquitaine, a Visigoth king in Germanic heroic legend
  • Walter, in the 2005 American science fiction adventure Zathura: A Space Adventure
  • Walter, an android in the 2017 Ridley Scott film Alien: Covenant
  • Walter (Muppet), a Muppet character introduced in the 2011 film The Muppets
  • Walter, a title character of Walter and Tandoori, a children's television series
  • Walter, a puppet of ventriloquist Jeff Dunham (born 1962)
  • Walter the Softy (real name Walter Brown), arch-enemy of Dennis the Menace from The Beano comic since 1953
  • Dr. Walter Bishop (Fringe), a scientist on the 2008–2013 TV series Fringe
  • Walter Blythe, in the Anne of Green Gables novels Anne of Ingleside, Rainbow Valley, and Rilla of Ingleside
  • Walter Donovan, the main antagonist of the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
  • Walter C. Dornez, from the anime/manga series Hellsing
  • Walter E. Kurtz, the main antagonist of the 1979 film Apocalypse Now
  • Dr. Walter Jenning, in the 1986 American science fiction movie Howard the Duck
  • Walter Joseph Kovacs, the secret identity of the vigilante Rorschach in Watchmen since 1968
  • Walter Longmire, the title character in Craig Johnson's A Longmire Mystery Series and main protagonist of A&E and Netflix's LONGMIRE television series
  • Walter Mitty, the title character in James Thurber's 1939 short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
  • Walter Newell, secret identity of Stingray (comics), a Marvel Comics character since 1967
  • Walter Nichols, in the Nickelodeon sitcom Drake & Josh
  • Corporal Walter "Radar" O’Reilly, from the 1968–1986 M*A*S*H franchise
  • Walter Peck, in the 1984 American supernatural comedy movie Ghostbusters
  • Walter Powell, in the American sitcom television series Charles in Charge
  • Walter Raccoon, the father of Pinch and Scootch Raccoon and the husband of Wanda Raccoon in "PB&J Otter"
  • Walter Smith, in the Nintendo video game Ninja Gaiden
  • Walter Sobchak, in the 1998 film The Big Lebowski
  • Walter Vetrivel, the title character of the 1993 Indian film Walter Vetrivel
  • Walter White, the protagonist of the 2008–2013 TV series Breaking Bad
  • Walter, in Vencer la culpa

Surname

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Medieval

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Early modern

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Modern

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Walter Surname Meaning & Walter Family History at Ancestry.com®". www.ancestry.com.
  2. ^ INL – Wouter
  3. ^ Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch (1856), 1244f.
  4. ^ "Walter Surname Origin, Meaning & Last Name History". forebears.io.