Hruodolf

Hruodolf is a masculine given name of early medieval Germanic origin that appears in Anglo‑Saxon and West Germanic records. The name is a compound of the elements hrēad, meaning “fame” or “renown,” and wulf, meaning “wolf.” Together the literal sense is “famous wolf,” a symbolic association common in names of the period that linked personal virtue or status to admired animal traits.

The spelling of the name varied widely depending on regional dialects and scribal practices. Common variants include Hrodulf, Hrodolf, and the Latinised Hrōdulfus that appears in some ecclesiastical documents. In the Old Norse tradition the form Hróðulfr is attested, reflecting the shared Germanic linguistic heritage.

Several contemporaries of the 7th‑9th centuries are recorded with this name in charters and chronicles, especially among minor nobility in Northumbria and eastern England. One notable bearer, Hruodolf of East Anglia, is mentioned in the *Anglo‑Saxon Chronicle* as a lawful witness to a land grant in 784. Although there is no evidence that he held any major political office, his appearance in legal charters suggests he was a person of some local influence.

The decline of the name in the later Middle Ages corresponds with the evolution of English naming conventions toward French and Norman forms. In contemporary usage Hruodolf is almost entirely archaic; it survives today mainly in historical studies of early medieval onomastics and in the scholarly reconstruction of Anglo‑Saxon genealogy.