Günther (given name)

Günther, Guenther, Ginther, Gunther, and the variants Günter, Guenter, Guenther, Ginter, and Gunter, are Germanic names derived from Gunthere, Gunthari, composed of *gunþiz "battle" (Old Norse gunnr) and heri, hari "army". Gunder and Gunnar are the North Germanic equivalents in Scandinavia.

Notable people with the given name include:

Arts and entertainment

Günter Bialas (1907–1995), German composer
Günter Brus (1938–2024), Austrian painter, performance artist, graphic artist, experimental filmmaker, and writer
Günter Bust (1930–2005), German music educator and composer
Gunter Christmann (1936–2013), German-born Australian painter
Gunter Demnig (born 1947), German artist
Günter Eich (1907–1972), German lyricist, dramatist, and author
Günter Fruhtrunk (1923–1982), German geometric abstract painter and printmaker
Gunter Gabriel (1942–2017), German singer, musician, and composer
Günter Grasmück, member of the Austrian band Opus
Günter Grass (1927–2015), German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, and sculptor
Günter Graulich (born 1926), German church musician and music publisher
Gunter Hampel (1937–2026), German jazz multi-instrumentalist and composer
Günter Haumer (born 1973), Austrian operatic baritone
Günther Jauch (born 1956), German television presenter
Günter Jena (1933–2026), German choral conductor and musicologist
Günter Katzenberger (1937–2020), German musician, musicologist, conductor, professor, writer, and publisher
Günter Kehr (1920–1989), German violinist, conductor, and academic teacher of violin and chamber music
Günter Kochan (1930–2009), German composer
Günter Krämer (born 1940), German stage director and theatre manager
Günter Lamprecht (1930–2022), German actor
Günter Lenz (1938–2026), German jazz bassist and composer
Günter Ludwig (1931–2022), German pianist
Günter Mack (1930–2007), German actor
Günter Meisner (1926–1994), German film and television character actor
Günter Müller (born 1954), German-born Swiss sound artist
Günter Neubert (1936–2021), German composer and tonmeister
Günter Neuhold (born 1947), Austrian conductor
Günter Pfitzmann (1924–2003), German film actor
Günter Pichler (born 1940), Austrian violinist, teacher, and conductor
Günter Platzek (1930–1990), German keyboard player
Günter Raphael (1903–1960), German composer
Günter Reich (1921–1989), German-born Israeli baritone
Günther Reindorff (1899–1974), Estonian-Soviet graphic designer
Günter Reisch (1927–2014), German film director and screenwriter
Günter Rimkus (1928–2015), German dramaturge
Günter Rittner (1927–2020), German painter and illustrator
Günter Rössler (1926–2012), German photographer
Gunter Sachs (1932–2011), German photographer, author, student, industrialist, and astrologist
Günther von Scheven (1908–1942), German sculptor
Günther Schifter (1923–2008), Austrian radio presenter
Gunter Schoß (born 1940), German voice and television actor
Günter Schubert (1938–2008), German actor and voice actor
Gunther Schuller (1925–2015), American musician
Günter Schulz (born 1963), German musician, songwriter, and former member of the industrial band KMFDM
Gunter Sieberth (born 1965), German oboist
Günter Sommer (born 1943), German jazz drummer
Günter Steinke (born 1956), German composer and teacher
Günther Stoll (1924–1977), German actor
Günter Strack (1929–1999), German film and television actor
Günther Uecker (1930–2025), German painter, sculptor, and installation artist
Günter Voglmayr (1968–2012), Austrian classical flutist
Gunter Waldek (born 1953), Austrian composer, conductor, and music educator
Günter Wand (1912–2002), German orchestra conductor and composer
Günter Wewel (1934–2023), German operatic bass and television presenter

