Rare German names for girls. German male and female surnames: a list of beautiful and famous ones with translation

Due to their sonority and beauty, German family nicknames are very popular among the people of many countries. Each of the proper names is unique and has a specific origin. Anyone who wants to join the culture of the peoples of Germany will be able to choose a nickname to their liking, whether it sounds beautiful or has a sacred meaning.

German names and surnames

The history of the appearance of German names and surnames begins in ancient times. Personal names were intended to carry not only beautiful combination, but also magical meaning, which endowed the owner with certain character qualities. The family nicknames of the Germans had a slightly different character of formation. They began to emerge from the meanings of nicknames, which reflected:

• already existing bright qualities of a person (Braun - brown, Schwarz - black, Klein - small);
• the area where he lived (von Berne, von der Vogelweide);
• the profession of the owner or his type of activity (Becker - baker, Koch - cook, Bauer - peasant);
• many were formed from personal names (Peters, Walter).

Gradually, peculiar nicknames began to be written down in official documents and acquired the meaning of the first German surnames, which were adopted by all the descendants of the people who bore them. Business papers began to distribute them widely. In many modern families In Germany, it is customary to address servants simply by name, without using addresses that are familiar to this European country and have a respectful meaning:

• Herr – for men;
• Frau – for women.

The prefix "von" in German surnames

Many Germanic surnames have the prefix “von” at the beginning. It was very honorable to have one, since it was assigned exclusively to people of noble blood - aristocrats. In ancient times, only feudal lords - people who owned servants and land plots - could have such a registration. Today, the prefix “von” in German surnames can be found among people of any kind of activity, since all noble privileges have been abolished.

German surnames for girls

Having sonorous names girls can assign themselves a second foreign origin. To respectfully address women in Germany, the word “Frau” is used, which means “mistress”. Beautiful German female surnames for girls:

• Kaufman - merchant;
• Becker - baker;
• Riger – from Riga;
• Klee – clover;
• Hertz - courage;
• Reuss - on behalf of;
• Schultz – headman;
• Mayer – farmer, burgomaster;
• Till is a strong ruler;
• Junghans - on behalf of the family.

German male surnames

Noble and majestic meaning should be worn male surnames. Representatives of the stronger sex can choose them based on translation from German, in accordance with their profession or appearance. To emphasize significance, the word “Herr” should be used when addressing. List of popular beautiful male German proper names with their meaning:

• Fisher - fisherman;
• Schmidt – blacksmith;
• Becker - baker;
• Koch is a cook;
• Richter – judge;
• Brown - brown;
• Lange – big;
• Klein – small;
• Schroeder - tailor;
• Koehler - coal miner;
• Kening is the king;
• Krause – curly;
• Lehmann is a landowner.

Popular German surnames

Common German surnames are often used as nicknames. They are beautiful, noble, sonorous. Many people have such family nicknames. famous people. List of popular beautiful Germanic proper names with meanings:

• Muller - miller;
• Mayer - land manager;
• Weber - weaver;
• Wagner - carriage maker;
• Schultz – headman;
• Hoffmann - courtier;
• Schaefer - shepherd;
• Bauer is a peasant;
• Wolf - wolf;
• Neumann is a new man;
• Zimmerman – carpenter;
• Kruger is a potter;
• Schwartz – black;
• Hartmann - from a male personal name.

There are other beautiful nicknames:

• Walter;
• Berg;
• Borman;
• Bremer;
• Brunner;
• Ganz;
• Gruber;
• Geller;
• Seiler;
• Simmel;
• Singer;
• Keller;
• Kramer;
• Liebknecht;
• Leitner;
• Merkel;
• Meyer;
• Moritz;
• Neller;
• Osterman;
• Pearl;
• Preuss;
• Riedel;
• Rogge;
• Rothman;
• Frieze;
• Fuchs;
• Hoffman;
• Zuckerman;
• Schwartz;
• Schiller;
• Schmidt;
• Schneider;
• Shredder;
• Matte;
• Ebel.

