Walter
Walter was the 252nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,381 babies. Its best year was 1914, when it ranked 10th; the most babies were born in 1918 (13,338). Over the last ten years it has moved up 57 places. More babies were named Walter in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning ruler of the army · Germanic
Say it WAWL-ter /ˈwɔltər/
- Rank in 2025
- #252 boys, up 20 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,381boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 191813,338 babies
- Total since 1880
- 634,804babies recorded
What does the name Walter mean?
Walter is a Germanic name made of wald, 'rule, power', and hari, 'army, host'; DMNES, Wiktionary and Wikipedia agree, giving roughly 'ruler of the army'. The Normans brought it to England; DMNES notes that the medieval pet forms Wat and Watt gave surnames such as Watson. Wiktionary points out that Harold has the same two elements in reverse order, and DMNES lists an 11th-century French saint named Walter.
*waldą (Proto-Germanic, “rule, power”)*harjaz (Proto-Germanic, “army, host”)
How sure is this? Probable.
Related names: Walt, Wally, Gualtiero, Gauthier, Watson.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean king or queen, names that mean warrior.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Walter', Durham University / The DMNES Editors
- Wiktionary, entry 'Walter', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Walter (name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Nicknames for Walter
The usual nicknames for Walter are Walt and Wally. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Walter in the last five years, 3 were named Walt, against fewer than 1 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walt | Traditional | #3,376 | 200 |
| Wally · also for Wallace | Traditional | #5,838 | 70 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Walters go by each one.
Walter popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 3,632 since 1880.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #252 | 1,381 |
| 2020 | #272 | 1,240 |
| 2010 | #372 | 784 |
| 2000 | #308 | 949 |
| 1990 | #191 | 1,614 |
| 1980 | #137 | 2,009 |
| 1970 | #89 | 3,584 |
| 1960 | #70 | 5,763 |
| 1950 | #40 | 7,798 |
| 1940 | #25 | 7,723 |
| 1930 | #19 | 9,731 |
| 1920 | #13 | 13,294 |
| 1910 | #13 | 2,596 |
| 1900 | #12 | 2,298 |
| 1890 | #13 | 1,905 |
| 1880 | #13 | 1,755 |
How popular is Walter, counting every spelling?
Walter has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #267 for boys in 2025, against #252 on the official list, because Kayson/Kaison/Kaysen and Eric/Erick/Erik and Zayn/Zayne/Zain move ahead once their spellings are combined.
How many kids will share the name Walter?
1,381 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Walter (0.38 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Walter born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 6 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Walter.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Walter?
About 207,300 people born in the US named Walter are alive today, with a median age of 64; half are between 45 and 75. That makes Walter a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Walter by state
How common Walter was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Minnesota (3.2×), Montana (3.1×), North Dakota (3.0×), District of Columbia (2.9×), Wisconsin (2.7×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Rhode Island, Hawaii, Delaware.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Walter: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Walter, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Walter · Sibling names for Walter
Questions about the name Walter
What does Walter mean?
Walter means “ruler of the army” (Germanic origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Walter?
Walter was the 252nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,381 babies. Its best year was 1914, when it ranked 10th; the most babies were born in 1918 (13,338). Over the last ten years it has moved up 57 places. More babies were named Walter in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Walter a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Walter in the US.
Where is Walter most popular?
In 2021–2025, Walter was most common in Minnesota (2.41 per 1,000 boys), followed by Montana and North Dakota.