Ragnar ( non, Ragnarr ) is a masculine
Germanic given name
Germanic languages, Germanic given names are traditionally wikt:dithematic, dithematic; that is, they are formed from two elements, by joining a prefix and a suffix. For example, Ethelred II of England, King Æþelred's name was derived from ', f ...
, composed of the Old Norse elements ''ragin-'' "counsel" and ''hari-'' "army".
Origin and variations
The Proto-Germanic forms of the compounds are "ragina" (counsel) and "harjaz" or "hariz" (army). The
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
form is ''Raginheri,
Reginheri
Reginheri was a Viking leader in the early 9th century.
Reginheri is mentioned in Latin Frankish sources as the leader of a group of Vikings who in 845 raided Paris in West Francia. He is mentioned in the Annals of Xanten in the entry for the yea ...
'', which gave rise to the modern German form
Rainer, the French variant
Rainier, the Italian variant
Ranieri
Ranieri is an Italian surname and given name originated from the masculine Germanic given name Ragnar (Old Norse ''Ragnarr'').
Surname
*Teodorico Ranieri (b. unknown, d. 1306), Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church
*Massimo Ranieri (born 1 ...
and the Latvian variant
Renārs. The
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
form is "Rægenhere" (attested for example in the name of the son of king
Rædwald of East-Anglia). The name also existed among the Franks as "Ragnahar" (recorded as
Ragnachar Ragnachar or Ragnarius (died 509) was a Frankish petty king (''regulus'') who ruled from Cambrai. According to Gregory of Tours, Ragnachar "was so unrestrained in his wantonness that he scarcely had mercy for his own near relatives".Gregory, II, 4 ...
in the book "History of the Franks" by
Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...
).
History of usage
The name is on record since the 9th century, both in Scandinavia and in the Frankish empire; the form ''Raginari'' is recorded in a
Vandalic
Vandalic was the Germanic language spoken by the Vandals during roughly the 3rd to 6th centuries. It was probably closely related to Gothic, and, as such, is traditionally classified as an East Germanic language. Its attestation is very fragm ...
(5th or 6th century) graffito in
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
.
The name was variously latinized as ''Raganarius'', ''Reginarius'', ''Ragenarius'', ''Raginerus'', ''Ragnerus'', ''Reginherus''.
The Scandinavian patronymic form is
Ragnarsson
Ragnarsson is the patronymic of the Scandinavian given name Ragnar. It remains in use as a true patronymic in Iceland, and as a surname in Sweden.
;Patronymic
*Baldur Ragnarsson (born 1930), Icelandic poet and author of Esperanto works
*Halfdan Ra ...
.
In the modern period, the name was rarely given before the 1880s.
It enjoyed a revival in the late 19th and early 20th century, in connection with
national romanticism
Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...
in Scandinavia.
The name is now current as ''Ragnar'' in Iceland, Norway, Sweden and The Faroe Islands and as ''Ragner'' in Denmark. A
hypocoristic
A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek: (), from (), 'to call by pet names', sometimes also ''hypocoristic'') or pet name is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as ''Izzy'' for I ...
form used in Sweden is ''Ragge''.
The name's popularity in Norway peaked during the 1920s and 1930s, during which time it was given to more than 0.7% of newly born boys, but it has declined ever since the late 1930s, falling below the fraction of 0.1% of given names in the 1970s. The Norwegian statistics office reports 4,652 Norwegian men with the given name in 2015.
In Iceland, the name remains popular, recorded at rank 21 (given to 0.76% of newly born boys) as of 2014. The Icelandic statistics office recorded
1,286 Icelandic men (0.2%) with the given name as of November 2005.
Statistics Iceland
Given name
Medieval
* , 9th century Viking
* Ragenar
Ragenar (Latin ''Ragenarius'', French ''Ragenaire'' or ''Réginaire'') was the bishop of Amiens from 830 to 833 and again from 834 until his death in 849. His predecessor, Jesse, was initially deposed by the Emperor Louis the Pious in 830 for consp ...