Personal names and surnames are an integral part of the culture of any people, capable of revealing their character, reflecting beliefs, way of life, value and aesthetic guidelines. The world of individual names and surnames is a world of meanings and meanings that require their decoding. Behind every name there is a mystery and riddle. Sonorous German female names carry echoes of German myths and ballads. You can hear the clanking of medieval lists in them, and the images of beautiful ladies and warlike Valkyries standing behind them influence the fate of their bearers. But is it?

German woman with national flag

German traditions in naming children

In Germany, children are given several names at birth. Their number can reach up to ten. With the onset of adulthood, everyone decides whether to choose only one name or leave all. First names can also be used as surnames.

The formation of compound personal names is very long tradition, associated with the ancient German naming system that dominated in Western Europe up to the 10th century. Most often, the name consisted of two lexemes and acquired a comprehensive meaning. For male names, popular lexemes were used with the meaning “friendship”, “protection”, “struggle”, “war”, “strength”, “god”, “might”, “power”, “glory” and the like. Interestingly, many of them were also used in women's names. But, of course, basically the meanings of female names gravitated towards other meanings: “ancestress”, “fertile”, “friendly”, “portly”, “attractive”, “healthy”, “generous”, etc. From “cubes” lexemes formed personal names, unique and inimitable, having sacred meaning And magical power. At the same time, one of the lexemes of the child’s name was very often a lexeme from the name of the parents or more distant ancestors.

From the end of the 10th century, naming traditions began to change. Titled nobles strive to justify their claims to complete power, including by choosing special names passed on from generation to generation. The prestige of aristocratic names made them popular among the broad masses. This led to a peculiar fashion and the spread of identical names.

TO XIII century The most common names for girls in Germany were: Ava, Greta, Adalisa (Adela, Lisa), Gertrude, Verta, Matilda, Heila.

Based on their origin, German female names can be divided into two groups. The first includes the names of ancient German origin. These are names such as Gertrude, Gerda, Carla, Emma and others. The second group is foreign-language names borrowed from Christianity - Katrina, Maria, Hannah, Margarita, etc. According to German law, girls cannot be given fictitious and place names, but it is allowed to use abbreviated versions (Inga, Lena, Mia), fusion of two names: Marlene = Maria + Marlena, Annamaria = Anna + Maria and others.

German names for girls

Of course, it is impossible to list all German female names. Not everyone likes the German language. Many consider it rude and too militant, but there are still female names of German origin, the sound of which is melodic to the ear and favorable in meaning. Many of them are perfect for modern girls. Let's focus on the most popular and beautiful ones.

List of popular German girl names and their meanings

• Mia – short for Maria;
• – means bitter, serene, desired;
• Hannah (Anna) – the mercy of God, brave;
• Emma – precious, universal;
• – wise;
• Leonie is a lioness;
• Joanna - merciful;
• - short for Helena, torch, torch;
• Ursula - bear;
• Katrina – pure;
• Helga – sacred, holy;
• – reborn, born again;
• – Sabine;
• Ingrid – beautiful, fertile;
• Monica is the only one;
• Petra - stone;
• Susanna – water lily;
• Brigid – strong;
• Erica – powerful, ruler;
• – Christian;
• Stephanie – crowned;
• Gertrude – spear+beloved;
• Elizabeth - my God - oath;
• Angelica – angelic;
• Gabriela - God's warrior;
• Ilsa is short for Elizabeth;
• Nicole is the conqueror of nations.

The first eight names are the most popular female names in Germany and Austria over the past ten years. The rest are the most common in 1890-2002. Some names, such as Hannah and Emma, ​​lost popularity during the 20th century, but have regained it in the 21st century.

German female names Hannah and Emma - rebirth

The name Hannah is of Hebrew origin and means “mercy of God,” “grace.” In Christianity, it is one of the most common and is associated with such biblical characters as Anna, the mother of the Virgin Mary, the mother of the prophet Samuel and others. The most famous German women with the name Hannah:

• Hannah Arendt - philosopher;
• Hanna Reich – pilot;
• Hannah Hech – artist;
• Hanna Schygulla is an actress.

