Medard as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Medard

What is the meaning of the name Medard ?

The baby name Medard is a Male name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced EN: /ˈmɛdɑrd/ (MEH-dard); FR: /me.daʁ/ (may-DAR).

Medard is Germanic in Origin.

Medard is a masculine given name of Germanic origin, from the elements maht/macht “might, power” and hard “brave, hardy,” yielding the sense “powerfully brave” or “strong and hardy.” It became well known through St. Medard (Medardus) of Noyon, a 6th-century Frankish bishop whose June 8 feast day is tied to weather lore across France and Central Europe, prompting medieval popularity in the Frankish realms and the Low Countries.

The French form is Médard; Latin Medardus underlies forms across Europe: Italian and Spanish Medardo, Lithuanian Medardas, German and Polish Medard, Czech and Slovak Medard. Feminine extensions such as Medarda occur occasionally. Diminutives include Meda and Meddy. The name appears in numerous French toponyms (Saint-Médard) and persisted in Catholic registers into the 19th century, remaining uncommon in English but still familiar in Francophone Africa and parts of Central and Eastern Europe.