# Walter (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/walter/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “ruler”, “army”, “host” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈwɔltɚ/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Walt, Wal, Watt |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 634,804 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 631,172 / 3,632 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 2,045, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

A Germanic name, from Middle English Walter, from Old Northern French Waltier, from Frankish *Waltheri (compare Old High German Waltheri, which see for more details), from Proto-West Germanic *Waldahari, from Proto-Germanic *Waldaharjaz, from *waldą (“ruler”) + *harjaz (“army, host”). Related to Old English Waldhere. Compare herald and Harold, in which these elements are reversed.

## What it means

Walter is grouped under king and warrior.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 16 | 4,740 |
| 1981 | 17 | 4,528 |
| 1982 | 19 | 4,163 |
| 1983 | 10 | 6,694 |
| 1984 | 9 | 7,391 |
| 1985 | 20 | 4,123 |
| 1986 | 10 | 7,121 |
| 1987 | 20 | 4,281 |
| 1988 | 23 | 4,012 |
| 1989 | 6 | 12,326 |
| 1990 | 7 | 11,385 |
| 1992 | 10 | 8,722 |
| 1993 | 8 | 10,562 |
| 1994 | 7 | 11,748 |
| 1995 | 6 | 13,341 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 801 | 374 |
| 2012 | 805 | 375 |
| 2013 | 939 | 342 |
| 2014 | 987 | 337 |
| 2015 | 1,158 | 309 |
| 2016 | 1,172 | 302 |
| 2017 | 1,366 | 265 |
| 2018 | 1,313 | 271 |
| 2019 | 1,282 | 278 |
| 2020 | 1,240 | 272 |
| 2021 | 1,281 | 271 |
| 2022 | 1,278 | 269 |
| 2023 | 1,276 | 267 |
| 2024 | 1,269 | 271 |
| 2025 | 1,381 | 252 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 44 | 718 |
| 2012 | 69 | 534 |
| 2013 | 58 | 596 |
| 2014 | 94 | 429 |
| 2015 | 108 | 393 |
| 2016 | 138 | 341 |
| 2017 | 129 | 362 |
| 2018 | 150 | 318 |
| 2019 | 178 | 271 |
| 2020 | 157 | 292 |
| 2021 | 155 | 302 |
| 2022 | 129 | 335 |
| 2023 | 124 | 343 |
| 2024 | 127 | 344 |
| 2025 | 127 | 334 |

## In other languages

- Armenian: Վալտեր
- Bulgarian: Ва́лтер, Готие́, Уо́лтър
- Catalan: Gualter
- Chinese: 沃爾特 /沃尔特
- Czech: Valtr
- Dutch: Wouter
- Esperanto: Valtero
- Estonian: Valter
- Finnish: Valtteri
- French: Gautier
- Georgian: ვალტერი, უოლტერი
- German: Walter, Walther
- Greek: Γουώλτερ, Γουόλτερ
- Hindi: वालटर
- Hungarian: Valter
- Icelandic: Valtýr, Valter
- Irish: Ualtar
- Italian: Gualtiero
- Japanese: ウォルター
- Korean: 월터

## People named Walter

- Walter Benjamin, German cultural critic, philosopher and social critic (1892–1940)
- Walter Gropius, German-American architect (1883–1969)
- Luis Walter Alvarez, American experimental physicist, inventor, and professor (1911–1988)
- Walter Houser Brattain, American physicist (1902–1987)
- Walter Ulbricht, German communist politician and dictator (1893–1973)
- Walter Raleigh, English statesman, soldier and writer (1552–1618)
- Walter Matthau, American actor, comedian and director (1920–2000)
- Walter Gilbert, American biochemist
- Walter Cronkite, American broadcast journalist (1916-2009)
- Walter Kohn, American physicist (1923–2016)
- Walter Baade, German astronomer (1893–1960)
- Walter Brennan, American actor (1894–1974)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.