Sports

Günter Ambraß (born 1955), East German weightlifter
Günter Anderl (1947–2015), Austrian figure skater
Günter Bartusch (1943–1971), East German motorcycle road racer
Günter Beier (born 1942), German gymnast
Günter Benkö (born 1955), Austrian football (soccer) referee
Günter Bergau (born 1939), German rower
Günter Bernard (born 1939), German professional footballer
Günter Böttcher (1954–2012), West German handball player
Günter Bittengel (born 1966), Czech football (soccer) coach and former player
Günter Breitzke (born 1967), German footballer
Günter Bresnik (born 1961), Austrian tennis coach
Gunter Brewer (born 1964), American football coach
Günter Brocker (1925–2015), German footballer and later manager
Günter Brümmer (1933–2020), West German slalom canoeist
Günter Busarello (1960–1985), Austrian wrestler
Günter Busch (1930–2006), German footballer
Günter Burghard (1942–2022), Austrian ice hockey player
Gunther Cunningham (1946–2019), American football coach for the Detroit Lions of the NFL
Gunther Danne (1942–2025), German sport shooter
Günter Deckert (Nordic combined) (1950–2005), East German Nordic combined skier
Günter Deuble, West German slalom canoeist
Günter Dohrow (1927–2008), German middle-distance runner
Günter Dreibrodt (born 1951), East German handball player
Günter Drews (born 1967), German footballer
Günter Flauger (born 1936), German skier
Günter Friesenbichler (born 1979), Austrian footballer
Günter Fronzeck (born 1937), German footballer
Günter Grosswig, East German slalom canoeist
Günter Güttler (born 1961), German footballer and manager
Günter Habig (born 1964), German footballer
Günter Haritz (1948–2025), West German road and track cyclist
Günter Havenstein (1928–2008), German long-distance runner
Günter Heine (1919–?), German water polo player
Günter Hermann (born 1960), German footballer
Günter Heßelmann (1925–2010), German middle-distance runner
Günter Hirschmann (1935–2023), German footballer
Günter Hoge (1940–2017), German footballer
Günter Holzvoigt, East German sprint canoeist
Günter Jäger (born 1935), German footballer
Günter Jochems (1928–1991), German professional ice hockey player
Günter Kaltenbrunner (born 1943), Austrian former footballer and manager
Günther Kaschlun (1935–2020), West German rower
Günter Kaslowski (1934–2001), German cyclist
Günter Keute (born 1955), German footballer
Günter Kilian (1950–2026), German water polo player
Günter Kirchner, West German slalom canoeist
Günter Klass (1936–1967), German racing driver
Günter Konzack (1930–2008), East German footballer
Günter Koren (born 1962), Austrian ice hockey player
Günter Kowalewski (born 1943), German wrestler
Günter Krammer, West German sprint canoeist
Günter Krispel (born 1951), Austrian bobsledder
Günter Krivec (born 1942), German athlete
Günter Kronsteiner (born 1953), Austrian footballer
Günter Kubisch (1939–2005), East German footballer
Günter Kutowski (born 1965), German professional footballer
Günter Lobing, German lightweight rower
Günter Lörke (born 1935), German cyclist
Günter Lyhs (1934–2025), German gymnast
Günter Malcher (born 1934), German athlete
Günter Mielke (1942–2010), West German long-distance runner
Günter Nachtigall (born 1930), German gymnast
Günter Netzer (born 1944), German footballer
Günter Neuburger (born 1954), West German bobsledder
Günter Nowatzki, German sprint canoeist
Günter Oberhuber (1954–2021), Austrian ice hockey player
Günter Orschel (born 1956), Bulgarian equestrian
Günter Petersmann (1941–2024), German rower
Günter Preuß (born 1936), German footballer
Günter Pröpper (born 1941), German professional footballer
Gunter Rodríguez (born 1981), Cuban swimmer
Günter Sawitzki (1932–2020), German footballer
Günter Schaumburg (born 1943), German athlete
Günter Schießwald (born 1973), Austrian footballer
Günter Schlierkamp (born 1970), German professional bodybuilder
Günter Schlipper (born 1962), German footballer
Günter Schliwka (1956–2023), German weightlifter
Günter Schmid (1932–2005), German motorsport founder and principal
Günter Schneider (born 1963), Swiss rower
Günter Schroers (born 1939), German rower
Günter Schröter (1927–2016), German footballer and coach
Günther Schumacher (born 1949), German track and road cyclist
Günter Sebert (born 1948), German former footballer and manager
Günter Seibold (1936–2013), German footballer
Günter Siegmund (1936–2020), East German boxer
Günter Spies (born 1948), German gymnast
Günter Spindler (born 1949), German wrestler
Guenther Steiner (born 1965), former team principal of the Haas F1 Team
Günter Stratmann (1931–2010), German fencer
Gunter Thiebaut (born 1977), Belgian footballer
Gunter Thielen (born 1942), German chief executive
Günter Thorhauer (1931–2007), East German footballer
Günter Tilch (born 1937), German speed skater
Günter Tittes (born 1936), East German breaststroke swimmer
Günter Traub (born 1939), German speed skater
Gunter Trojovsky, West German slalom canoeist
Günter Twiesselmann (1925–2025), German rower
Günther Ulrich (born 1936), Austrian fencer
Gunter Van Handenhoven (born 1978), Belgian footballer and team manager
Gunter Vanderveeren (born 1970), Belgian tennis player
Gunter Verjans (born 1973), Belgian footballer
Günter Wienhold (1948–2021), German footballer
Günter Wolf (born 1949), German water polo player
Günter Zeitler, German handballer
Günter Zöller (born 1948), German figure skating coach and former East German competitor

