Date
Meaning & History
the first ruler of the Huns whose historicity is undisputed.
The name is recorded as Ουλδης (Ouldes) by Sozomen, Uldin by Orosius, and Huldin by Marcellinus Comes. On the basis of the Latin variants, Omeljan Pritsak and Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen argue that the name ended on -n, not the Greek suffix -s. Hyun Jin Kim, however, argues that -in is a Greek suffix added to the name.Maenchen-Helfen considers the name to be of Turkic origin. He compares it with the names Ultinzur and Uldach and argues that it is the element *uld or *ult plus a dimuninative suffix *-ïn. He does not give an etymology of the element *uld/*ult.Pritsak derives the root of the etymon from the verb öl-, which survived in Mongolian olje, ol-jei (auspice, happiness, good luck). He argues that the middle suffix jei was originally *di + ge, thus *öl-jige > öl-dige. In place of Mongolian ge, Hunnic would then have the suffix n. He thus reconstructs the form is *öl-di-n (auspicious, happy, lucky, fortunate).Hyun Jin Kim derives the name from the common Turkic word for six, *alti, comparing it to the Chuvash form ultta. He argues that the name was actually a title and may indicate that Uldin was one of the six principle nobles of the Huns rather than a king.
The name is recorded as Ουλδης (Ouldes) by Sozomen, Uldin by Orosius, and Huldin by Marcellinus Comes. On the basis of the Latin variants, Omeljan Pritsak and Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen argue that the name ended on -n, not the Greek suffix -s. Hyun Jin Kim, however, argues that -in is a Greek suffix added to the name.Maenchen-Helfen considers the name to be of Turkic origin. He compares it with the names Ultinzur and Uldach and argues that it is the element *uld or *ult plus a dimuninative suffix *-ïn. He does not give an etymology of the element *uld/*ult.Pritsak derives the root of the etymon from the verb öl-, which survived in Mongolian olje, ol-jei (auspice, happiness, good luck). He argues that the middle suffix jei was originally *di + ge, thus *öl-jige > öl-dige. In place of Mongolian ge, Hunnic would then have the suffix n. He thus reconstructs the form is *öl-di-n (auspicious, happy, lucky, fortunate).Hyun Jin Kim derives the name from the common Turkic word for six, *alti, comparing it to the Chuvash form ultta. He argues that the name was actually a title and may indicate that Uldin was one of the six principle nobles of the Huns rather than a king.