Walther

Walther is a male first name that carries the meanings 'the one who rules in the army', 'the ruler of the army', and 'the army leader'. The name has its roots in Old High German.

What does the name Walther mean?

The name Walther, a traditional male first name, means 'the one who rules in the army', 'the ruler of the army', as well as 'the army leader'. The older form Walter is also spelled with an 'h'. It derives from the Old High German words waltan, which means 'to rule', 'to govern', or 'the ruler', and heri, which means 'the army', 'the war band', 'the army leader', or 'the warrior'. In the Middle Ages, the name gained popularity through the significant German-speaking poet and minstrel Walther von der Vogelweide. The original forms are considered to be Walthari and Waltheri. Other variants include Valder, Valther, and Walder (Danish), Valter (Danish, Estonian, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish), Wolter (Low German), Woidda (Bavarian), Walti, Wali, and Walo (Swiss German), Walt (English), Valtteri (Finnish), Gauthier, Gautier, and Gaucher (French), Gualtiero and Valtiero (Italian), Gualterius and Gualtherus (Latin), Valters (Latvian), Wouter and Wout (Dutch), Valtar and Valtare (Norwegian), Guálter and Gualtério (Portuguese), Valtier and Valtierra (Romansh), Volter (Swedish), Gutierre, Gualtierre, and Galtero (Spanish), as well as Valti, Valtika, and Valkó (Hungarian), Waller (Rhenish), and Waltrina.

Where does the name Walther come from?

The first name Walther has Old High German origins and means among other things 'the one who rules in the army' and 'the ruler of the army'. The word components come from Old High German, where waltan means 'to rule', 'to govern', or 'the ruler' and heri means 'the army', 'the war band', 'the army leader', or 'the warrior'. The languages in which Walther appears are Danish and German.

How do you pronounce Walther?

Walther has a two-syllable sound and ends softly. In the pronunciation 'Wal-ther' [ˈvaltɐ], the 'th' is pronounced like a simple 't', leading to a clear and calm beginning. The ending '-er' provides a harmonious rounding without a hard edge. Walther conveys a classic and down-to-earth impression – a name with clear contours, a balanced sound curve, and stable presence.

When is the name day of Walther?

Walther celebrates his name day on January 22, March 23, May 17, November 16, November 29, and December 10.

Popularity

Walther is a rather rare first name in Germany. In 2022, it ranked 5,453rd on the list of the most common male first names. Its best ranking was 2,386th in 2012. In the last ten years, Walther has been chosen as a first name about 30 times, placing it 4,712th in the ten-year statistics. From 2010 to 2024, it ranks 4,061st.

Nicknames & pet names

Waldi

Famous people

• Walther Aeschbacher (American conductor)
• Walther Benser (German photographer)
• Walther Eltester (German theologian)
• Walther Firle (painter from Germany)
• Walther Freiherr von Holzhausen (chess player from Germany)
• Walther G. Oschilewski (poet from Germany)
• Walther Gabler (painter from Austria)
• Walther Genzmer (art historian from Germany)
• Walther Gothan (German geologist)
• Walther Haage (German botanist)
• Walther Heinrich Eduard Linde (German painter)
• Walther Hofer (historian from Switzerland)
• Walther Judeich (German historian)
• Walther Kirchner (German historian)
• Walther Kolbe (German historian)
• Walther Lietzmann (mathematician from Germany)
• Walther Mayer (mathematician from Austria)
• Walther Muller (German physicist)
• Walther Müller (physicist from Germany)
• Walther Schmidt (German musician)