The name Emma comes from an ancient Germanic name meaning "huge, all-encompassing." The meaning of the name determined Emma’s occupations - most often they are actresses, writers, and singers. It has become widespread throughout Europe, and now the triumphant “return” of this name to its historical homeland is being celebrated.

Germany does not keep official statistics on given names; this is done for it by the German scientist-enthusiast Knud Bielefeld, who regularly identifies the most common German baby names.

In 2012, he was able to analyze 165,979 birth certificates from all over Germany, which represents about 25 percent of all births in 2012. Its rating is based on 430 publications various sources, including data from maternity hospitals, clinics and registry offices. We talk about the top three: the most popular female and male names in Germany in 2012 and present the TOP 25 names with their spelling in German and Russian.

The most popular German female names

Mia- a shortened form of the biblical name Mary. The name Mia was not popular until the 90s, but since 2007 the name Mia has entered the top 10 most common names among babies. Since 2009, Mia has been the most popular female name in Germany. The name "Mia" is from a popular German pop-rock band.

Very often girls were called Emma at the end of the 19th century. During the 20th century the name Emma has lost popularity. The return of the name began at the beginning of the 2000s, and over the past 10 years Emma has been in the top 10 most common German names.

German name Hannah used in two variants - as Hannah and Hanna, with 59% of modern Hannahs having an “h” at the end of the name. Since 1979, this name has been gaining popularity, and for the last 15 years it has been liked by most German parents. The result is logical - in schools Hannah is the most common name.

The most popular German male names

Ben– German borrowed from English male name. Even though the name Ben is a short form of Benjamin, Germans do not use full form, believing that it is quite normal to write the name Ben on the child’s birth certificate. Moreover, many parents give their child a middle name, for example Ben Luca, or Ben Louis. Since 2001, the popularity of the name Ben has not fallen below the top 30.

Luke– the popularity of the name was set by Susan Viga, whose song of the same name entered the charts around the world in 1987. Since then, Luca has been on the rise in the list of preferences of German parents. The name Luke in Germany has long overtaken America in popularity. Luke is the name of the unisex generation: assigned to both girls and boys. The male name Luca comes from the Italian form of Lucas. Feminine - to the Catholic Lutz, or Lucia. According to German law, the child does not have to be given a middle name in this case: the overwhelming number of children with the name Luke are boys.

German name Paul was at the peak of its popularity in late XIX- beginning of the 20th century. The fashion for names was changing, the male name Paul was forgotten, only to begin to gain popularity again, following England, in the late seventies, and enter the top 30 most popular male German names in early XIX century. The meaning of the name Paul is “small”. The name takes its roots from the ancient Roman Paulus.

The most popular German names in Germany among babies based on the results of 2012:

The cultural traditions of each country are unique. Historical way of adding names into different parts world is approximately the same: noble nobles and tribal leaders in distant Africa chose the name of a newborn by combining it from two words.

For men, words were chosen that were associated with the traits that parents would like to endow their child with: strength, courage, power, struggle, warrior.

For girls, names were made up of words characterizing the feminine principle: ancestor, mother, kind, beautiful, fertile. Different dialects gave rise to different sounds.

Today they are not made up of words; people use existing ones. German traditions It is prescribed to give a child several names at birth.

This deprives parents of a situation where they cannot make a choice, argue, swear, and pull out notes. The baby has a choice: when he becomes an adult, he decides which one to keep.

Top 20 most beautiful female German names and their meaning:

Today it is popular to choose foreign names for your children. For parents, this is a way to highlight their baby.

Growing up in Soviet time Moms and dads remember that it was not accepted to be different.

Everyone dressed roughly the same and had similar hairstyles. In each class there were four Natashas, ​​three Sashas, ​​two Seryozhas, and at least two Nadezhdas.

Times have changed, people have become more free. Today on the street you won’t meet people dressed alike. It would be a real tragedy for a lady if a woman wearing similar clothes was present at the party.

Fed up with monotony, people try to become different, to reveal their individuality to the world. This is also expressed in the choice of names for children.

Talking about famous personalities: actresses, politicians, a few of them are worth mentioning. Many will be familiar to you.

Germany has great cultural heritage, there's a lot there beautiful women who left their mark on history:

Interesting fact! In Germany there is a certified list of names that are allowed for use. If parents want to name the baby differently, they must go through an approval procedure.

You cannot call children in a cacophonous or obscene manner. This is stated in the law. It is prohibited to use numbers, letters, or combinations of words.

A similar law exists in our country.

Vintage German names for girls

The trend of naming children after ancestors who lived a century ago is gaining momentum. In Russia, young Yesenias, Agafyas, Theclas and Seraphims are becoming more and more common.

In Germany they also honor cultural traditions, and often use old, long-forgotten names to give them a second life in modern world. Everything new is well forgotten old.

List of ancient female German names:

• Emma.
• Ursula.
• Renata.
• Angelica.
• Stephanie.
• Petra.
• Elizabeth.
• Joanna.
• Sophie.
• Ilsa.
• Brunhild.
• Brigid.
• Rosemary.
• Francis.

Some of them are rooted in the country's past, others are borrowed, but became popular in Germany in the last century. Borrowing exists in every country.

Considering that German and English languages have similar features, it is difficult to establish their identity for certain.

Important! Several factors influence popularity:

• Famous people, politicians, leaders, popular favorites.
• The beauty of sound.
• Symbolism.

Interesting fact! In Russia, the name Vladimir has regained its former popularity, because the people love and are proud of the leader of the state.

The question of whether life has become good in Rus' under his rule is controversial; there are many opinions, they vary.

It is undeniable that this man was firmly established in world history, showed himself to be the leader of an entire nation.

Children are being named after him more often - statistics show this. But there are fewer jokes about Vovochka.

There are often people who name their children after their favorite actors, heroes of films and TV series:

• Sherlock - in honor of the famous Sherlock Holmes.
• Danila - gained popularity in Russia after the release of the films “Brother” and “Brother-2”.
• Merlin - in the West, many girls were named after the famous Marilyn Monroe.
• Milana, Millie - the popularity of the series "Wild Angel" made me want to name my daughter after main character. There are many derivatives from it: Milana, Milania, Mila.
• Alice - rock fans invariably name their daughters after popular group our time.

Important! When deciding what to name your child, you should not base it only on sound.

There are heavy names that endow the owners with corresponding qualities:

• Having named their daughter Ada, the parents do not know peace, since the girl behaves like a true little devil until she comes of age.
• Olga is a very strong sound, endowing the owner with difficult character traits.
• Veles is beautiful and unusual. If you don't know that that was the name of God. Calling a child that way is like calling him Jesus.

  This is a burden placed on the child from childhood. WITH psychological point From a perspective this is not the best solution.

When making your choice, research the history, origin and meaning. It doesn’t matter what nationality it belongs to, the meaning is important. It is advisable to take into account the beauty of the sound.

Remember Golden Rule: whatever you call the boat, that’s how it will float.

Useful video

The meaning and origin of male and female German names and surnames. Ancient and modern German names. Interesting Facts about German names.

4.08.2016 / 14:19 | Varvara Pokrovskaya

You have acquaintances, friends, business partners from Germany and you want to know more about their names and surnames. Then this article will probably be useful to you.

Features of German names

German names formed in several stages under the influence of political, historical, cultural processes. Based on their origin, they can be divided into three groups:

• ancient Germanic names

They were formed back in the 7th–4th centuries. BC e. Closely associated with magic, mythology, totemic, military symbols and were intended to influence future fate and the character of a person. Some of them have Scandinavian origin. Consist of two parts. In modern use there are no more than several hundred of them. The rest are long outdated.

