Last updated: March 2026

Character Name

Reinhard

Meaning — A Germanic masculine name composed of "ragin" meaning "counsel", "judgment", or "power" and "hard" meaning "brave", "hardy", or "strong" — thus "strong in counsel" or "brave advisor". The name was borne by several medieval German ecclesiastics and nobles. Reinhard Heydrich (1904–1942), the architect of the Holocaust, gave the name a deeply sinister modern resonance; in fiction the name spans medieval heroism and 20th-century villainy.·Old High German origin·Male·RINE-hart

Reinhard Reinhard is a name that has been permanently marked by the 20th century — its combination of intellectual counsel and hard courage, which in medieval usage suggested a wise and bold nobleman, now carries the shadow of its most notorious bearer. In contemporary fiction, Reinhard works best either in pre-modern historical settings where that darkness is not yet present, or in modern/wartime fiction where the character's name signals a particular moral weight.

Best genres for Reinhard

Historical FictionLiterary FictionThrillerPeriod Drama

Famous characters named Reinhard

No verified literary characters with this exact given name were found yet. We are continuously expanding this section.


Variations & nicknames

ReinhardReinhardtReinholdRainer

Pairs well with

Reinhard von HeydrichReinhard SchreiberReinhard BrauerReinhard FaberReinhard HolzReinhard Braun

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Related names


More Old High German names

Berta

Berta is a short form of Roberta or Alberta, or a standalone diminutive of Bertha, which derives from the Old High German "Berahta" from "beraht" meaning "bright, shining, famous". The element "beraht" is cognate with Old English "beorht" and appears in many Germanic names. Saint Berta of Kent was a Frankish princess who married King Æthelberht of Kent in the 6th century.

Eckhard

A Germanic masculine name composed of "ek" or "ag" meaning "edge" (of a sword) and "hard" meaning "brave", "hardy", or "strong" — thus "strong at the sword's edge" or "brave blade". The name is philosophically significant through Meister Eckhart (c.1260–c.1328), the Dominican theologian and mystic whose sermons on the inner life of the soul were among the most intellectually radical of the Middle Ages.

Konrad

A Germanic masculine name composed of "kuon" or "kühn" meaning "bold" or "brave" and "rat" meaning "counsel" or "advice" — thus "bold counsel" or "brave advisor". The name was borne by several Holy Roman Emperors (Conrad I through Conrad IV) and Saint Conrad of Constance, making it one of the most prestigious names of the medieval German world.

Frits

Frits is a Dutch, Danish, and Norwegian masculine name, a diminutive of Frederik or Friedrich, which derives from the Old High German "Fridurih", composed of "fridu" meaning "peace" and "rih" meaning "ruler, power". It thus means "peaceful ruler" or "ruler of peace". The name was borne by the Hohenzollern dynasty, including Frederick the Great of Prussia, whose informal German nickname was "Der Alte Fritz" (Old Fritz).

Hildegard

A Germanic feminine name composed of "hild" meaning "battle" and "gard" meaning "enclosure", "stronghold", or "protection" — thus "battle-stronghold" or "protected in battle". Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179) was a Benedictine abbess, visionary mystic, composer, natural philosopher, and medical writer — one of the most remarkable intellectual figures of the Middle Ages and now a Doctor of the Catholic Church.

Villiam

Villiam is the Danish and Norwegian form of William, itself from the Old High German name "Willahelm", composed of "wil" meaning "will, desire" and "helm" meaning "helmet, protection". It thus means "resolute protector" or "strong-willed guardian". The name was introduced to England by William the Conqueror and became one of the most widespread masculine names in the Germanic and English-speaking world.


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