German name
Encyclopedia
German names consist of one or several Vornamen (forenames) and a Nachname
(Familienname, family name
). The Vorname is usually gender-specific.
(meaning "of"). The legal rules for these names are the same as those for other Nachnamen, which gives rise to a number of cases where people legally bear such names but are not recognized by the associations of formerly noble families, which continue to apply the old rules of the German Empire in their publications. Most of these cases come about when a woman of noble descent marries a man with no title, and the two adopt the woman's name as their common Nachname, which was impossible under imperial law.
In Austria, titles of nobility have been totally abolished, even particles like von. The use of titles of nobility is punishable there. For example, Otto von Habsburg
, Austria-Hungary
's last crown prince is referred to as Otto Habsburg(-Lothringen) in Austria. In Switzerland, where titles of nobility have been rare for several centuries, they can be used in private conversation, but are not officially recognised.
Traditionally, the wife adopts her husband's Nachname on marriage and drops her own. However, due to the legal equality of sexes, the opposite is possible as well, though rare.
A few examples of the practice under German law, if "Herr Schmidt" and "Frau Meyer" marry:
All children of a family have to receive the same non-hyphenated Nachname at birth, which may be either the mother's or the father's Nachname (traditionally it was the father's). If the parents adopted an Ehename this is the Nachname of the child. It is strictly forbidden to give children Doppelnamen if it is not the Ehename. The latter case can arise with traditional aristocratic Doppelnamen (e.g. Faber-Castell).
If a son bears the same Vorname as his father, he might add a Jun. after his Nachname, and father might put a Sen. The usage of "III" in the case of three people in the same family with the same name does not exist; instead there must be used other means of distinction. Roman numbers are considered reserved for monarch
s and pope
s.
s can be used by artists (Künstlername, "artist's name") and members of religious orders (Ordensname); If a pseudonym is widely known in public it can be added to the passport of that person (under the weaker legal status of Künstlername) and be used instead of the original name in most situations. The same field in the passport also serves to show religious names, i.e. the new name somebody takes on when becoming a monk
or nun
.
and are frequently used in documents and addresses. In Austria, this is substantially different.
They are, however, always used in a written address (e.g., Dr. Meier, Prof. Dr. Müller), and will often be used in formal speech or sometimes by lower-ranked persons such as students, though many academics prefer being addressed just like anyone else, i.e. by Herr or Frau alone (see below).
In Austria the term vulgo (abbr. vlg.) is used instead of genannt.
:
Adding the Doktor (Ph.D.) degree (in Germany) or any other academic degree (in Austria) into one's identity card or passport is not considered a name change.
is spoken (i.e. Bavaria
, Saxony
, the Palatinate or the Saarland
), the order is reversed, e.g. "der Mühlbach Klaus" instead of "Klaus Mühlbach". The definite article is always added in this style of naming. Especially in these regions, it is also the usual administrative way, but with a comma; the said person would appear in documents as "Mühlbach, Klaus" or even, with a title or profession "Mühlbach, Klaus, Dr./OLt/Bäcker".
Except for the South of Germany, usage of the definite article with the name outside of dialect is very common. It is considered familiar language, but not as a mark of rough, rural manners as in French
. It is used especially when talking of and/or with children, but also in some other situations. E.g., "Ich bin der Nils", or even "Ich gab der Eva eine Süßigkeit". Respectively, these sentences mean, "I am [the, masculine] Nils", and "I gave [to the, feminine] Eva a sweet". Once again, such usage varies and is optional, and is often used in clarification or in emphasis.
In Austria, the definite article is always used in informal spoken language, but most of the time not in very formal or written language.
In some dialects (such as those spoken in the Western Palatinate and parts of the Rhineland), the article used with women's and girls' names is not the female, but the neuter article. This is because the German word for "girl", Mädchen, is a neuter noun, due to the diminutive suffix -chen.
At the transition from childhood to adulthood, one might be called in a third form, namely using Sie with the first name. Sie is common for persons over the age of 15. This is how high school teachers may address their pupils from the 10th or 11th form (age 16/17) onwards, and parents might rarely use the same way to address their teenage children's friends if they have not known them since childhood. This usage is considered somewhat highbrow; noted humorist Max Goldt
has remarked that this is the way upper-class parents would address their daughter's boyfriend over the breakfast table. Usage of Sie for family members or even among engaged couples has become extremely rare and considered the pinnacle of stiff, old-fashioned etiquette.
