100 Crusader Names From History And Fiction To Inspire Your World Building
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To help you choose the most valiant, and most medieval names to create your own world, we have compiled a list of the names of original real life crusaders from the past.
The crusades definition says it's a medieval military expedition fought for religion. To let you in on a fact, crusaders were leaders who led religious battles between faiths. Marcus Adrienn LeBlanc is still considered the most famous Knight Templar to date.
Some of these are the name of the crusaders are English crusaders, others are famous crusaders from other countries. This list is such to help you find the perfect names for all your crusader world characters, whether they are major or minor characters.
Picking character names sure isn't easy, especially when you are trying to build an entire world. But this list will make it way easier. Also, check out these other lists of medieval boy names and medieval girl names for more inspiration!
Historical Crusaders
Throughout history, there have been many crusades all across the world, particularly in Europe. Many of these crusades are well documented leaving us with a treasure trove of medieval crusade names. The crusaders in these categories are mostly from French crusader names from the first crusades, in the medieval era.
1. Archard (French origin) means “one who lives in an orchard”, the crusader who launched the first crusade from 1096-1099.
2. Adalbero (French origin) means “noble” or “bright”. He was a church leader in the early 1000s, the crusades time period in which he fought.
3. Adalbert (German origin) means “noble bright” or “noble shining”. This is a German medieval variant of Adalbero.
4. Adalram (German origin) means “noble raven”, the crusader who led the second crusade.
5. Adelard (French origin) means “noble” or “steadfast”, participated in the medieval second crusade.
6. Aubrey (Italian origin) means “powerful elf”.
7. Balderic (Belgian origin) means “brave lord” or “brave ruler”.
8. Baldwin (Belgian origin) means “brave”, was a reputed warrior.
9. Bartholomew (English origin) means “son of furrows” or “son of Ptolemy”. He was an early medieval crusade knight.
10. Bohemond (Italian origin) means “testament to faith”, became the prince of Antioch.
11. Brunet (French origin) means “large” or “expansive land”. Usually, a name reserved for people born into landowning families in medieval times.
12. Caffaro (Ligurian origin) means “unbeliever”, the crusader survived the crusade of 1101.
13. Centule (French origin) means “spear bearer” or “spear thrower”.
14. Challo (French origin) means “one who escaped a war” or “one who survived a battle”.
15. Cherfron (German origin) means “leader of the people”, said to have participated in the first crusade.
16. Clarembald (French origin) means “bold one”.
17. Conan (French origin) means “little wolf”, the crusader was the son of Geoffrey I.
18. Cono (Belgian origin) means “cone”. This was also a very popular name during the time of the first crusades in the medieval age.
19. Conrad (German origin) means “bold counsel”, the crusader survived the medieval crusade of 1101.
20. Constantius (Latin origin) means “constant”. Constantius was very instrumental in the first crusade.
21. Daibert (Italian origin) means “expert” or “professional”, original crusader.
22. Dodo (Italian origin) means “gift of God”.
23. Domenico (Italian origin) means “from the master” or “of the lord”.
Fictional Crusaders
There are also names that also come from other fictive worlds. There have been a lot of movie and book franchises that have developed crusade worlds, perhaps similar to what you have in mind. We have compiled the names of these characters and their meanings. They are sure to inspire you.
24. Drogo (French origin) this name means “to bear” or “to carry”. This is also the name of a crusader character in the 'Fire and Ice' books.
25. Durand (French origin) this name means “enduring”, a crusader character in 'World of Warcraft'.
26. During (Austrian origin) this name means “field man” or "protector of a field".
27. Eberhard (German origin) this name means “strength or courage of a wild boar”.
28. Edgar (English origin) this name means “rich spear” or “prosperous spear”.
29. Ekkehard (German origin) this name means “brave sword”.
30. Emicho (German origin) this name means “frugal”. This name was used in the Dragon Sword Book franchise.
31. Engelbert (Belgian origin) this name means “bright” or “famous”.
32. Engelelm (French origin) this name means “infant horse” or “innocent horse”. This is also an original crusader name.
33. Engelrand (French origin) this name means “host”. It was also the name of an original crusader.
34. Ernest (German origin) this name means “vigor” or “intent”. Ernest is also one of the most popular medieval crusader names.
35. Fantin (French origin) this name means “young man” or “unmarried man”.
36. Farald (French origin) this name means “powerful traveler”.
37. Fortun (Spanish origin) means “first of two farmsteads”.
38. Franco (Spanish origin) means “free”. It was also the name of the military ruler of Spain. Can also be a family name.
39. Frederick (German origin) means “peaceful ruler”. This is a union of two different words that mean “rule” and “peace” respectively.
40. Frumold (German origin) means “valiant leader” or “leader who marches into war fearlessly”.
41. Fulbert (Belgian origin) means “very famous” or “very bright”.
42. Fulcher (French origin) means “a people's army” or “an army of the people”. Can also be a family name.
43. Fulk (Italian origin) means “people's chief”. This was the name of a famous crusader of the first crusade.
44. Garin (French origin) means “guardian”.
45. Gebhard (French origin) means “brave gift”.
46. Gerbod (Belgian origin) means “brave spear”. From “Ger” meaning “spear” and “Bod” meaning “brave”.
47. Gerento (French origin) means “fast spear”. From the joining of the words “Ger” and “Ento” which means "spear" and "speed" respectively.