, a 9th-century Frankish bishop
* Reginar, Duke of Lorraine
Reginar Longneck or Reginar I ( 850–915), la, Rainerus or ''Ragenerus Longicollus'', was a leading nobleman in the kingdom of Lotharingia, variously described in contemporary sources with the titles of count, margrave, missus dominicus and du ...
(circa 850–915)
* Reginar II, Count of Hainaut
Reginar (or Rainier) II (890–932) was Lotharingian magnate who was active from approximately 915 to 932. He was brother of Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine, Duke Gilbert of Lotharingia, who died at the Battle of Andernach in 939, and because his son an ...
(890–932)
* Reginar III, Count of Hainaut
Reginar III (c. 920 – 973) was Count of Hainaut from approximately 940 until his exile in 958.
He was the son of Reginar II, Count of Hainaut.
He took part in the rebellion of his uncle Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine. When Gilbert was killed in 93 ...
(circa 920–973)
* Reginar IV, Count of Mons
Reginar IV, Count of Mons, in Hainaut, (c. 950–1013) was the son of Reginar III, Count of Hainaut, Reginar III who died in exile in Bohemia in 973. Lambert I of Leuven was his brother.
History
His father Reginar III was exiled in 958 as a rebel ...
(circa 950–1013)
* Reginar V, Count of Mons
Reginar V (c. 995–1039), was the eldest son of Reginar IV, Count of Mons and Hedwig of France. His maternal grandparents were Hugh Capet of France and Adelaide of Aquitaine.
Reginar inherited his father's precarious position as count of Mons, w ...
(circa 995–1039)
* Rainier, Margrave of Tuscany
Rainier was the Margrave of Tuscany from 1014 until 1027. After the death of the Emperor Henry II, of whom he had been a supporter, he opposed Conrad II. When Conrad descended into Italy to receive the Iron Crown and the Holy Roman Emperor
Th ...
(r. 1014–1027)
* Saint Rainier
Rainerius (''c''. 1115/1117 – 1160) is the patron saint of Pisa and patron saint of travellers.André Vauchez (1993) ''The Laity in the Middle Ages: Religious Beliefs and Devotional Practices'', Daniel E. Bornstein, ed., and Margery J. Schn ...
(c. 1117–c. 1160), Pisan saint, also be spelled Raynerius, Rainerius, Rainieri, Ranieri, Raniero, or Regnier.
* Renier of Montferrat
Renier or Rénier may refer to:
Given name:
*Renier Botha (born 1992), South African rugby union player
* Renier Coetzee PS, General Officer in the South African Army
* François Renier Duminy (1747–1811), French mariner, navigator, cartographe ...
(1162–1183), son-in-law of Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. In Italian, Ranieri del Monferrato.
* Rainier, Marquess of Montferrat Rainier or Renier ( it, Ranieri; c. 1084 – May 1135), son of William IV, Marquis of Montferrat, was the sixth ruler of the state of Montferrat in north-west Italy from about 1100 to his death, and the first such to be identified in contemporary do ...
(c. 1084-1135), Ranieri I del Monferrato or Marchesato del Monferrato, ruler of the state of Montferrat in north-west Italy from about 1100 to his death.
* Rainier I of Monaco, Lord of Cagnes
Rainier I of Monaco (1267–1314) was the first sovereign Grimaldi ruler of the area now known as Monaco. He also held the title of ''Lord of Cagnes''. Cagnes was the town where in 1309 he established a stronghold, today known as the Château ...
(1267–1314)
* Rainier II, Lord of Monaco
Rainier II, Lord of Monaco (1350–1407), was the monarch of Monaco from June 29, 1352 to August 15, 1357. He was the son of Charles I, Lord of Monaco, and Lucchina Spinola. He ruled jointly with his father Charles I, Lord of Monaco, his father's ...
(14th century)
Modern
:''See ''
*Ragnar Edenman
Ragnar ( non, Ragnarr ) is a masculine Germanic given name, composed of the Old Norse elements ''ragin-'' "counsel" and ''hari-'' "army".
Origin and variations
The Proto-Germanic forms of the compounds are "ragina" (counsel) and "harjaz" or " ...
