Walt(h)er is a male name, derived from the Old High German language words "waltan," meaning "to rule" and "heri" meaning "army". It is closely related to Harald, Harold, and herald.

Name variants

Name variants include:

• Walt, Walten (English)
• Bhaltair or Bhátair (Scottish)
• Gwallter (Scottish)
• Gauther, Gauthier (French)
• Gualtiero (Italian)
• Gualterio, Gutierro (Spanish)
• Wolter, Wout, Wouter (Dutch)
• Walder, Walli, Walten, Walther, Waltili, Walton, Wolter (German)
• Valter, Wolter, Woulter (Scandinavian)
• Valtr, Vladko, Waltr (Czech)
• Waldemar (Polish)
• Ladislaus (Lithuanian)
• Vladimir, Volya, Vova, Vovka (Russian)

People

Walter as a given name: Middle Ages

• Walter of Château-Thierry, French theologian
• Walter of Châtillon, 12th century French theologian
• Walter of Compiègne, 12th century French poet/monk
• Walter of St Victor, d. ca. 1180, French theologian
• Walter of Pontoise, 11th century saint
• Walter Burley, medieval English logician
• Walter Tirel, Anglo-Norman nobleman
• Gualterius de Lavendel, French ambassador

Walter as a given name: Modern Times

• Walter Owen Bentley, founder Bentley Motors
• Walter Cronkite, renowned CBS anchorman
• Walter Delle Karth, Austrian bobsledder
• Walter Elias Disney, creator of Walt Disney Company
• Walter Hagen, golfer
• Walter Matthew Jefferies, aviation and mechanical artist, set designer and writer
• Walter Johnson, legendary baseball star pitcher of the 1910s and 1920s
• Walter Koenig, actor best known as "Mr. Chekov" on Star Trek
• Walter Mondale, former Vice President of the United States
• Walter Mfuko, Highschool Football/Basketball Player
• Walter Payton, football hall of famer
• Sir Walter Raleigh, English explorer
• Walter Schmidt, German hammer thrower
• Sir Walter Scott, Scottish historical novelist and poet
• Walter E. Scott, (aka "Death Valley Scotty") con man, cowboy, resident of Scotty's Castle.
• Walter Slezak, actor
• Walter Veltroni, mayor of Rome
• Walther von der Vogelweide, German poet (c. 1170 - c. 1230)
• Walt Williams, basketball player
• Walt "No Neck" Williams, baseball player
• Walter Ray Williams, professional bowler and horseshoe pitcher
• Walter Winchell, gossip columnist
• Walter Robert McCoy, Famous composer, Pianist, and Violinist
• Walter Matthau, Oscar-winning actor
• Walter Brennan, 3-time Oscar-winning actor
• Walter Murch, Oscar-winning Hollywood technician

Fictional Characters

• An elderly, embittered puppet character named Walter, used in the act of ventriloquist/comedian Jeff Dunham
• Walter (surname unknown), the lead character in the TV movie Walter, portrayed by Ian McKellen
• Walter Bernhard, the antagonist from the game Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
• Walter Blythe, from the book Anne of Green Gables.
• Walter C. Dornez ("the Angel of Death") from Hellsing
• Walter Harriman from the TV show Stargate SG-1
• Sir Colonel Walter S Houghington III, the hero from The Chronicles of Colonel Walter S Houghington III
• Walter Mitty, a fictional character in James Thurber's short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"
• Walter Mosca, the fictional hero in Mario Puzo's The Dark Arena
• Walter o'Dim, also known as Randall Flagg, the antagonist from The Dark Tower series by Stephen King.
• Radar O'Reilly, from M*A*S*H novels, television series, and film. He is rarely referred to as Walter, his given name.
• Walter Sullivan, the antagonist from the game Silent Hill 4: The Room
• Walter Tabachnik, from TV show Ugly Betty, is Betty's ex-boyfriend.
• Maynard G. Krebs, from the TV show Dobie Gillis. The 'G' stood for 'Walter'.
• Walter Findlay, from the TV show Maude. Portrayed by Bill Macy and played Maude's husband.
• Walter Skinner, from the TV show The X-Files. Played an FBI assistant director.

Walter as a family name

• Alfred Walter, Bohemian conductor
• Andrew Walter, quarterback with the Oakland Raiders
• Bart Walter, actor, artist Kokliko Theatre
• Bernhard Walther aka Bernhard Walter, 15th century German astronomer, eponym of the lunar crater "Walther" (not to be confused with the tiny lunar crater "Walter")
• Bruno Walter, German conductor and composer
• Denis Walter, Australian singer and television/radio personality
• Eugene Walter (playwright) (1874-1941) American journalist and playwright
• Eugene Walter (1921-1998) American poet, screenwriter and storyteller
• Francis E. Walter, United States Congressman from Pennsylvania
• Fritz Walter (politician) (1896-1977), German legislator, a member of the FDP
• Dr. Fritz Walter (1900-1981), German sports executive, best known as the chairman of VfB Stuttgart
• Fritz Walter (1920-2002), captain of the 1954 FIFA World Cup winning German national football team
• Fritz Walter (1980s footballer) (born 1960), player for VfB Stuttgart
• Gita Walter
• Hans-Jürgen Walter
• Harriet Walter
• Heini Walter
• Hellmuth Walter, engineer and inventor of various propulsion systems based on hydrogen peroxide
• Hubert Walter
• James W. Walter, Sr.
• James W. Walter
• Jessica Walter
• John Walter
• John Walter (second)
• John Walter (third)
• Kenneth Walter
• Lisa Ann Walter
• Lucy Walter
• Marie-Thérèse Walter
• Natasha Walter
• Neil Walter
• Nicolas Walter
• Norbert Walter, German volleyball player
• Otto Walter
• Peter Walter
• Ralf Walter
• Robert Walter
• Robert D. Walter
• Ryan Walter
• Thomas U. Walter
• Tracey Walter
• Tyson Walter
• Ulrich Walter
• Weasel Walter
• William Grey Walter
• Woon Cheong Ming Walter, Singapore politician

Pseudonyms

• Walter, the nom de plume of the author of My Secret Life. Some critics have identified him as Henry Spencer Ashbee, though this remains a matter of argument
• Karol Świerczewski (1897-1947), Polish "General Walter"

Other

See also

• Walter (disambiguation)
• Walters
• Wolter
• Walther