Ranulf

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A masculine given name of Germanic origin, borne by several medieval Anglo-Norman noblemen and churchmen
2. A traditional male first name of Germanic origin that was common among Norman families in medieval England
3. Masculine personal name of Old Norse and Germanic derivation, popular in England and Normandy during the Middle Ages

Etymology: Ranulf is the same name as Ronald, Reginald, and Reynold, only in different dress. It comes from Old Norse "Rögnvaldr," built from "regin," meaning counsel or the gods, and "valdr," meaning ruler. The Norse settlers who took land in northern France brought the name there, and the Normans carried a form of it into England after 1066. Its Scandinavian shape survived in the Norman spelling "Ranulf" while other branches of the same name were smoothed into Reginald. The name then travelled north and west by different routes. Ronald is generally traced to the Norse form as it was used in Scotland and the Hebrides, where it was shaped by Gaelic speakers. Ranulf stayed closer to its Norman form and became a favourite among the Anglo-Norman aristocracy. Ranulf de Gernon, Earl of Chester in the twelfth century, was one of the great men who bore it, and the name became a regular feature of the medieval English nobility.