Arnold

Where Arnold comes from

From a French version of a Germanic name, from Proto-West Germanic *Arnuwald, from Proto-Germanic *arô (“eagle”) + *waldą (“power”). For the first part of the word doublet of erne, ornis, and ornitho-. Compare the Latin male given name and cognomen Aquila, and female given name Aquilīna (whence Russian Акули́на (Akulína)), related to aquila (whence eagle).
— Wiktionary's entry for Arnold
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1874
    Arnold Schoenberg born
    Austrian-Jewish American composer
  2. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #276 among boys — 37 babies in the first year on record.
  3. 1889
    Arnold J. Toynbee born
    British historian
  4. 1916
    Peak, #89
    1,858 babies named Arnold — more than any year before or since.
  5. 1966
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #253.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from the Germanic languages brought to England by Normans.
Namesakes
  • Arnold Schoenberg · Austrian-Jewish American composer, 1874–1951
  • Arnold J. Toynbee · British historian, 1889–1975
  • Arnold Sommerfeld · German physicist, 1868–1951
  • Arnold Rüütel · Estonian politician, former President of Estonia, 1928–2024
  • Arnold Böcklin · Swiss painter, draftsman, graphic artist and sculptor, 1827–1901

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.