Walter

Primarily a boy's name · 99% boys

Meaning

Walter is a German and English masculine given name of Germanic origin, composed of the elements meaning "power" or "ruler", and "army".

From Wikipedia

Walter first appears in the data in 1880 and has been recorded in 145 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 1918 with 13,338 babies (rank #11 that year). In 2024 it was given to 1,264 boys (rank #271). Its popularity has been fairly steady recently.

Numerology of Walter

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Walter yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

7Destiny numberThe seekerIntrospective, analytical, drawn to the unknown.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
6Soul urgeThe carerNurturing, responsible, family at the centre.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
1PersonalityThe leaderIndependent, pioneering, drawn to going first.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

633,415

Total babies (all years)

145

Years in the data

13,338

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Boys

Famous people named Walter

Walter Scottshort story writer · b. 1771
Walter Benjaminliterary historian · b. 1892
Walter Gropiusindustrial designer · b. 1883
Walter Mondalememoirist · b. 1928
Walter Houser Brattaininventor · b. 1902

Share your Walter story

Why did you choose this name — or what does it mean to you? Approved stories appear on this page.

More popular boys' names

Names ranked near Walter in 2024

Other boys' names starting with W

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1880	1,755	#13
1881	1,670	#13
1882	1,805	#13
1883	1,705	#13
1884	1,902	#13
1885	1,808	#13
1886	1,880	#13
1887	1,704	#13
1888	2,040	#13
1889	1,916	#13
1890	1,905	#13
1891	1,668	#13
1892	2,229	#13
1893	2,004	#13
1894	2,010	#13
1895	2,015	#13
1896	2,017	#13
1897	1,895	#12
1898	2,002	#13
1899	1,750	#12
1900	2,298	#12
1901	1,718	#12
1902	1,858	#12
1903	1,840	#12
1904	1,873	#12
1905	1,902	#12
1906	1,934	#12
1907	2,095	#12
1908	2,192	#12
1909	2,287	#12
1910	2,596	#13
1911	3,074	#12
1912	5,809	#11
1913	6,890	#11
1914	8,962	#10
1915	11,255	#11
1916	11,760	#11
1917	12,582	#11
1918	13,338	#11
1919	12,879	#11
1920	13,294	#13
1921	13,004	#15
1922	12,631	#15
1923	12,433	#16
1924	12,696	#16
1925	12,130	#16
1926	11,774	#17
1927	11,346	#17
1928	10,651	#18
1929	9,850	#19
1930	9,731	#19
1931	8,940	#20
1932	8,668	#21
1933	7,755	#21
1934	8,092	#21
1935	7,816	#23
1936	7,536	#26
1937	7,486	#26
1938	7,559	#26
1939	7,323	#25
1940	7,723	#25
1941	7,746	#26
1942	8,681	#26
1943	9,035	#26
1944	8,159	#26
1945	7,574	#27
1946	8,668	#30
1947	9,217	#34
1948	8,627	#35
1949	8,296	#37
1950	7,798	#40
1951	8,037	#42
1952	7,899	#44
1953	7,509	#45
1954	7,486	#49
1955	7,299	#51
1956	7,020	#53
1957	6,706	#58
1958	6,313	#63
1959	6,129	#66
1960	5,766	#70
1961	5,467	#74
1962	5,280	#79
1963	5,066	#77
1964	4,844	#80
1965	4,484	#82
1966	4,056	#83
1967	3,810	#81
1968	3,589	#83
1969	3,570	#84
1970	3,584	#89
1971	3,356	#91
1972	2,917	#98
1973	2,627	#101
1974	2,487	#104
1975	2,358	#111
1976	2,102	#127
1977	2,185	#123
1978	1,991	#131
1979	2,122	#128
1980	2,010	#137
1981	1,990	#138
1982	1,912	#147
1983	1,767	#154
1984	1,689	#161
1985	1,689	#163
1986	1,715	#156
1987	1,574	#174
1988	1,610	#175
1989	1,612	#184
1990	1,614	#191
1991	1,539	#200
1992	1,421	#218
1993	1,356	#221
1994	1,152	#250
1995	1,062	#265
1996	1,035	#272
1997	1,027	#273
1998	896	#313
1999	918	#312
2000	949	#308
2001	826	#335
2002	833	#331
2003	775	#355
2004	766	#365
2005	770	#374
2006	850	#356
2007	810	#380
2008	764	#393
2009	789	#383
2010	784	#372
2011	801	#373
2012	805	#375
2013	939	#342
2014	987	#337
2015	1,157	#309
2016	1,172	#302
2017	1,366	#265
2018	1,313	#271
2019	1,282	#278
2020	1,240	#272
2021	1,281	#271
2022	1,278	#269
2023	1,274	#267
2024	1,264	#271