Meaning: Its source is an Ancient Germanic expression meaning "Noble."

Narrative: This is an element in a number of Ancient Germanic names, such as Ethelinda, Etheldreda and Ethelberta.

It was a practice of the Anglo-Saxons (who ruled Britain before the Norman Conquest and spoke an Ancient Germanic tongue) to name several offspring using common name elements. Three daughters in the same family named Ethelinda, Etheldreda and Ethelberta would not have been unusual.