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Roderick

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Roderick, Rodrick or Roderic (Proto-Germanic *Hrōþirīks, from *hrōþiz, lit.'fame, glory' + *ríks, 'king, ruler') is a Germanic name, recorded from the 8th century onward. Its Old High German forms are Hrodric, Chrodericus, Hroderich, Roderich, Ruodrich, etc.; in Gothic language Hrōþireiks; in Old English language it appears as Hrēðrīc or Hroðrīc, and in Old Norse as Hrǿríkʀ (Old East Norse Hrø̄rīkʀ, Rø̄rīkʀ, Old West Norse as Hrœrekr, Rœrekr).

In the 12th-century Primary Chronicle, the name is reflected as Рюрикъ, i.e. Rurik. In Spanish and Portuguese, it was rendered as Rodrigo, or in its short form, Ruy or Rui, and in Galician, the name is Roy or Roi. In Arabic, the form Ludharīq (لُذَرِيق‎), used to refer Roderic (Ulfilan Gothic: *Hroþareiks), the last king of the Visigoths. Saint Roderick (d.857) is one of the Martyrs of Córdoba.

The modern English name does not continue the Anglo-Saxon form but was re-introduced from the continent by the Normans in medieval England. The Middle English given name had also virtually disappeared by the 19th century, even though it had survived as a surname. The given name was re-popularised by Sir Walter Scott's poem The Vision of Don Roderick (1811), where Roderick refers to the Visigothic king. The modern English name is sometimes abbreviated to Roddy.

Roderick is also an Anglicisation of several unrelated names. As a surname and given name it is used as an anglicised form of the Welsh Rhydderch. The given name Roderick is also used as an anglicised form of the Gaelic personal name Rory (Irish: Ruaidhrí, Ruairí; Scottish Gaelic: Ruairidh, Ruaraidh).

01Medieval period

02Modern given name

See also: All pages with titles beginning with Roderick

Fictional characters

03Modern surname

See also Rodriguez and Rodrigues.

04Other

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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Roderick, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

  • Rodéric (roi wisigoth).jpg by "El rey Don Rodrigo arengando a sus tropas en la batalla de Guadalete" par Bernardo Blanco y Pérez (Museo del Prado)., Public domain

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