(1914–1998), Swedish politician
*Ragnar Ekberg
Olle Ragnar B. Ekberg (12 August 1886, in Stockholm – 5 April 1966, in Saltsjöbaden, Sweden) was a Swedish track and field athlete who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics and in the 1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympi ...
(1886–1966), Swedish athlete
*Ragnar Fjørtoft
Ragnar Fjørtoft (1 August 1913 – 28 May 1998) was an internationally recognized Norwegian meteorologist. He was part of a Princeton, New Jersey team that in 1950 performed the first successful numerical weather prediction using the ENIAC el ...
(1913–1998), Norwegian meteorologist
*Ragnar Fogelmark
Karl Algot Ragnar Fogelmark (15 March 1888 – 20 September 1914) was a Swedish amateur wrestling, wrestler. He competed in the Wrestling at the 1912 Summer Olympics – Men's Greco-Roman light heavyweight, light heavyweight event at the 1912 Su ...
(1888–1914), Swedish wrestler
*Ragnar Frisch
Ragnar Anton Kittil Frisch (3 March 1895 – 31 January 1973) was an influential Norwegian economist known for being one of the major contributors to establishing economics as a quantitative and statistically informed science in the early 20th ce ...
(1895–1973), Norwegian economist
*Ragnar Granit
Ragnar Arthur Granit (30 October 1900 – 12 March 1991) was a Finnish-Swedish scientist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1967 along with Haldan Keffer Hartline and George Wald "for their discoveries concerning the ...
(1900–1991), Finnish-Swedish Nobel laureate
*Ragnar Gripe
Ragnar Gripe (September 9, 1883 – December 8, 1942) was a Sweden, Swedish sailor who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. He was a crew member of the Swedish boat ''R. S. Y. C.'', which finished fifth in the Sailing at the 1912 Summer Olympi ...
(1883–1942), Swedish sailor
*Ragnar Hult
Ragnar Hult (4 March 1857 – 25 September 1899) was a Finnish botanist and plant geographer. He was a forerunner in developing a methodology for vegetation survey. He emphasized the physiognomy of vegetation and paid less attention to its ecology. ...
(1857–1899), Finnish botanist and plant geographer
* Einar Ragnar Jónsson, known as Ragnar í Smára (1904–1984), Icelandic art patron, publisher and art collector
*Ragnar Josephson
Ragnar Josephson (Stockholm 8 March 1891 - Lund 27 March 1966) was a Swedish art historian and writer.
Josephson was professor of art history at Lund University 1929-1957 and founder of the Archive for Decorative Art there. He was director of t ...
(1891–1966), Swedish art historian and writer
*Ragnar Kjartansson (performance artist)
Ragnar Kjartansson () (born 1976) is a contemporary Icelandic artist who engages multiple artistic mediums throughout his performative practice. His video installations, performances, drawings, and paintings incorporate the history of film, music ...
(born 1976), Icelandic performance artist
*Ragnar Klavan
Ragnar Klavan (born 30 October 1985) is an Estonian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Estonian club Paide Linnameeskond and the Estonia national team. A left-footed centre back, he has also played as a left back during his car ...
(born 1985), Estonian footballer
*Ragnar Musgrave Colvin
Admiral Sir Ragnar Musgrave Colvin, (7 May 1882 – 22 February 1954) was a long-serving Royal Navy officer who commanded the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) at the outbreak of the Second World War.
Early life and background
Colvin was the son of ...
(1882–1954), British navy officer
*Ragnar Olson
Carl Adolf ''Ragnar'' Olson (10 August 1880 – 10 July 1955) was a Swedish horse rider who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics. He won a bronze medal in the individual dressage competition with his horse ''Günstling'', and a silver medal as ...
(1880–1955), Swedish horse rider
*Ragnar Östberg
Ragnar Östberg (14 July 1866 – 5 February 1945) was a Swedish architect who is best known for designing Stockholm City Hall.
Biography
Östberg was born in Stockholm, Sweden. His parents were Carl Östberg and Erika Kindahl. Between 1884 a ...
(1866–1945), Swedish architect
*Ragnar Rump
Ragnar Rump (born 12 September 1991) is an Estonian football and futsal and beach soccer player. He plays the position of defender.