The opposite form, i.e. du with the last name (Berliner Du) is frequently used among retail workers or enlisted men in the military wearing badges with just their title and last name (e.g., Herr Schmidt, Frau Müller), who will address each other in the colloquial way while, for convenience, sticking to the name form on the badge. It is also common among kindergarten
teachers who thus address each other the same way small children, who are yet to learn the Du/Sie distinction, address them. The latter usage is a product of pedagogical reform in the 1960s and 1970s; before, children in kindergarten addressed their teachers as Tante ("aunt") or Onkel ("uncle") and with their first names. Further, in some areas it is common in schools that students call each other by last name, in order to avoid ambiguity (since all students are born at about the same time, naming fashion causes many first names to be non-unique).
The form Fräulein (meaning "Miss") to designate an unmarried woman is not considered politically correct anymore and thus has fallen out of official use. A minority of women, especially elderly unmarried women, may still insist on being addressed in this manner (seeing it as an honorific rather than discrimination), but most consider it to be somewhat offensive.
Similarly, addressing a woman by her husband's first name is largely unknown or at most considered archaic. Laura Bush would not be Mrs. George W. Bush (Frau George W. Bush), but Mrs. Laura Bush. Thus, the wife of Gerhard Schröder
, Doris Schröder-Köpf
, is referred to as Frau Doris Schröder-Köpf, never Frau Gerhard Schröder.
Girls:
Boys:
Most popular names between 1957 and 2006 for girls:
Andrea,
Angelika,
Anja,
Anke,
Anna, Anne,
Annett,
Antje,
Barbara,
Birgit,
Brigitte,
Christin,
Christina, Christine,
Claudia,
Daniela,
Diana,
Doreen,
Franziska,
Gabriele,
Heike,
Ines,
Jana,
Janina,
Jennifer,
Jessica, Jessika,
Julia,
Juliane,
Karin,
Karolin,
Katharina,
Kathrin, Katrin,
Katja,
Kerstin,
Klaudia,
Kristin,
Laura,
Lea,
Lena,
Lisa,
Mandy,
Manuela,
Maria,
Marie,
Marina,
Martina,
Melanie,
Monika,
Nadine,
Nicole,
Petra,
Sabine,
Sabrina,
Sandra,
Sara, Sarah,
Silke,
Simone,
Sophia, Sophie,
Stefanie, Stephanie,
Susanne,
Tanja,
Ulrike,
Ursula,
Uta, Ute,
Vanessa,
Yvonne.
Most popular names between 1957 and 2006 for boys:
Alexander,
Andreas,
Benjamin,
Bernd,
Christian,
Daniel,
David,
Dennis,
Dieter,
Dirk,
Dominik,
Eric, Erik,
Felix,
Florian,
Frank,
Franz,
Jan,
Jens,
Jonas,
Jörg,
Jürgen,
Karl-Heinz,
Kevin,
Klaus,
Kristian,
Leon,
Lukas,
Marcel,
Marco, Marko,
Mario,
Markus,
Martin,
Mathias, Matthias,
Max,
Maximilian,
Michael,
Mike, Maik,
Niklas,
Patrick,
Paul,
Peter,
Philipp, Phillipp,
Ralf, Ralph,
René,
Robert,
Sebastian,
Stefan, Stephan,
Steffen,
Sven, Swen,
Thomas,
Thorsten, Torsten,
Tim,
Tobias,
Tom,
Ulrich,
Uwe,
Wilhelm,
Wolfgang
Most popular names for girls in 1900:
Most popular names for boys in 1900:
Most popular names for boys in 1616 in Darmstadt
(Hesse
):
Most popular names for males between 1600 and 1900 in Württemberg
:
Most popular names for females between 1600 and 1900 in Württemberg
:
, means girl in German and is therefore not used as a given name. Lorelei
is a mythological creature.
German family name etymology
German family names were introduced during the late Middle Ages in the German language area. Usually, such family names are derived from nicknames. In etymology, they are generally classified into four groups, based on the origin of a nickname: given names, job designations, bodily attributes, and...
