The story
- Proto-Germanic · inherited from*Waldaharjaz
- Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*Waldahari
- Frankish · derived from*Waltheri
- Old Northern French · derived fromWaltier
- Middle English · inherited fromWalter
- Germanic · derived from
- English todayWalter
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.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.