Arnulf

Arnulf is a masculine German given name. It is composed of the Germanic elements arn "eagle" and ulf "wolf". The -ulf, -olf suffix was an extremely frequent element in Germanic onomastics and from an early time was perceived as a mere suffix forming given names. Similarly, the suffix -wald, -ald, -old, originally from wald "rule, power" underwent semantic weakening. Therefore, the name Arnulf and Arnold were often conflated in early medieval records, as is the case with bishop Arnulf of Metz (died 640), especially as the final consonant came to be dropped (Arnoul).

The name Arnulf is attested from as early as the 5th century, as the name of the brother of Odoacer. The name is attested with some frequency in Medieval Germany throughout the 8th to 11th centuries, in the spelling variants Arnulf, Arnulph, Arnolf, occasionally also as Arenulph, Harnulf, Harnolf, Harnolph. In the 9th century, Arnulf of Carinthia was the ruler of East Francia and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 896.

There was an Anglo-Saxon cognate, Earnulf (Ernulf), which was assimilated to the Frankish form of the name after the Norman conquest. Arnulf of Eynesbury is an obscure 9th-century English saint, who was mostly forgotten by the 11th century, and who was perhaps just a folkloristic duplicate of the historical Arnulf of Metz. In any case, the English Arnulf would have been known as Earnulf, and his relics were venerated in Earnulfesbyrig (Eynesbury, Cambridgeshire). The name is also attested in medieval Scandinavia, as Old Norse Arnúlfr (Ærnulfr, Ǫrnólfr, Ǫrnulfr, Old Swedish Ærinolf, Ærnolf, Ärnulf).[1] Scandinavian dialectal and regional variants of the name include Annul, Annulv, Anul, Arnolv, Arnulv, Örnólfur, Ørnolvur, Örnulf, Ørnulf, Ørnulv.

The given name Arnulf remains in use in Germany and in Norway, and to a lesser extent in Sweden.[2]