WALTER BROWN

From an Old French personal name of Germanic (Frankish) origin, derived from wald ‘rule’ + heri, hari ‘army’. This was adopted by the Normans and introduced by them to England, superseding the native Old English form, Wealdhere. It was a very popular name in medieval England, normally pronounced ‘Water’.

English, Scottish, and Irish: generally a nickname referring to the color of the hair or complexion, Middle English br(o)un, from Old English brūn or Old French brun. This word is occasionally found in Old English and Old Norse as a personal name or byname. Brun- was also a Germanic name-forming element. Some instances of Old English Brūn as a personal name may therefore be short forms of compound names such as Brūngar, Brūnwine, etc. As a Scottish and Irish name, it sometimes represents a translation of Gaelic Donn. As an American family name, it has absorbed numerous surnames from other languages with the same meaning.