International career
Rump was a member of Estonia national futsal team
The Estonia national futsal team re ...
(born 1991), Estonian football and futsal player
*Ragnar Sigurðsson
Ragnar Sigurðsson (born 19 June 1986) is an Icelandic former professional footballer who played as centre-back. Beginning his career with Fylkir, he went on to represent IFK Göteborg, Copenhagen, Krasnodar, Fulham, Rubin Kazan, Rostov, and Ru ...
(born 1986), Icelandic professional footballer
*Ragnar Sigvald Skancke
Ragnar Sigvald Skancke (9 November 1890 – 28 August 1948) was the Norway, Norwegian Minister for Church and Educational Affairs in Vidkun Quisling's Nasjonal Samling Quisling regime, government during World War II. Shot for treason in the legal ...
(1890–1948), Norwegian politician
*Ragnar Sohlman Ragnar Sohlman (February 26, 1870 – July 9, 1948) was a Swedish chemical engineer, manager, civil servant, and creator of the Nobel Foundation.
Biography
Ragnar Sohlman was born in Stockholm to August Sohlman, a well-known newspaper man ...
(1870–1948), Swedish chemical engineer and creator of the Nobel Foundation
Surname
*Sven Erik Ragnar
Sven Erik Ragnar of Alingsås, Sweden (1937 - October 19, 2007)
Sven Erik was 1963 employed by the Skandinaviska Banken in Stockholm. Sven Erik was later CEO of Götabanken and after that CEO of Reinholds AB.
Sven Erik had a keen interest in ...
, Swedish bank executive and scout leader
*Per Ragnar
Per Ragnar, ''Per-Erik Ragnar'' (born 29 May 1941), is a Swedish actor, director and author.
Biography
Ragnar was born in Kalmar, Sweden and is the son of district manager Hans Ragnar and the postal clerk Karin, née Pettersson. Ragnar trained at ...
, Swedish actor, director and author
Pseudonym
*Ragnar Redbeard, the pseudonymous author of ''Might Is Right
''Might Is Right'' ''or The Survival of the Fittest'' is a book by pseudonymous author Ragnar Redbeard, generally believed to be a pen name of Arthur Desmond. First published in 1896,Gilmore, Peter H.; Introduction, Might is Right: The Authorit ...
'' (1890)
Fictional characters
*, main character in the television series ''Vikings'', portrayed by Travis Fimmel and based on Ragnar Lodbrok
*Ragnar Danneskjöld
This is a list of characters in Ayn Rand's 1957 novel '' Atlas Shrugged.''
Major characters
The following are major characters from the novel.
Protagonists
Dagny Taggart
Dagny Taggart is the protagonist of the novel. She is vice-president in ...
, character in Ayn Rand's novel ''Atlas Shrugged
''Atlas Shrugged'' is a 1957 novel by Ayn Rand. It was her longest novel, the fourth and final one published during her lifetime, and the one she considered her '' magnum opus'' in the realm of fiction writing. ''Atlas Shrugged'' includes eleme ...
'' (1957)
*Ragnar McRyan, character from the role-playing game '' Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen'' (1990)
*Ragnar Sturlusson
This is a list of characters from the two Philip Pullman trilogies, ''His Dark Materials'' and ''The Book of Dust''.
Introduced in ''Northern Lights'' Lyra Belacqua
Lyra Belacqua, later known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the central character of ...
, character in the film ''The Golden Compass
''Northern Lights'' (titled ''The Golden Compass'' in North America and some other countries) is a young-adult fantasy novel by Philip Pullman, published in 1995 by Scholastic UK. Set in a parallel universe, it follows the journey of Lyra Be ...
'' (1995)
*Ragnar Blackmane, "Thunderfist", character in the ''Space Wolf'' series by William King (1999)
*Ragnar, the main character in the video game ''Rune
Runes are the letter (alphabet), letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, a ...
