Editing Odoacer (section)

===Name etymology===
The origin of the name Odoacer, which may give indications as to his tribal affiliation, is debated. It is however traditionally derived from the Germanic components *''auda'' (luck, possession, wealth) and *''wakra'' (awake, vigilant, lively). It is not clear from which branch of the [[Germanic languages|Germanic language family]] it is derived.{{sfn|Reichert|2002}} In favour of this etymology, this form has a cognate in another Germanic language, the titular ''Eadwacer'' of the [[Old English]] poem ''[[Wulf and Eadwacer]]'' (where Old English renders the earlier Germanic sound ''au-'' as ''ea-'').{{sfn|Voyles|1992|p=141}}

However, historians [[Robert L. Reynolds]] and [[Robert S. Lopez]] explored the possibility that the name Odoacer was not Germanic, making several arguments that his ethnic background might lie elsewhere. One of these is that his name, "Odoacer", for which they claimed an etymology in Germanic languages had not been convincingly found, arguing instead that it could be a form of the [[Turkic languages|Turkic]] "Ot-toghar" ("grass-born" or "fire-born"), or the shorter form "Ot-ghar" ("herder").{{sfn|Reynolds|Lopez|1946|p=45}} There is also debate regarding the etymology of Edeco, the apparent name of Odoacer's father. [[Omeljan Pritsak]] considered it Turkic;{{sfn|Pritsak|1982|pp=456-457}} others such as [[Peter Heather]] continue to consider it Germanic.{{sfn|Heather|2005|p=329}}

The name of Odoacer's apparent brother, Hunulf or Onulf, is generally accepted to be Germanic "Hun wolf".{{sfn|Castritius|2005}} Reynolds and Lopez emphasized that the first part, "hun", although the meaning is uncertain, may refer to the Huns.{{sfn|Reynolds|Lopez|1946|p=49}} Odoacer's son is given two different names in ancient sources, Thelan and Oklan. Reynolds and Lopez compare these to Turkic names: "Thelan resembles the name borne by the khagan of the eastern Turks, Tulan, who reigned from 587 to 600 A.D. Oklan resembles closely the Turkish-Tatar word oghlan, 'youth' ".{{sfn|Reynolds|Lopez|1946|p=49}}

The assumption that the etymology of Odoacer's name can be used to determine his ancestry or language has been criticized by historians and philologists such as [[Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen]] and [[Walter Pohl]], who have pointed out that Germanic-speakers used Hunnic names in this period and region, and vice versa.{{sfn|Macbain|1983|p=324}} As emphasized by Pohl, the same person could be considered Hunnic or Germanic under different circumstances, especially during the upheavals after Attila's death, and "the ruling class of Attila's empire continued to influence tribal politics even after its collapse".{{sfn|Pohl|1986}}