Meaning of the nameWalter

Walter is a male name of Germanic origin, from Waltheri, formed from elements for 'power' and 'army', and a variant of Válter.

Meaning

“power of the army”

Source: Wiktionary: Walter · Behind the Name: Walter

More names that mean strength

People (2022): 64,044
Rank in Brazil: #479
Median age: 56 years
2010 Census: 67,360; people

Walter in the 2022 Census

People with the first name Walter, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1960s (14,200 people).

182 women 63,862 men

Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.

Where the name Walter is most common

States with the highest share of people named Walter in the population, in the 2022 Census.

Minas Gerais 0.046%
Rio de Janeiro 0.046%
São Paulo 0.043%
Goiás 0.038%
Distrito Federal 0.034%

All states

State	People	% of population
São Paulo	18,885	0.043%
Minas Gerais	9,375	0.046%
Rio de Janeiro	7,300	0.046%
Paraná	3,327	0.029%
Goiás	2,689	0.038%
Bahia	2,467	0.017%
Rio Grande do Sul	2,337	0.022%
Pernambuco	2,300	0.025%
Pará	2,259	0.028%
Santa Catarina	1,852	0.024%
Espírito Santo	1,310	0.034%
Paraíba	1,048	0.026%
Maranhão	1,041	0.015%
Amazonas	1,025	0.026%
Distrito Federal	968	0.034%
Mato Grosso do Sul	936	0.034%
Mato Grosso	934	0.026%
Ceará	818	0.009%
Rio Grande do Norte	684	0.021%
Alagoas	581	0.019%
Sergipe	458	0.021%
Piauí	374	0.011%
Tocantins	364	0.024%
Rondônia	341	0.022%
Amapá	164	0.022%
Roraima	115	0.018%
Acre	92	0.011%

States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.

About the name Walter

Behind the Name traces Walter to the Germanic name Waltheri, 'power of the army', from walt ('power, authority') and heri ('army'). Wiktionary gives the elements similarly, 'ruler' and 'army', and records Walter in Portuguese as a variant of Válter; Behind the Name lists Válter as a Brazilian form and Wálter and Guálter as Portuguese ones. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 64,044 people named Walter, with a median age of 56. The name is almost always male and, proportionally, most common in Minas Gerais.

Sources

Wiktionary: Walter · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
Behind the Name: Walter · behindthename.com · meaning
Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil: Walter · dicionariodenomesdobrasil.com.br · spelling

Questions about the name Walter

What does the name Walter mean?

Walter means “power of the army”, according to Wiktionary and Behind the Name.

How many people are named Walter in Brazil?

IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 64,044 people with the first name Walter, which ranks it number 479 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1960s.

Is Walter a boy's or a girl's name?

Walter is a male name: in the 2022 Census, 182 women and 63,862 men had this name.

What is the origin of the name Walter?

Walter is a name of Germanic origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.

In which Brazilian state is Walter most common?

Proportionally, in Minas Gerais: 0.046% of the state's population is named Walter (9,375 people), according to the 2022 Census.

Names that also mean strength

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More names of Germanic origin

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Spotted a mistake? Report a correction for Walter with a source. See the methodology.