Æthelred

Æthelred is an Old English given name from æthel, meaning “noble,” and ræd, meaning “counsel” or “advice.” It was widely used among Anglo-Saxon royalty and nobility, and several rulers bore the name from the 9th to the 11th centuries.

The best-attested bearer is Æthelred I, who reigned as King of Wessex from about 865 to 871. He was a son of Æthelwulf and thus the brother of Alfred the Great; his reign occurred during intensified Viking incursions and ended with his death in 871, after which Alfred became king.

The most famous Æthelred is Æthelred II, known as the Unready. He ruled England from 978 until 1016, during a period of renewed Danish pressure that culminated in conquest by Cnut the Great. His epithet arises from an Old English term unræd meaning ill-advised or ill-considered, not from the modern sense of unprepared. His long reign was marked by ongoing payments of Danegeld and fluctuating fortunes, with England briefly under Danish overlordship before Cnut’s consolidation of control.

Beyond these kings, the name appears in other Anglo-Saxon elites and is sometimes encountered in literary or genealogical discussions of early English history. In modern times, Æthelred survives primarily as a historical given name used in scholarly contexts or fiction, rather than as a common contemporary name.