(Familienname, family name
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
). The Vorname is usually gender-specific.
Forenames
The Vorname (forename, lit. "pre-name") is given to a child by the parents shortly after birth but not in all cases. It is not uncommon to give a child several Vornamen. Usually, one of them is meant to be normally used and called the Rufname (call name). This is often underlined on official documents, as it is sometimes the second or third name in a list, even though it is the person's main name.Surnames
Most surnames or family names (Nachnamen) consist of only one word. Titles of former aristocrats (like Graf for "Count") have become parts of the Nachname in Germany, giving longer names of several words, usually including a vonVon
In German, von is a preposition which approximately means of or from.When it is used as a part of a German family name, it is usually a nobiliary particle, like the French, Spanish and Portuguese "de". At certain times and places, it has been illegal for anyone who was not a member of the nobility...
(meaning "of"). The legal rules for these names are the same as those for other Nachnamen, which gives rise to a number of cases where people legally bear such names but are not recognized by the associations of formerly noble families, which continue to apply the old rules of the German Empire in their publications. Most of these cases come about when a woman of noble descent marries a man with no title, and the two adopt the woman's name as their common Nachname, which was impossible under imperial law.
In Austria, titles of nobility have been totally abolished, even particles like von. The use of titles of nobility is punishable there. For example, Otto von Habsburg
Otto von Habsburg
Otto von Habsburg , also known by his royal name as Archduke Otto of Austria, was the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary from 1916 until the dissolution of the empire in 1918, a realm which comprised modern-day Austria, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia,...
, Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
's last crown prince is referred to as Otto Habsburg(-Lothringen) in Austria. In Switzerland, where titles of nobility have been rare for several centuries, they can be used in private conversation, but are not officially recognised.
Traditionally, the wife adopts her husband's Nachname on marriage and drops her own. However, due to the legal equality of sexes, the opposite is possible as well, though rare.
A few examples of the practice under German law, if "Herr Schmidt" and "Frau Meyer" marry:
- They can keep their former Nachnamen. (Herr Schmidt and Frau Meyer). In the 1990s, the law was thusly changed. They can later change to variant 2, though the inverse is not possible.
- They can declare one name as a "marriage name" (Ehename). In doing so, they can either both adopt the husband's name, or both adopt the wife's name as an Ehename. (Herr Meyer and Frau Meyer; Herr Schmidt and Frau Schmidt)
- There is the possibility that one partner can combine both names by a hyphen. Thus, one of them then bears a double name (Doppelname). (Herr Schmidt and Frau Meyer-Schmidt (or Frau Schmidt-Meyer); the children have to be called Schmidt). Only one partner can take this option, making it impossible for both partners to have Doppelnamen (So no Herr Meyer-Schmidt and Frau Meyer-Schmidt)
All children of a family have to receive the same non-hyphenated Nachname at birth, which may be either the mother's or the father's Nachname (traditionally it was the father's). If the parents adopted an Ehename this is the Nachname of the child. It is strictly forbidden to give children Doppelnamen if it is not the Ehename. The latter case can arise with traditional aristocratic Doppelnamen (e.g. Faber-Castell).
If a son bears the same Vorname as his father, he might add a Jun. after his Nachname, and father might put a Sen. The usage of "III" in the case of three people in the same family with the same name does not exist; instead there must be used other means of distinction. Roman numbers are considered reserved for monarch
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
s and pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
s.
Pseudonyms
PseudonymPseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s can be used by artists (Künstlername, "artist's name") and members of religious orders (Ordensname); If a pseudonym is widely known in public it can be added to the passport of that person (under the weaker legal status of Künstlername) and be used instead of the original name in most situations. The same field in the passport also serves to show religious names, i.e. the new name somebody takes on when becoming a monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
or nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
.
Academic degrees and titles
The academic degree of Doktor (Dr.) and the academic title of Professor (Prof.) are not part of the name in Germany but can be entered into an identity card or passportPassport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
and are frequently used in documents and addresses. In Austria, this is substantially different.
They are, however, always used in a written address (e.g., Dr. Meier, Prof. Dr. Müller), and will often be used in formal speech or sometimes by lower-ranked persons such as students, though many academics prefer being addressed just like anyone else, i.e. by Herr or Frau alone (see below).
