Reginald (given name)
| Reginald | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Masculine |
| Language(s) | English |
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Latin |
| Word/Name | Reginaldus |
| Other names | |
| Short form(s) | Reg |
| Pet form(s) | Reggie |
| See also | Ragnall, Reinhold, Ronald, Rex |
Reginald is a masculine given name in the English language.
Etymology and history
The name is derived from the Latin Reginaldus, which has been influenced by the Latin word regina, meaning "queen". This Latin name is a Latinisation of a Germanic language name. This Germanic name is composed of two elements: the first ragin, meaning "advice", "counsel",[1] "decision";[2] the second element is wald, meaning "rule",[1] "ruler".[2] The Old German form of the name is Raginald; Old French forms are Reinald and Reynaud.[3]
Forms of this Germanic name were first brought to the British Isles by Scandinavians, in the form of the Old Norse Rögnvaldr. This name was later reinforced by the arrival of the Normans in the 11th century, in the Norman forms Reinald and Reynaud.[1]
Variants
Reginald and Reginaldus are used as Latinisations of the Old Irish, Middle Irish/Middle Gaelic Ragnall. This Gaelic name is cognate of Reginald, since Ragnall is derived from the Old Norse Rögnvaldr.
The Scottish names Ronald and Ranald, originating in Western Scotland and the Northern Isles, are cognate with the Gall-Ghàidheil Raghnall/Rögnvaldr, cf. Clan MacDonald of ClanRanald, descendants of Raghnall mac Somhairle, King of Mann and the Isles.
Use and popularity
Today Reginald is regarded as a very formal name, and bearers generally shorten their name to Reg in ordinary usage. Reggie is a pet form of Reg.[2] Rex, given its meaning as "king" in Latin, is also used, though uncommonly, as a nickname.
- Reginald Arvizu of Korn, nicknamed "Fieldy"
- Reginald Bonham, an English blind chess player
- Reginald Bosanquet (1932–1984), British television newsreader best known for presenting News At Ten
- Reginald of Canterbury, medieval French writer around 1200
- Raynald of Châtillon, also known as Reginald of Châtillon, a knight in the Second Crusade and Prince of Antioch
- Reginald Denny (actor), English stage, film, and television actor
- Reginald Oliver Denny, the truck driver nearly beaten to death during the Los Angeles riots in 1992
- James Dewees, musician nicknamed "Reggie"
- Reginald Kenneth Dwight, best known as Elton John
- Reginald Earnshaw (1927–1941), believed to be the youngest person in the British services to have died in World War II
- Reginald Fessenden (1866–1932), inventor who performed pioneering experiments in radio
- Reg Fleming (1936–2009), professional hockey player in the National Hockey League with six NHL teams
- Reginald D. Hunter, American comedian, living and working in Britain
- Reginald Kray (1933–2000), one of the Kray twins, English criminals
- Reginald Noble, best known as Redman
- Reginald Punnett, British geneticist
- Reginald Varney (1916–2008), best known as Reg Varney
- Reginald VelJohnson, American actor
- Reginald I, Count of Bar, Count of Bar (1105–1149)
- Reginald I, Count of Burgundy (986–1057), second Count of the Free County of Burgundy
- Reginald of Burgundy (died 1321), count of Montbéliard from 1282 to 1321
- Reginald of Sweden (disambiguation), multiple people
- Reginald, Bishop of the Isles, (died 1226), Bishop of the Isles
- Sir Reginald "Rex" Harrison, English actor
Fictional characters
- Reginald, fictional character in Saki's short stories
- Reginald, nemesis and cousin of Richie Rich in the movie and comic books
- Reginald Barclay, recurring character in the Star Trek fictional universe
- Bushroot, Reginald Bushroot, supervillain in the Disney television series Darkwing Duck
- Reginald Deadman, police constable in the British television sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart
- Reggie Mantle, the fictional character in Archie Comics
- Reginald Perrin, the main character of a series of novels by David Nobbs, and The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, the popular BBC-commissioned 1970s comedy based upon it
- Reginald Jeeves, known mostly by his last name only, the personal servant to Bertie Wooster in a series of short stories and novels by P. G. Wodehouse
- Reginald Fox, cartoon character (a fox) created by Tex Avery (MGM) in 1949, stars with Droopy in Outfoxed, MGM cartoons, 1949
- Reginald "Reg" Hollis, a long-standing fictional police constable in the British television series The Bill
- Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins, fiction character in the American television series The Wire
- Reginald, a fictional koala bear in American Dad!, voiced by Erik Durbin
- Reggie Wylie, Gerty MacDowell's sweetheart in short trousers in James Joyce's Ulysses
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Learn about the family history of your surname, Ancestry.com, retrieved 2 November 2010 which cited: Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4 for the surname "Reynold".
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 228, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1
- ↑ Reaney, Percy Hilde; Wilson, Richard Middlewood (2006), A Dictionary of English Surnames (3rd ed.), London: Routledge, p. 2626, ISBN 0-203-99355-1
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