Reynaert as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Reynaert

What is the meaning of the name Reynaert ?

The baby name Reynaert is a Male name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced English: RAY-nart (/ˈreɪnɑːrt/); Dutch/Flemish: RAY-naart (/ˈrɛi.naːrt/).

Reynaert is Germanic in Origin.

Reynaert is the Middle Dutch form of Reynard, descending from continental Germanic Reginhard (OHG Ragin(h)ard), built from ragin “counsel, advice” and hard “brave, strong.” It became widely known through the medieval beast epic about the trickster fox - Roman de Renart in French and the 13th‑century Flemish poem Van den vos Reynaerde - so influential that French renard replaced the older goupil as the everyday word for “fox.”

Variants include Reinaert (Dutch), Reynard and Raynard (English), Renart and Renard (French), Reinard/Reinart (Low German), and the cognates Reinhard/Reinhardt (German). As a given name, Reynaert is rare today and more familiar as a Flemish surname (Reynaert/Reynaerts), though it appeals in the Low Countries as a literate, medieval revival choice. The core meaning is “strong in counsel” or “brave counsel,” with an added cultural aura of wit and resourcefulness from the Reynard tradition.

⚙ Reynaert is exceptionally rare. There are only 1 recorded use on record, spread over 1 country.