In government and politics

Gunther, semi-legendary king of Burgundy
Gunther of Bohemia (955–1045), Bohemian hermit
Gunther of Cologne (died 873), Roman Catholic archbishop of Cologne
Günter Baum (born 1960), German politician and LGBT rights activist
Günter Baumann (born 1947), German politician
Günter Böhme (politician, born 1925) (1925–2006), German politician
Günter Burghardt (born 1941), German lawyer and EU civil servant, EU ambassador to the United States 1999–2004
Günter Deckert (1940–2022), German far-right political activist
Günther Denzler (born 1946), German politician
Günter Gaus (1929–2004), German political journalist, commentator, television interviewer, diplomat, and "government fixer"
Günter Glende (1918–2004), East German party official
Günter Guillaume (1927–1995), East German spy
Gunter Hadwiger (1949–2021), Austrian politician
Günter Henle (1899–1979), German politician, pianist, and music publisher
Günther Krause (born 1953), German politician and businessman
Günter Krings (born 1969), German lawyer and politician
Günter Lach (1954–2021), German politician
Günter Mittag (1926–1994), German politician
Günter Nooke (born 1959), German politician and former civil rights activist
Günther Oettinger (born 1953), German politician
Gunter Pleuger (born 1941), German diplomat and politician
Günter Rexrodt (1941–2004), German politician
Günter Riesen (1892–1951), German Nazi politician
Günter Schabowski (1929–2015), East German politician
Günter Stempel (1908–1981), German politician and lawyer
Günter Verheugen (born 1944), German politician
Günter Vetter (1936–2022), Austrian stonemason and politician
Günter Vogt (born 1961), Liechtenstein politician
Günter von Drenkmann (1910–1974), German lawyer
Günter Wächtershäuser (born 1938), German chemist turned patent lawyer

Science and academics

Günter Abel (born 1947), German philosopher and former professor
Günter Altner (1936–2011), German interdisciplinary active scientist, biologist, Protestant theologian, ecologist, environmentalist, writer, and lecturer
Günter Asser (1926–2015), German professor emeritus of logic and mathematics
Günter Behnisch (1922–2010), German architect
Günter Benser (1931–2025), German Marxist historian
Günter Bentele (born 1948), German semiotician
Günter Bischof (born 1953), Austrian-American historian and professor
Günter Breithardt (born 1944), German physician, cardiologist, and emeritus professor
Günter Burg (born 1941), German dermatologist
Günter Dreyer (1943–2019), German Egyptologist
Günter Dyhrenfurth (1886–1975), German-born, German and Swiss mountaineer, geologist, and Himalayan explorer
Günter Faltin (born 1944), German economist and entrepreneur
Gunter Faure, American geochemist
Günter Grönbold (born 1943), German Indologist and Tibetologist
Gunther von Hagens (born 1945), German anatomist, businessman and lecturer
Günter Harder (1938–2025), German mathematician
Günter Heimbeck (born 1946), German-Namibian professor of mathematics
Günter Heyden (1921–2002), German professor of philosophy and a sociologist
Günter Hirsch (born 1943), German legal scholar
Günter Hotz (born 1931), German pioneer of computer science
Günter Kleinen (born 1941), German musicologist and professor of musicology
Gunther Köhler (1965–2025), German herpetologist
Günter Gerhard Lange (1921–2008), German typographer, teacher, and type designer
Guenter Lewy (1923–2026), American political historian
Günter Lüling (1928–2014), German Protestant theologian, philological scholar, and pioneer in the study of early Islam
Günter Lumer (1929–2005), German mathematician
Gunter Malle (born 1960), German mathematician
Günter Maschke (1943–2022), German political scientist
Günter Mayer (1930–2010), German cultural academic and musicologist
Günter Meißner (1936–2015), German art historian
Günter Meyer (born 1946), German Geographer and Orientalist
Günter Morge (1925–1984), German entomologist
Günter Nimtz (born 1936), German physicist
Günter Ollenschläger (born 1951), German physician, medical editor, and professor of internal medicine and clinical decision making
Günter P. Wagner (born 1954), Austrian-born evolutionary biologist
Günter Pilz (born 1945), Austrian mathematician and professor
Günter Reimann (1904–2005), German-born economist and writer
Günter Ropohl (1939–2017), German technology philosopher
Günter Sauerbrey (1933–2003), German physicist, inventor of the quartz crystal microbalance
Günter Schilder (born 1942), Dutch historian
Günter Schmahl (1936–2018), German physicist, professor, and pioneer
Gunter Schmidt (born 1938), German sexologist, psychotherapist, and social psychologist
Günter Schmidt (arachnologist) (1926–2016), German arachnologist and author
Günter Schmölders (1903–1991), German economist
Gunter Schöbel (born 1959), German archaeologist and museum director
Günter Tembrock (1918–2011), East German zoologist
Günter Theißen (born 1962), German geneticist
Günter Weigand (1924–2003), German economist, self-proclaimed social lawyer, and amateur prosecutor
Günter Wendt (1923–2010), German-American mechanical engineer
Günter Wirths (1911–2005), German chemist
Günter Wyszecki (1925–1985), German-Canadian physicist
Günter M. Ziegler (born 1963), German mathematician