Estate names
In rural areas it is common that farmers are known by the traditional name of their farm or estate (which often has been kept the same over centuries) rather than their Nachname. Although the Hofname is not an official name, people know it rather than the Nachname. In cases where Nachname and Hofname are not identical (usually because there was no male heir at some point in the family history) they are joined in official documents by genannt (abbr. gen.), e.g. Amann gen. Behmann.In Austria the term vulgo (abbr. vlg.) is used instead of genannt.
Name changes
There are only four circumstances in which one is allowed to change one's nameName change
Name change generally refers to a legal act allowing a person to adopt a name different than their name at birth, marriage, or adoption. The procedures and ease of a name change depend on the jurisdiction. In general, common law jurisdictions have loose limitations on name changes while civil law...
:
- On marriage: the couple can choose the name of either partner, they can both keep their original names, or (provided the original family name of neither partner contains a hyphen), one partner can modify its own name, appending the partners family name to its own creating a hyphenated name ("Mr. Schmid and Ms. Meier-Schmid" or "Mr. Schmid-Meier and Ms. Meier").
- Correction of a name: if the state has made an error with the name and this can be proven, the original name can be restored. Example: "Maſs" became "Mahs" and is corrected to "Mass".
- Gender reassignment in case of transsexualsTranssexualismTranssexualism is an individual's identification with a gender inconsistent or not culturally associated with their biological sex. Simply put, it defines a person whose biological birth sex conflicts with their psychological gender...
. - Naturalisation of a foreigner in Germany (Art. 47 EGBGB). In this case, the person may choose to adopt German forms of his first and last name, or a new first name if the old first name cannot be translated into German.
Adding the Doktor (Ph.D.) degree (in Germany) or any other academic degree (in Austria) into one's identity card or passport is not considered a name change.
Order of names and use of articles
The Nachname is put after the Vorname. In the rural use of several regions where heavy dialectGerman dialects
German dialect is dominated by the geographical spread of the High German consonant shift, and the dialect continuum that connects the German with the Dutch language.-German dialects in relation to varieties of standard German:...
is spoken (i.e. Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, the Palatinate or the Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
), the order is reversed, e.g. "der Mühlbach Klaus" instead of "Klaus Mühlbach". The definite article is always added in this style of naming. Especially in these regions, it is also the usual administrative way, but with a comma; the said person would appear in documents as "Mühlbach, Klaus" or even, with a title or profession "Mühlbach, Klaus, Dr./OLt/Bäcker".
Except for the South of Germany, usage of the definite article with the name outside of dialect is very common. It is considered familiar language, but not as a mark of rough, rural manners as in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. It is used especially when talking of and/or with children, but also in some other situations. E.g., "Ich bin der Nils", or even "Ich gab der Eva eine Süßigkeit". Respectively, these sentences mean, "I am [the, masculine] Nils", and "I gave [to the, feminine] Eva a sweet". Once again, such usage varies and is optional, and is often used in clarification or in emphasis.
In Austria, the definite article is always used in informal spoken language, but most of the time not in very formal or written language.
In some dialects (such as those spoken in the Western Palatinate and parts of the Rhineland), the article used with women's and girls' names is not the female, but the neuter article. This is because the German word for "girl", Mädchen, is a neuter noun, due to the diminutive suffix -chen.
Addressing people
German is a language with T–V distinction. It is common that people who are informally addressed with du (friends, relatives, children) are also called by their first name, while people who are formally addressed with Sie are called by their last name, with Herr or Frau ("Mr." and "Mrs.") put in front.At the transition from childhood to adulthood, one might be called in a third form, namely using Sie with the first name. Sie is common for persons over the age of 15. This is how high school teachers may address their pupils from the 10th or 11th form (age 16/17) onwards, and parents might rarely use the same way to address their teenage children's friends if they have not known them since childhood. This usage is considered somewhat highbrow; noted humorist Max Goldt
Max Goldt
Max Goldt is a German satirical author and musician.Some hallmarks of Goldt's style are: a fresh ironic perspective on familiar aspects of everyday life; frequent, seemingly tangential changes of topic, triggered by unexpected associations; creative use of language, often combined with a...
has remarked that this is the way upper-class parents would address their daughter's boyfriend over the breakfast table. Usage of Sie for family members or even among engaged couples has become extremely rare and considered the pinnacle of stiff, old-fashioned etiquette.
