As many of you guys probably know, I have an irrational love of big, clunky, German names. Of course, I can’t detail every German name in existence (especially when you consider that many of the most popular names in Germany are international hits and that many German names have crossed over into international use). Therefore, I’ll list off some names that are distinctively German to me, and that I love.We’ll do girls today, and boys either tomorrow or some other time.
- Adelheid -Alright, I can’t help it. Adelheid is beautiful. It encompasses everything I love about stereotypically German names; a clunkiness that is endearing, a direct lack of fluffiness. Of course, Adelheid is seen as unbearably old and clunky in Germany, as are most of its compound name cohorts. I wouldn’t saddle a kid with Adelheid (in front, anyway…), but I adore the name. Heidi is also cute on a small girl.
- Anneliese -Not my favorite, but is merited inclusion because it seems to be gaining ground with prospective parents. I’ve seen it all over the place on the internet, so expect to meet some soon, if you haven’t already!
- Annegret -Another clunky compound name, