Walter

German

"army ruler"

Walter Origin and Meaning

The name Walter is a boy's name of German origin meaning "army ruler".

Walter was seen as a noble name in the Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Walter Scott era, but it then spent decades in baby name limbo. Now quite a few independent-minded parents are looking at it as a renewable, slightly quirky, classic, stronger and more distinctive than James or John, second only to William among the handsome classic boy baby names starting with W.

A favorite Norman name, Walter was extremely popular in medieval England, where it was pronounced "Water" and a common short form was Wat. In the US, Walter's heyday was from the 1870s through the 1940s.

The recent popularity of Breaking Bad has brought us Walter White, conferring on the name Walter a new kind of cool and prompting a fresh wave of popularity.Plus there are all those great Walters and Walts to consider, from Whitman to Disney to Cronkite to Mondale to Payton to Matthau. And then there's the ultimate fantasizer Walter Mitty, not to mention (Walter) Bruce Willis. Recently, actor Rainn Wilson named his son Walter.

Short forms include Walt, Wally, and the antiquated Wat.

Walter Rank in US Top 1000

# 267 in the US

Walter Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 158 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Walter

• 267 US 2023
• 158 Nameberry 2025
• 142 Future 2028
• 345 England 2023
• 35 Sweden 2024
• 45 Denmark 2023
• 86 Dogs 2022
• 76 Cats 2022

20 Names Similar to Walter

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Walter.

• Albert
• Alfred
• Frederick
• Ralph
• Rupert
• Francis
• Hugh
• Ernest
• Harold
• Edwin
• Bernard
• Frank
• Franklin
• Stanley
• Edgar
• Louis
• Gilbert
• Chester
• Wallace
• Leonard

Famous People Named Walter

• Walter Elias "Walt" Disney American film producer and icon
• Walter "Walt" Whitman American poet
• Walter Leland Cronkite American journalist
• Walter Inglis Anderson American painter
• Walter Benjamin German social and cultural theorist
• Walter Perry Johnson American baseball pitcher
• Walter Chauncey Camp American football player and coach
• Walter Kirn American novelist
• Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale 42nd Vice President of the United States
• (Walter) Bruce Willis American actor
• Sir Walter Raleigh English explorer
• Walter Benjamin Lantz American creator of Woody Woodpecker
• Walter Scott Scottish historical novelist
• Walter Matthau (born Walter John Matthow) American actor
• Walter Kohn Austrian,American theoretical physicist and Nobel Prize winner
• (Lionel) Walter Rothschild 2nd Baron Rothschild, British MP and zoologist
• Walter Adolph Georg Gropius German founder of Bauhaus architecture
• Walter Heinrich Heitler German physicist
• Walter Hermann Schottky German physicist
• Walter "Wally" Schirra American astronaut
• Walter Grauman American TV, film, and stage director
• Walter Payton former American football player
• Walter Ray Williams Jr., Professional Bowler and Horseshoe Pitcher
• Walter "Walt" Flanagan actor and star of AMC's Comic Book Men
• Walter Liberace American entertainer and pianist
• Walter Wick Author and Photographer of "Can You See What I See?" Book Series.
• Walter Martin Famous American Baptist Minister, Christian Apologist, known as "The Bible Answer Man"

The name Walter in Pop Culture

• Walter Longmire From the TV show Longmire & The books by Craig Johnson
• Walter White Sr. and Jr. characters on TV's "Breaking Bad"
• Walter Sherman character on TV show "The Finder"
• Walter Bishop character on TV's 'Fringe'
• Walter Mitty main character in book/film "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"
• Walter Blythe son of Anne and Gilbert Blythe in the "Anne of Green Gables" series
• Walter Sullivan character in the game "Silent Hill 4: The Room"
• Walter Sobchak character in movie "The Big Lebowski"
• Walter William Clark NYPD homicide detective in "Golden Boy"
• Walter Skinner character on "X,Files"
• Walter Muppet character
• Walter character in the film "Secondhand Lions"
• Walter Neff main character in film noir 'Double Indemnity' (1944)
• Walter character in film Zathura
• Walter Dinsmore Elsie Dinsmore's uncle in Elsie Dinsmore series
• Walter Davenant main character in G. A. Henty's, Orange and Green
• Walter Travilla Elsie Dinsmore Travilla's son in the Elsie Dinsmore series
• Walter Somers main character in G. A. Henty's, St. George for England
• Walter "Walt" Lloyd character from TV's LOST
• Walter Steele character in DC Universe
• Walter Mabry character in the movie "Now You See Me 2"
• Walter Nelson character in the film "Minions"
• Walter character from "On the Road"
• Walter O'Brien character in CBS show 'Scorpion'
• Waltolomew "Walter" Strickler character in the Netflix series "Trollhunters"
• Walter Lee Younger character in Lorraine Hansberry's Play "A Raisin in the Sun"
• Walter J. Chapman character in the 2004 Film "Garfield The Movie" Walter is the brother of
• Walter Peck character in the 1984 Film "Ghostbusters"
• Walter Blunt main character in the sitcom "Blunt Talk" Walter Blunt the British newscaster was played by Patrick Stewart

International Variations of the name Walter

• Bhaltair Scottish Gaelic
• Gutierre Spanish
• Woulter Scandinavian
• Waltr Czech
• Gautier French
• Wouter Dutch
• Gualterio Spanish
• Gualtiero Italian
• Waldemar Lithuanian
• Walder German
• Vovka Russian
• Walton German
• Wolter Scandinavian
• Valter Scandinavian
• Dima Russian
• Gauther French
• Valtr Czech
• Walli German
• Volya Russian
• Vladko Czech
• Landislaus Polish
• Weit Dutch
• Walten German
• Dimka Russian
• Walther German
• Vladimir Russian
• Waltili German
• Gwallter Welsh