The opposite form, i.e. du with the last name (Berliner Du) is frequently used among retail workers or enlisted men in the military wearing badges with just their title and last name (e.g., Herr Schmidt, Frau Müller), who will address each other in the colloquial way while, for convenience, sticking to the name form on the badge. It is also common among kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
teachers who thus address each other the same way small children, who are yet to learn the Du/Sie distinction, address them. The latter usage is a product of pedagogical reform in the 1960s and 1970s; before, children in kindergarten addressed their teachers as Tante ("aunt") or Onkel ("uncle") and with their first names. Further, in some areas it is common in schools that students call each other by last name, in order to avoid ambiguity (since all students are born at about the same time, naming fashion causes many first names to be non-unique).
The form Fräulein (meaning "Miss") to designate an unmarried woman is not considered politically correct anymore and thus has fallen out of official use. A minority of women, especially elderly unmarried women, may still insist on being addressed in this manner (seeing it as an honorific rather than discrimination), but most consider it to be somewhat offensive.
Similarly, addressing a woman by her husband's first name is largely unknown or at most considered archaic. Laura Bush would not be Mrs. George W. Bush (Frau George W. Bush), but Mrs. Laura Bush. Thus, the wife of Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder is a German politician, and was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany , he led a coalition government of the SPD and the Greens. Before becoming a full-time politician, he was a lawyer, and before becoming Chancellor...
, Doris Schröder-Köpf
Doris Schröder-Köpf
Doris Schröder-Köpf is a German journalist and the fourth wife of the former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Magazines she has worked for include Bild and Focus.-References:...
, is referred to as Frau Doris Schröder-Köpf, never Frau Gerhard Schröder.
The ten most common family names
- MüllerMüllerThe German word Müller means "miller" . It is the most common family surname in Germany and Switzerland and the fifth most common surname in Austria . Other forms are "Miller" and "Möller"...
(Miller) - SchmidtSchmidtSchmidt may refer to:* Schmidt , including list of people with the surname* Schmidt * Schmidt , a crater on Mars* Schmidt , in Kamchatka...
, Schmitt, Schmitz (Smith) - SchneiderSchneiderSchneider is a surname, common in Germany, it may also refer to:Companies and organizations* G. Schneider & Sohn, Bavarian brewery company* Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG, former owner of the Dual brand record players...
(Tailor) - FischerFischer- Origin and meaning :The German language name is derived from the profession of the fisherman. The name Fischer is the fourth most common German surname.- Variants:* Fisher * Fischler* Vischer* Fischers* Fischl* Fischel* Fischle)...
(Fisher) - MeyerMeyer- Companies :* Meyer Corporation* Fred Meyer, Inc., American hypermarket chain; currently a subsidiary of Kroger* Meyer Sound Laboratories- Places :* Meyer Township, Michigan* Meyer, Illinois, unincorporated community in Adams County, Illinois, USA...
, Meier, Meir, Meyr, Mayer, Maier, Mair, Mayr (Dairy farmer) - WeberWeberWeber is a surname of German origin, derived from the noun meaning "weaver". In some cases, following migration to English-speaking countries, it has been anglicised to the English surname 'Webber' or even 'Weaver'.Notable people with the surname include:...
(Weaver, Webster) - Wagner (Carter/Cartwright, Wagoner/Waggoner)
- BeckerBeckerBecker is one of the German-language surnames, along with Bäcker and Baecker, that derive from the root, which refers to baking. The surname began as a name for a baker .Becker may refer to:-People:...
, Bäcker (Baker) - SchulzSchulzSchulz is a common German family name in Northern Germany. It is roughly equivalent to the English family name Constable; the German word Schulz originates from the local official known as Dorf-Schulz, a local law enforcement officer like a police officer or magistrate...
