Hildegard

The female name Hildegard derived from the Old High German words hild (=war or battle) and gard (=protection) and means "protecting battle-maid" Variant spellings include Hildegarde. The Polish, Portuguese, Slovene and Spanish version is Hildegarda; the Italian version is Ildegarda. Hildegárd is a Hungarian version. An ancient German version of the name was Hildegardis. Persons named Hildegard, Hildegarde or Hildegart include:

  • Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), Christian saint
  • Hildegard, wife of Charlemagne, third wife of Charlemagne
  • Hildegard, daughter of Louis or Matilda, daughter of Emperor Louis the Pious and Ermengarde of Hesbaye
  • Hildegard Behrens (1937–2009), German opera singer
  • Hildegard Knef (1925–2002), German actress, singer and writer
  • Hildegarde (1906–2005), American cabaret singer
  • Hildegarde Flanner (1899–1987), American poet and activist
  • Hildegarde Dolson Lockridge (1908–1981), poet, playwright and novelist
  • Hildegarde Naughton, Irish politician and mayor of Galway
  • Hildegart Rodríguez Carballeira, raised to be the perfect woman

Fictional characters so named include:

  • Hildegard von Mariendorf from Legend of Galactic Heroes
  • Hildegarde (Marvel Comics), a Valkyrie
  • Hildegarde Withers, in novels and films
  • Hildegard von Krone, from the Soul series of fighting games
  • Hildegarde T., from the anime and manga series Beelzebub (manga) by Ryūhei Tamura
  • Hildegarde, in the Johann Strauss operetta Simplicius
  • Hildegard Hummingbird, from the Mister Rogers' Neighborhood opera Bubbleland