Reynard as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Reynard

What is the meaning of the name Reynard ?

The baby name Reynard is a Male name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈreɪnərd/ (RAY-nərd).

Reynard is Germanic in Origin.

Reynard descends from Old French Renart, a form of the Germanic personal name Raginhard/Reginhard (ragin “counsel” + hard “brave, hardy”). Brought to England with the Normans, it appears in medieval records beside spellings such as Raynard and Rainard. Cognates include German Reinhard/Reinhardt, Dutch Reinaert/Reynaert, and French Renard, many of which also survive as surnames. The core meaning is “brave in counsel,” “strong counsel,” or “hardy advisor.”

Its cultural afterlife is remarkable: the 12th–13th‑century beast‑epic Le Roman de Renart popularized the trickster Reynard the Fox across Europe, so influential that French renard replaced the older word goupil for “fox.” In English, Reynard long functioned as a byname or surname colored by foxlike wit and cunning; as a given name today it is uncommon yet literary and dashing. Common nicknames are Rey and Ren; Raynard, Rainard, and Renard occur as variant spellings.