• Latin, Greek, Hebrew (Biblical) names

They are still widespread today due to their versatility. They are familiar to representatives of any country and go well with surnames. They are used both in their original form and with some phonetic changes characteristic of the German language. For example: Victor, Katharina (Ekaterina), Nicholas (Nikolai), Alexander, Johann (Ivan), Joseph (Joseph), etc.

• foreign names used in abbreviated form

Fashion for them appeared in the middle of the last century. At first they were French - Marie, Annette, Catherine. Later they were joined by Russians (Sasha, Natasha, Vera, Vadim) and Arabic/Turkic variants Jem (Jamil), Abu (Abdullah) and others.

The meanings of some ancient Germanic names

Until now, in Germany there is a tradition of giving a newborn several names, sometimes there are up to ten. Upon reaching adulthood, this number can be reduced at your discretion. The usual practice is 1-2 first names + last names. Middle names are not used.

Do you know that full name the legendary Catherine I - Sophie Auguste Friederike von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg), the brilliant Mozart - Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Theophilus Mozart, the current Vice-Chancellor of Germany - Angela Dorothea Merkel (Kasner) - Angela Dorothea Merkel (Kasner)?

But they are far from the record holder. In 1904, one baby was given a name of 740 letters at birth. It looked something like this: Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irwin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Juncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfe schlegelsteinhausenbergerdor + several hundred more difficult-to-read and practically untranslatable letter combinations. It was accompanied by an equally impressive surname, but a little more modest - only 540 letters.

Restrictions

German society is known for its conservatism and pedantry. This also affected names. Unlike Russia and the CIS countries, which are liberal in this regard, where registry offices quite officially register children with the names Tsar, Cinderella, Dolphin and even Lucifer, such a number will not work in Germany. Parents who love exotic things will have to defend their opinion in court, the decision of which is unlikely to be comforting for them. Exists whole line restrictions enshrined at the legislative level + list of allowed names.

Forbidden:

• Giving a name without a clear gender characteristic, i.e. calling a boy a female name or a girl a male name. The exception is the name Maria. It can be chosen as the second male: Paul Maria, Hans Maria, Otto Maria.
• Use topographic names - cities, towns, countries.
• Religious taboos - Allah, Judas, Demon, Christ, Buddha.
• Offensive, controversial names. For example, Peter Silie - Parsley.
• Surnames of famous people.
• Titles.
• Brand names - Porsche, Pampers, Joghurt.
• Call children from the same family the same name. But this ban can be easily circumvented if desired. Just register double names with the same first, but different second: Anna-Maria and Anna-Martha, Karl-Richard and Karl-Stefan.

For obvious reasons, to this day the name Adolf is an unspoken taboo.

Phonetics

Incorrect: Heinrich Heine, Wilhelm Hohenzollern

Right: Heinrich Heine, Wilhelm Hohenzollern

Error: Hans, Helmut

Right: Hans, Helmut

But: Herbert, Gerwig, Gerda, Herman

German female names

In modern Germany, abbreviated female names have become widespread. Instead of Katarina - Katya, Margarita - Margot. You can often find forms formed by merging two different names: Anna + Margaret = Annagret, Maria + Magdalena = Marlena, Anna + Maria = Annamaria, Anna + Lisa = Anneliese, Hannah + Laura (Laurin) = Hannelore. German female names end in -lind(a), -hild(a), -held(a), -a, ine, -i. An exception is the name Erdmut (Erdmute).

List of common German female names:

• Agna, Agnetta, Agnes - chaste, holy;
• Anna, Annie - mercy (of God), grace;
• Astrid - beautiful, goddess of beauty;
• Beata - blessed;
• Bertha - brilliant, magnificent;
• Wilda - wild;
• Ida - kind;
• Laura - laurel;
• Margareta, Greta is a pearl;
• Rosemary - reminder;
• Sophie, Sophia - wisdom;
• Teresa - strong and loved;
• Ursula - bear;
• Hannah - God is merciful;
• Helga - divine;
• Helena - torch;
• Hilda - practical;
• Frida - peace-loving;

Erma is harmonious.

