More on the name Walter, from O Corrain & Maguire(cite below): Uater, Uaiter: borrowing from Old Germanic Waldhar, from vald, rule, and harja, folk. Brought to England by Normans and then to Ireland. Irish forms reflect medieval English forms Wauter and Water but the form Ualter and the diminutives Uatin and Batin also occur in medieval Ireland. (p. 175, accent marks removed) Sierra's book has basically the same info, with the form Bhatar, pronunciation VAH-tuhr. Books about Celtic names: O'Corrain, Donnachadh. *Irish Names*. 2nd ed. Dublin: Lilliput Press, 1992 Rosenkrantz & Satran. *Beyond Sean and Shannon*. (This one is from memory-- it may be *Beyond Shannon and Sean.*) Sierra, Judy. *Celtic baby Names:Traditional names from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall, and the Isle of Man*. Eugene, OR: Folkprint, 1997. Names in general: Ingraham, Holly. *People's Names: A Cross-Cultural Reference Guide to The Proper Use of Over 40,000 Personal and Familial Names in over 100 Cultures*. Jefferson, NC, and London: McFarland & Co, 1997. Note: This is an excellent and fascinating book. Aimed at writers who need authentic names for their novels, it has lists of names and commentary on naming patterns from many times & places. I also found a website that has Scottish names from various eras. Unfortunately, the computer I was using when I found it didn't print the URL on the printout. If anyone is interested, I can find it again. Hope this helps, BJ ---------- > As part of my family search MCNELLIS and GILLESPIE, I have encountered > two relatives with the first name WALTER. At first I thought it was a > teutonic name but my source indicated it was celtic as well. > > Would someone please provide the Celtic name for Walter. Thank you in > advance.