'' (2000)
*Ragnar Ravnson and his son, Ragnar Ragnarson, characters from ''The Saxon Stories
''The Saxon Stories'' (also known as ''Saxon Tales''/''Saxon Chronicles'' in the US and ''The Warrior Chronicles'' and most recently as ''The Last Kingdom'' series) is a historical novel series written by Bernard Cornwell about the birth of E ...
'' historical novel series by Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell (born 23 February 1944) is an English-American author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also written ''The Saxon ...
(2004)
*Ragnar Volarus, character in the ''Red Rising
''Red Rising'' is a 2014 dystopian science fiction novel by American author Pierce Brown, and the first book and eponym of a series. The novel, set in the future on Mars, follows lowborn miner Darrow as he infiltrates the ranks of the elite Gol ...
'' trilogy (2015)
References
See also
*Rainer (given name)
Rainer is the German form of the Germanic name ''Raginheri'' (Scandinavian Ragnar), composed of the two elements ''ragin'' ("advice") and ''heri'' ("army").
Other variants of the name include Dutch ''Reinier'', French '' Rainier'', Spanish ...
*Rainer (surname)
Rainer is a German surname.
Notable people
People with the Rainer family name include:
*Adam Rainer (1899–1950), Austrian dwarf and giant
*Alfred Rainer (1987–2008), Austrian Nordic combined skier
* Alois Rainer (born 1965), German po ...
*Reginar Reginar may refer to:
* Reginar, Duke of Lorraine (c. 850–915)
* Reginar II, Count of Hainaut (c. 890–932)
* Reginar III, Count of Hainaut (c. 920–973)
* Reginar IV, Count of Mons (c. 950–1013)
* Reginar V, Count of Mons (c. 995–1039)
* Ho ...
*Reina (given name) Reina, which is also spelled Raina, Rayna, or Reyna in English, is a feminine given name with multiple, unrelated origins from a number of different languages and cultures. All of these unrelated names are pronounced and written similarly in English ...
*Ragnar (disambiguation) Ragnar is a masculine Germanic given name and surname.
Ragnar may also refer to:
* Ragnar (Minnesota Vikings) (1994–2015), the team mascot for the Vikings football team in Minnesota, United States
* Ragnar Relay Series, a series of long distanc ...
*Regnier (disambiguation) Régnier or Regnier is a French given name, personal name and surname, and may refer to:
Surname
* Adolphe Regnier (1804-1884), French linguist
* Claude Ambroise Régnier (1746–1814), French lawyer and politician
* Émile Régnier (1894–1940), ...
*Reynier (disambiguation) Reynier may refer to:
;People
* Reynier (given name), Dutch masculine given name
* Franck Reynier (b. 1965), French politician
* Jean Reynier (1771–1814), French general
* Léon Reynier (1833–1895), French virtuoso violinist
;Places
* Reyni ...
*Reinier Reinier is the Dutch form of the Germanic masculine given name ''Raginheri'', composed of the two elements ''ragin'' ("advice") and ''heri'' ("army"). It is equivalent to Scandinavian ''Ragnar'', German '' Rainer'', French '' Rainier'', and Spanis ...
*Rainier (disambiguation) Rainier may refer to the following:
People
*Rainier (name), a list of people with the given name or surname
Places United States
*Rainier, Oregon, a small city
*Rainier, Washington, a small city
*Rainier Beach, Seattle
*Mount Rainier, a stratovol ...
*Ranieri
Ranieri is an Italian surname and given name originated from the masculine Germanic given name Ragnar (Old Norse ''Ragnarr'').
Surname
*Teodorico Ranieri (b. unknown, d. 1306), Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church
*Massimo Ranieri (born 1 ...
* Renārs
*Ragnar Relay Series
The Ragnar Relay Series is a series of long distance running relay races. Teams of 6-12 runners run approximately 200 miles over two days and one night. Founded in 2004, Ragnar hosts both road and trail relays across the U.S. and Canada. With 20 ...
, series of distance relay races
*Ragnar, the former mascot of the Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
American football team
{{Given name, type=both
Scandinavian masculine given names
Danish masculine given names
Estonian masculine given names
Faroese masculine given names
Icelandic masculine given names
Norwegian masculine given names
Masculine given names
Swedish masculine given names