German male names

In the 20th century, the majestic names of German kings and emperors - Albert, Karl, Wilhelm, Friedrich, Heinrich - were replaced by simpler ones - Andreas, Alexander, Alex, Michael, Klaus, Peter, Eric, Frank. Names have become widespread literary heroes and characters from films: Til, Daniel, Chris, Emil, Otto, Arno, Felix, Rocky. Most German male names end with consonants, often ending with letter combinations -brand, -ger, -bert, -hart, -mut. Less often - oh.

German names and surnames

The first German surnames appeared in the Middle Ages and belonged exclusively to aristocrats. They indicated a person’s origin, personal qualities, and family names. Ordinary people were addressed simply by name. By the beginning of the 20th century, all Germans had surnames, regardless of class.

In modern Germany, surnames mostly consist of one word, occasionally two. The law of 1993 abolished three-syllable or more constructions. Aristocratic prefixes - von der, von, der, von und zu are written together with the main part of the surname: von Berne - Vonbern, der Löwe - Derlöwe. The indication of titles was abolished back in 1919.

Surnames Slavic origin in Germany they do not change their ending, regardless of whether they belong to a man or a woman. Upon marriage, both spouses receive a common surname. Traditionally this is the husband's surname. It is also given to children. Changing surnames in Germany by at will not allowed. The exception is cases with discordant variants. In German identity documents, the main name is indicated first, then the second, and then the last name: Michael Stefan Haase, Mari Stefani Klain, Hanns Gerbert Rosenberg.

Common German surnames

German boy names

In the family, when communicating with peers or in informal settings, diminutives and affectionate terms are used to address boys. short forms names formed by adding the suffixes -lein, -le, -cher, Heinz - Heinzle, Klaus - Klauslein, Peter - Peterle (by analogy with the Russians -chka, -chek-, -enka, - ochka: Vovochka, Vanechka, Petenka).

German girl names

The same rule applies when creating girlish diminutive names: Petra, Velma, Irma - Petralein, Velmacher, Irmachen, Rosechen. When formally addressing girls over 15 years old, Fraeulein is added before the name, to lovely lady younger age- Maedchen.

Beautiful German names

Inherent German language the harshness of the sound gives uniqueness and unique charm to both native German names and borrowed ones, for example Italian or Russian. Beauty and euphony, of course, are subjective concepts, but we managed to compile the top most beautiful German names according to users of social networks.

Top 10 most beautiful female German names

1. Alma
2. Angelica
3. Iolanta
4. Isolde
5. Louise
6. Mirabella
7. Emily
8. Paula
9. Silvia
10. Frederica

Top 10 most beautiful male German names:

1. Stephen
2. Elias
3. Lucas
4. Martin
5. Jurgen
6. Gabriel
7. Emil
8. Ralph
9. Theodore (Theo)

Meaning of German names

Quite common in Germany biblical names, only in a slightly modified form. Their meaning corresponds to the original source.

Bible names

Popular German names

According to data obtained from several hundred German birth registration offices, the Standesamt, the most popular in 2015 female names became Sophie, Marie, Mia. Among the men, the leaders are Lucas, Alexander, Max, Ben. Also, many parents are increasingly choosing several for their newborns. old fashioned names: Karl, Julius, Otto, Oswald.

Names for German Shepherd

A correctly chosen dog name will greatly facilitate the process of training and everyday interaction with the animal. The best option is a name of one or two syllables, with voiced consonants, partially characterizing the character or appearance pet. It is recommended to name puppies from the same litter with names starting with the same letter.

For German Shepherds- for smart, disciplined, stately people, nicknames and titles such as Kaiser, Count, Lord, King, Milady are suitable. You can use words in German: Schwarz - black, Brown - brown, Schnell - fast, Spock - Calm, Edel - noble. The names of various German provinces sound beautiful in full or abbreviated form - Westphalia, Lorraine (Lori, Lota), Bavaria, Alsace.