Look up Reinhold in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Reinhold is a German, male given name, originally composed of two elements. The first is from regin, meaning "the (German)Gods" or as an emphatic prefix (very) and wald meaning "powerful". The second element having been reinterpreted as hold meaning "loyal" in the 16th century.[1]
The -h- is recorded in the Dietrich von Bern legendary figure Reinholt van Meilan who was the only one spared the slaughter at Erminrich's castle due to his loyalty to Dietrich. Hence with the addition of the -h- the etymology is interpreted as the emphatic prefix regn- with hold, apparently meaning "solemnly loyal".[1]
This name was brought to the British Isles by Viking conquerors, in the form of the Old NorseRögnvaldr. In the 11th century, the Normans further established this name as Reinald and Reynaud.[2] There are other spelling variations of this name, but all have the same etymological Germanic origin.
Reinhold Weege (1949–2012), American television writer, producer and director
References
^ abGeorge T. Gillespie, A Catalogue Of Persons Named In German Heroic Literature (700-1600) Including Named Animals And Objects And Ethnic Names, 1973, pp 107-108
^Reaney, Percy Hilde; Wilson, Richard Middlewood (2006), A Dictionary of English Surnames (3rd ed.), London: Routledge, p. 2626, ISBN0-203-99355-1
This page or section lists people that share the same given name or the same family name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.
