Walter
Boy nameWalter has been given to 634,804 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 1918 and currently ranks #252 for boys (2025).
Meaning & origin /ˈwɒltə/
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.
Origin: Germanic languages
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025
Total babies
634,804
Peak year
1918 (13,418 babies)
Rank in 2025
#252 for boys
First recorded
1880
10-year trend
▲ +19%
Gender split
1% girls / 99% boys
Famous people named Walter
Walt Disney
American animator, producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor and entrepreneur, founder of The Walt Disney Company (1
Walt Whitman
American poet, essayist and journalist (1819–1892)
Walter Scott
Scottish novelist, poet and playwright (1771–1832)
Walter Benjamin
German cultural critic, philosopher and social critic (1892–1940)
Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).
Names with a similar vibe
Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Walter.
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