Ranulf was a masculine given name in Old French and Old Occitan, and is a masculine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

in the

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

. ''Ranulf'' was introduced into

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

by the

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

or alternatively is said to have been introduced to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and northern

, by Scandinavian settlers in Early Middle Ages. (read online

/ref> However, most earliest historical figures with this name originated on the continent. It is derived from the

West Germanic The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three branches of the Germanic languages, Germanic family of languages (the others being the North Germanic languages, North Germanic and the extinct East Germanic languages, East Germ ...

name ''Raginulf, Raginolf''. ''Nordic Names'' : ''Raginolf'' (read online

/ref> This West Germanic

personal name A personal name, full name or prosoponym (from Ancient Greek ''prósōpon'' – person, and ''onoma'' –name) is the set of names by which an individual person or animal is known. When taken together as a word-group, they all relate to that on ...

is composed of two elements: the first, RAGN > ''ragin'', means "advice", "decision" ; the second element, ''(w)ulf / (w)olf'', means "

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

". or alternatively the Old Norse name ''Reginúlfr'' is based on the Old Norse variant forms ''reginn'' and ''úlfr''. The

Old Occitan Old Occitan (, ), also called Old Provençal, was the earliest form of the Occitano-Romance languages, as attested in writings dating from the 8th to the 14th centuries. Old Occitan generally includes Early and Old Occitan. Middle Occitan is some ...

anthroponym Ranulf (''Ramnulf'', ''Rannulf'') does not contain exactly the same first element, but ''hram'', short form of Gothic ''hrabns'' "raven".

People with the name

Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester and 1st Earl of Lincoln (1170 – 26 October 1232), known in some references as the 4th Earl of Chester (in the second lineage of the title after the original family line was broken after the 2nd Earl) ...

and 1st Earl of Lincoln (1170–1232), Anglo-Norman baron *

Ranulf de Briquessart Ranulf de Briquessart (or Ranulf the Viscount) (born c. 1050, died c. 1089 or soon after) was an 11th-century Norman magnate and viscount. Biography Ranulf's family were connected to the House of Normandy by marriage, and, besides Odo, bishop of ...

(or ''Ranulf the Viscount'') (1050 - c. 1089), 11th-century Norman magnate and viscount. * Ranulf de Vains (''Ranulf the Moneyer'') (c. 1015 – after 1035), Norman knight, around 1035 in

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

* Ranulf I de Soules, Norman knight who came to Scotland with David I * Ranulf le Meschin, 3rd Earl of Chester (1070–1129), Norman magnate based in northern and central England. *

Ranulf I of Aquitaine Ranulf I (also ''Ramnulf'', ''Rannulf'', and ''Ranulph'') (820–866) was a Count of Poitiers (from 835) and Duke of Aquitaine (from 852). He is the son of Gerard, Count of Auvergne. Few details are known about Ranulf I, except that he died in 866 ...

(''Ramnulf'', ''Rannulf'' see

Ramnulfids The Ramnulfids, or the House of Poitiers, were a French dynasty of Frankish origin ruling the County of Poitou and Duchy of Aquitaine in the 9th through 12th centuries. Their power base shifted from Toulouse to Poitou. In the early 10th cent ...

) (820–866), count of Poitiers, duke of Aquitaine *

Ranulf II of Aquitaine Ranulf II (also spelled ''Rannoux'', ''Rannulf'', ''Ramnulf'', and ''Ranulph'') (850 – 5 August 890) was Count of Poitou from 866 and Duke of Aquitaine from 887. On the death of Charles the Fat in 888, he styled himself King of Aquitaine and did ...

(850–890), count of Poitiers, duke of Aquitaine *

Ranulf II, Count of Alife Ranulf II (or Rainulf II, ; died 30 April 1139) was the count of Alife (CE), Alife and Caiazzo, and duke of Apulia. He was a member of the Italo-Norman Drengot family which dominated the Principality of Capua for most of the century between 1050 ...