48. Gerlach (German origin) means “spear thrower”. From the joining of the words “Ger” and “Lach” which means “spear” and, “thrower” respectively.
49. Gerold (German origin) means “spear strength”. From the words “Ger” and “Rold” which means “spear” and “strength” respectively.
50. Gervase (French origin) means “servant spear”. Just the other names in this group, it is from the joining of two words that mean spear and servant.
51. Gerwich (German origin) means “battle spear”. It is a variant of Gerwig which is a combination of “Ger” and “Wig” meaning “spear” and “battle”.
52. Gilbert (Austrian origin) means “bright pledge”. We think this is a really great first name.
53. Gilduin (French origin) means “patience”.
54. Girismann (Italian origin) means “loyalty” or “he who is committed”.
55. Goldinellus (French origin) means “he who brings victory”.
56. Gotmann (Belgian origin) means “good man” or “kind man”. It is from the combination of two words. Got, meaning "kind" and Mann meaning "man".
57. Ilger (Italian origin) means “fierce” or “soldier”.
58. Ingelbald (French origin) means “bold angel”.
59. Ingo (Scandinavian origin) means “protected by Yngvi”. Yngvi is a powerful leader in old Norse mythology which many Norse kings claimed that they were descended from.
60. Isaac (Hebrew origin) means “one who laughs”.
61. Isnard (French origin) means “as tough as iron” or “iron-hard”.
62. Itier (French origin) means “sturdy tree”.
63. Ivo (French origin) means “yew”.
Names That Were Popular At The Time Of The Crusades
There are also medieval crusader names that were popular at the time, including Templar names, which were gaining popularity due to how influential religious orders were becoming at this time. Here is a list of medieval names that were common during the times of the crusades.
64. Josbert (French origin) means “light”.
65. Joscelin (French origin) means “the happy one”.
66. Lagman (English origin) means “a law enforcer”.
67. Landolt (German origin) means “land or territory of jurisdiction”.
68. Lanfranc (Italian origin) means “one of a pure heart”.
69. Lanfric (French origin) means “one of a pure heart”. It's a french variant of Lanfranc.
70. Lantelmus (Italian origin) means “reward”.
71. Leo (Latin origin) means “lion”.
72. Lethold (Belgian origin) means “a reign of the people” or “leader of the people”.
73. Lisiard (Belgian origin) means “lord of the lower estates”.
74. Ludwig (Italian origin) means “famous warrior”.
75. Mahuis (French origin) means “brave warrior”.
76. Mainfinit (French origin) means “great warrior”.
77. Manasses (Hebrew origin) means “he that causes to forget”.
78. Maurice (French origin) means “dark-skinned”.
79. Milo (France origin) means “gracious one”.
80. Morellus (Italian origin) means “a descendant of More”.
81. Nicholas (French origin) means “the people's Victory”.
82. Nivelo (French origin) means “to bring to a level”.
83. Norgeot (French origin) means “owner of the well” or “keeper of the well”.
84. Norman (French origin) means “a man of the North”.
85. Oberto (Italian origin) means “gracious one”.
86. Odo (French origin) means “wealthy”.
87. Onulf (Belgian origin) means “house by the meadow”.
88. Opizo (Italian origin) means “river stone” or “stone by the river”.
89. Pagan (Italian origin) means “from the country” or “countryman”.
90. Popping (Austrian origin) means “iron fist”.
Female Crusaders
There were also women who fought in the crusades, and a few who were even crusade leaders. These women were mostly part of noble families and that is how their names were preserved.
91. Anonyma (German origin) means “a low-status woman” or “a woman of bad reputation”.
92. Corba (Turkish origin) means “soup cook”.
93. Edith (French origin) means “spoils of war” or “riches from war”.
94. Eleanor (Greek origin) means “God has my light”.
95. Elvira (Spanish origin) means “alien and true”.
96.Emerias (Irish Gaelic origin) means “honor of the North”.
97. Emma (French origin) means “universal”.
98. Florina (French origin) means “little flower”.
99. Ida (Austrian origin) means “work” or “labor”.
100. Mabel (Italian origin) means “dear one”.
Kidadl has lots of great character names articles to inspire you. If you liked our suggestions for crusader names then why not take a look at these medieval last names, or for something slightly different take a look at renaissance names.
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Bachelor of Arts specializing in French with Film Studies, Bachelor of Arts (Year Abroad) specializing in Literature, History, Language, Media, and Art
Georgia StoneBachelor of Arts specializing in French with Film Studies, Bachelor of Arts (Year Abroad) specializing in Literature, History, Language, Media, and Art
Georgia is an experienced Content Manager with a degree in French and Film Studies from King's College London and Bachelors degree from Université Paris-Sorbonne. Her passion for exploring the world and experiencing different cultures was sparked during her childhood in Switzerland and her year abroad in Paris. In her spare time, Georgia enjoys using London's excellent travel connections to explore further afield.
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