- Source: Audovacar
Audovacar (from Proto-Germanic *Audawakraz) is a masculine Germanic name.
Composed of the roots aud- (wealth) and -wakar (awake), it may be translated "warden of riches" or "watchman of property" and is a kenning for lord. The name is attested in many variations. The first root may appear as Aut-, Ad-, Ud-, Od-, Ot- or Oth- and is attested as a name on its own, Aud, in the 3rd century AD. The name Otto is a derivative.
The medieval German form was Ottokar, whence the Czech form Otakar. The Czech name Žiroslav (Polish Żyrosław) has the same meaning. The Greek name Plutarch also means "lord of wealth".
Attested forms
These forms are mentioned in Dopsch 1980.
Famous people
Adovacrius (5th century), Saxon leader in Gaul
Odoacer (d. 493), barbarian king of Italy
Autchar (8th century), Frankish diplomat
Eadwacer, character from the 9th-century Old English poem "Wulf and Eadwacer"