The name Odoacer remains a puzzle for historians, with no single origin story accepted as fact. Some scholars trace the word to Germanic roots meaning luck or wealth combined with awake or vigilant. This interpretation links him to the Old English poem Wulf and Eadwacer where similar sounds appear. Other experts like Robert L. Reynolds and Robert S. Lopez argue the name might be Turkic instead of Germanic. They suggest it could mean grass-born or fire-born from the phrase Ot-toghar. A shorter form Ot-ghar might simply mean herder in that language family.
Debate continues over his father's name Edeco which some call Hunnic while others insist on Germanic origins. His brother Hunulf carries a name generally understood as Hun wolf within Germanic tradition. Yet Reynolds and Lopez point out that the first part hun may refer to the Huns themselves rather than just a generic descriptor. Odoacer's son appears under two names in ancient sources: Thelan and Oklan. These resemble the khagan Tulan who reigned from 587 to 600 A.D. The second name Oklan closely matches the Turkish-Tatar word oghlan meaning youth.
Historians Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen and Walter Pohl criticize using etymology to determine ancestry during this chaotic period. They note that Germanic-speakers used Hunnic names frequently and vice versa after Attila died. The ruling class of Attila's empire continued influencing tribal politics long after its collapse. Jordanes associated Odoacer with Gothic peoples including Sciri Heruli and Rugii who came to the Middle Danube. He also linked him to the Turcilingi whose ethnic affiliations remain unclear but may have been Gothic or Hunnic.
A memorial plate found in Salzburg in 1521 calls him King of Rhutenes though historians dismiss it as legend due to its late date. Eugippius described Odoacer as so tall he had to bend down to pass through doorways. Bruce Macbain argues this physical trait makes it unlikely he was a Hun since ancient sources describe Huns as shorter than Romans. Modern scholars like Penny MacGeorge believe he was half-Scirian and half-Thuringian while Erik Jensen claims his mother was Gothic and father Edeco was a Hun.
Rise Of The Foederati Leader
By 470 AD Odoacer held an officer position within what remained of the Roman Army despite being a barbarian soldier from the Middle Danube. John of Antioch recorded that he fought on Ricimer's side during the battle against Emperor Anthemius in 472. Procopius later described him as one of the Emperor's bodyguards only accepting if placed in charge of them. When Orestes became Magister militum in 475 Odoacer took command of the barbarian foederati military forces of Italy.
These troops consisted mostly of Rugii and Heruli tribesmen quartered in Italy for years who grew weary of their arrangement. They petitioned Orestes for lands and roof-trees but received refusal instead. The soldiers turned to Odoacer to lead their revolt against Orestes who had rebelled and driven Nepos from Italy. Orestes died at Placentia along with his brother Paulus outside Ravenna after the Germanic foederati proclaimed Odoacer rex king on the 23rd of August 476.
Odoacer advanced to Ravenna compelling the young emperor Romulus Augustulus to abdicate on the 4th of September 476. According to the Anonymus Valesianus he spared Romulus's life out of pity for his youth and beauty. He granted the boy a pension of 6,000 solidi before sending him to Campania to live with relatives. This act marked the traditional end of the Western Roman Empire though some historians like J.B. Bury disagree with that interpretation.