, Schulze, Schultze, Schulte (Constable/Mayor) - Hoffmann (Man of the yard, court)
The ten most common given names from 1600 to 2006
These are the names most frequently given to babies in 2006.Girls:
- Marie
- Sophie/Sofie
- Maria
- Anna, Anne
- Leonie
- Lena
- Emily
- Johanna
- Laura
- Lea/Leah
Boys:
- Leon
- Maximilian
- Alexander
- Lukas/Lucas
- Paul
- Luca
- Tim
- Felix
- David
- Elias
Most popular names between 1957 and 2006 for girls:
Andrea,
Angelika,
Anja,
Anke,
Anna, Anne,
Annett,
Antje,
Barbara,
Birgit,
Brigitte,
Christin,
Christina, Christine,
Claudia,
Daniela,
Diana,
Doreen,
Franziska,
Gabriele,
Heike,
Ines,
Jana,
Janina,
Jennifer,
Jessica, Jessika,
Julia,
Juliane,
Karin,
Karolin,
Katharina,
Kathrin, Katrin,
Katja,
Kerstin,
Klaudia,
Kristin,
Laura,
Lea,
Lena,
Lisa,
Mandy,
Manuela,
Maria,
Marie,
Marina,
Martina,
Melanie,
Monika,
Nadine,
Nicole,
Petra,
Sabine,
Sabrina,
Sandra,
Sara, Sarah,
Silke,
Simone,
Sophia, Sophie,
Stefanie, Stephanie,
Susanne,
Tanja,
Ulrike,
Ursula,
Uta, Ute,
Vanessa,
Yvonne.
Most popular names between 1957 and 2006 for boys:
Alexander,
Andreas,
Benjamin,
Bernd,
Christian,
Daniel,
David,
Dennis,
Dieter,
Dirk,
Dominik,
Eric, Erik,
Felix,
Florian,
Frank,
Franz,
Jan,
Jens,
Jonas,
Jörg,
Jürgen,
Karl-Heinz,
Kevin,
Klaus,
Kristian,
Leon,
Lukas,
Marcel,
Marco, Marko,
Mario,
Markus,
Martin,
Mathias, Matthias,
Max,
Maximilian,
Michael,
Mike, Maik,
Niklas,
Patrick,
Paul,
Peter,
Philipp, Phillipp,
Ralf, Ralph,
René,
Robert,
Sebastian,
Stefan, Stephan,
Steffen,
Sven, Swen,
Thomas,
Thorsten, Torsten,
Tim,
Tobias,
Tom,
Ulrich,
Uwe,
Wilhelm,
Wolfgang
Most popular names for girls in 1900:
- Frieda
- Anna
- Martha
- Erna
- Gertrud
- Emma
- Elisabeth
- Margarete / Margarethe
- Marie
- Else
Most popular names for boys in 1900:
- Walter
- Karl
- Heinrich
- Wilhelm
- Hans
- Ernst
- Otto
- Paul
- Friedrich
- Hermann
Most popular names for boys in 1616 in Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
(Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
):
- Johann, Johannes
- Hans
- Georg
- Henrich, Heinrich
- Caspar
- Balthasar
- Conrad
- Melchior
- Jost
- Adam
Most popular names for males between 1600 and 1900 in Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
:
- Johann, Johannes, Hans
- Georg, Jörg, Jerg
- Jakob/Jacob
- Michael/Michel
- Martin
- Friedrich
- Christoph
- Ludwig
- Konrad
- Andreas
Most popular names for females between 1600 and 1900 in Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
:
- Anna
- Maria/e
- Katharina/Catharina
- Barbara
- Christina/Christine
- Margarethe/a
- Elisabeth/Elisabetha
- Rosina
- Magdalena
- Agnes
German names in English-speaking countries
Names like Gretchen, Grettel or Lorelei, which are used in English-speaking countries, especially the US, and are qualified as German, are not used in German-speaking countries. Gretchen and Gretel are short forms for Margarete. "Mädchen", like the actress Mädchen AmickMädchen Amick
Mädchen Amick is an American actress best known for playing Shelly Johnson on the cult television series Twin Peaks and its 1992 prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.-Early life:...
, means girl in German and is therefore not used as a given name. Lorelei
Lorelei
The Lorelei is a rock on the eastern bank of the Rhine near St. Goarshausen, Germany, which soars some 120 metres above the waterline. It marks the narrowest part of the river between Switzerland and the North Sea. A very strong current and rocks below the waterline have caused many boat...
is a mythological creature.
External links
- German names
- Onomastik: Names and Name meanings The site has information on the etymology of German family names as well as a community section, where questions about names origins are discussed
- The Information Universe