WALTERS members around the world

WALTERS Family History

Recorded as Walter, Walters, Waldar, Walder, Walther, and occassionally as Wolter or Wolters, this is an ancient Anglo-Saxon surname. It derives from the pre 7th century Olde German personal name 'Waldhar', a compound of the elements "wasl", meaning rule, and "hari," an army. The personal name was introduced into England during the reign of Edward the Confessor (1042 - 1077), and after the Norman Conquest of 1066 was widely adopted firstly as a Christian name and later a surname as well. It is first recorded as Walterus in the Domesday Book of 1086, although the surname is much later being first recorded in the latter half of the 12th century with that of Petrus Walterus in the Feudal Documents of the Abbey of Bury St.