I’ve never celebrated Walpurgis Night, which seems to be a big bonfire party held across large swaths of Europe every spring (April 30/May 1), but I am curious about the name of the holiday. Where does it come from?
It was named after St. Walpurga, an 8th-century English missionary whose name in Old English would have looked more like “Wealdburg.”
Her name reminds me of Willibrord, and for good reason — the corresponding saints were both Anglo-Saxons who lived right around the same time.
So what does her name mean?
As with Willibrord, there are two elements to Wealdburg.
The first element comes from the Anglo-Saxon word weald, meaning “power,” “authority” or “ruler.” This element can also be seen in Germanic names like Walter and Waldo.
The second comes from the Anglo-Saxon word burg, meaning “fortress,” “castle,” “town,” “city,” or something similar.
Now, Germanic names weren’t constructed so that the meanings of the two elements would form a phrase. So combining these two definitions to create something catchy like “ruler of the fortress” would be taking things a bit too far. Better to leave the definition at “power + fortress” or something like that.
Walpurga has never made the SSA’s list of baby names, but Walburga has — on and off from the 1890s until the 1920s.
Image by Edgar Chmylko from Unsplash
The etymology you cite is the most plausible one (given the vast popularity of the name element WALD / WEALD) but it is not the only possible one: There is another name element WAL
(with possible meanings: Gaul, Celt, Roman, Foreigner; dead) that could be in the first part of the name.
For more info on WAL, see http://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/VAL
Thanks!