Business

Günter Böckle (born 1949), German software engineer and project manager
Günter Felke (1929–2005), German furniture manufacturer, numismatist, and patron of culture
Günter Fronius (1907–2015), Austrian entrepreneur
Günter Herlitz (1913–2010), German businessman
Günter Herz (born 1940), German businessman
Günter Mast (1927–2011), German businessman
Gunter Pauli (born 1956), Belgian entrepreneur, economist, and author

Military

Günter Halm (1922–2017), German infantryman
Günter Hessler (1909–1968), German naval officer
Gunter Jahn (1910–1992), German U-boat commander
Günter Kießling (1925–2009), German general
Günther von Kluge (1882–1944), German field marshal during World War II
Günter Kuhnke (1912–1990), German submarine commander
Günther Lütjens (1889–1941), Kriegsmarine admiral
Günter Luther (1922–1997), German admiral
Günther Rall (1918–2009), German Luftwaffe pilot and third-ranking ace in history
Günter Schwartzkopff (1898–1940), German World War II Luftwaffe officer considered the "father of the Stuka" dive bomber
Günter Steinhausen (1917–1942), German aviator
Günther Tamaschke (1896–1959), German Nazi SS concentration camp commandant
Günter Voigt (born 1933), German military scientist and major general
Günter Vollmer (1917–2004), Nazi Germany officer
Günter Weiler (born 1951), German army officer and lieutenant general

Writing

Gunter d'Alquen (1910–1998), German journalist, propagandist, and author
Günter de Bruyn (1926–2020), German author
Günter Herburger (1932–2018), German writer
Günter Kunert (1929–2019), German writer
Günter Ruch (1956–2010), German writer, journalist, politician, and author
Gunter Segers, Belgian children’s book author, non-fiction book author, graphic designer, and illustrator
Gunter Silva Passuni (born 1977), Peruvian writer
Günter Simon (born 1933), German journalist
Günter Wallraff (born 1942), German writer and undercover journalist
Günter Weitling (1935–2024), Danish Lutheran theologian, historian, and author

Other fields

Günter Hermann Ewen (1962–1999), German mass murderer
Günter Hoffmann (disambiguation)
Günter Krüger (disambiguation)
Günter Litfin (1937–1961), German tailor
Günter Lorenz (born 1964/1965), Austrian murderer
Günter Neumann (disambiguation)
Gunter Prus (died 1232), Polish Roman Catholic bishop
Günter Stephan (disambiguation)

Stage names

Günther (singer) (born 1967), stage name of Swedish singer and musician Mats Söderlund
Gunther (wrestler) (born 1987), Austrian professional wrestler, formerly under the ring name WALTER

Fictional characters

Gunther, king of the Burgundians in the Niebelungenlied
General Gunther von Esling, a fictional general in Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Gunter (Adventure Time), a major antagonist in the animated TV series Adventure Time
Gunther, a dinosaur in the animated series Adventure Time episode "Evergreen"
Gunter (Legends of Chima), a character in the animated TV series Legends of Chima
Gunther, the manager of the Central Perk coffee house in NBC sitcom Friends
Gunter, a character in the video game Fire Emblem Fates
Gunther, one of the main characters from the film Sing
Gunther Magnuson, a character in Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil
Günther Bachmann, a character in the film A Most Wanted Man
Gunther Berger, a character in the Luann comic strip
Gunther Breech, a character in the Canadian animated TV show Jane and the Dragon
Bernie Gunther, the protagonist of Philip Kerr's Berlin Noir novels
Welkin Gunther, a character in the video game Valkyria Chronicles
Gunther Hermann, a character in the video game Deus Ex
Gunther Hessenheffer, a character from Disney's TV series Shake It Up
Gunther Thurl, a fictional character in the webcomic Schlock Mercenary
Gunther Toody, a fictional character in the television show Car 54, Where Are You? (and the film based thereon)
Gunther, a disguise used by Count Olaf in A Series of Unfortunate Events