(died 1139), Italo-Norman magnate *

Rainulf Trincanocte Rainulf II, called Trincanocte, was the fourth Count of Aversa (1045–1048), the cousin of his immediate predecessor Asclettin and nephew of Rainulf Drengot, the founder of their family's fortunes in the Mezzogiorno. There was a succession crisis ...

(1045–1048), third Italo-Norman count of Aversa *

Ranulf de Broc Ranulf de Broc (sometimes Rannulf de Broc;Keats-Rohan ''Domesday Descendants'' p. 351 died around 1179) was an Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman nobleman and royal official during the reign of King Henry II of England. He held two offices in the roya ...

(died c. 1179), Anglo-Norman nobleman and royal marshall *

Ranulf Compton Ranulf Compton (September 16, 1878, Poe, Indiana – January 26, 1974) was a United States representative from Connecticut. He also served as commander of the 327th (345th) Tank Battalion in George S. Patton's 304th (1st Provisional) Tank Briga ...

(1878–1974), United States Representative from Connecticut *

Rainulf Drengot Rainulf Drengot (also Ranulph, Ranulf, or Rannulf; ''c.'' 990 – June 1045) was a Norman adventurer and mercenary in southern Italy. In 1030 he became the first count of Aversa. He was a member of the Drengot family. Early life and arrival in ...

, Norman adventurer and the first count of Aversa *

Ranulf Flambard Ranulf Flambard ( c. 1060 – 5 September 1128) was a medieval Norman Bishop of Durham and an influential government official of King William Rufus of England. Ranulf was the son of a priest of Bayeux, Normandy, and his nickname Flamba ...

(c. 1060 – 1128), Norman bishop of Durham *

Ranulph de Gernon, 2nd Earl of Chester Ranulph is a masculine given name of Norman origin. Ranulph is a composite name, from "Ran-," which comes from the Old Norse "rann" ("house") or Germanic "ragn" ("advice" or "power"), with "-ulf," from the Old Norse word "úlfr" ("wolf"), cognate ...

(1099–1153), Anglo-Norman baron *

Ranulf de Glanvill Ranulf de Glanvill (''alias'' Glanvil, Glanville, Granville, etc., died 1190) was Chief Justiciar of England during the reign of King Henry II (1154–89) and was the probable author of '' Tractatus de legibus et consuetudinibus regni Anglie ...

(died 1190), Anglo-Norman chief Justiciar of England *

Ranulf Higdon Ranulf Higden or Higdon (–1363 or 1364) was an English chronicler and a Benedictine monk who wrote the ''Polychronicon'', a Late Medieval magnum opus. Higden resided at the monastery of St. Werburgh in Chester after taking his monastic vow a ...

(or Higden) (c. 1280 – 1364), English chronicler and a Benedictine monk * Ranulf of Wareham (died 1222), English bishop of Chichester * Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet, English adventurer * Ranulph Harper, English Mathematician

Fictional characters with the name

* Ranulf, character in '' Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance'' and its sequel, '' Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn''. * Ranulf, an additional natural son of Henry I of England in

Sharon Kay Penman Sharon Kay Penman (August 13, 1945 – January 22, 2021) was an American historical novelist, published in the UK as Sharon Penman. She was best known for the Welsh Princes Trilogy and the Plantagenet series. In addition, she wrote four medieval ...

's Plantagenet series. The meticulous research for which Penman is noted extends to the names of minor characters. Completely fictional characters in her books are rare and are always identified in her author's notes. They serve as devices to illustrate aspects of medieval life, to reveal information, or to bridge gaps in knowledge, especially when such revelations would be out of character for the historical figures in her novels.Penman, Sharon Kay. "Ranulf vs Richard," 5 May 2009. Author's blog article accessed at 14 July 2013.

References

{{given name, cat=none English-language masculine given names Masculine given names

People with the name

Fictional characters with the name

See also

References