The Name Waldensian
There is even disagreement as to the origin of the name, Waldensian. One explanation of the name, which seem reasonable, is found in a recommendatory letter from Samuel Miller, Professor of Ecclesiastical History and Church Goverment in the Theological Seminary at Princeton. The letter was written February 24, 1845 to commend Griffith and Simon Publishers for printing the History of the Ancient Christians by Jean Paul Perrin, written prior to1618. In this letter, Dr. Miller quotes from writings of Robert Robinson, a divine of Cambridge in England, who died in 1795. In his Ecclesiastical Researches he gives this explanation:
From the Latin, "Vallis," come the English, "Valley"; the French and Spanish, "Valle"; the Italian, "Valdesi"; the Low Dutch, "Valleye"; the Provencal, "Vaux," "Vaudais"; the ecclesiastical "Vallenses," "Valdenses," "Ualdenses" and "Waldenses." The words simply signify -valleys- the inhabitants of valley and no more.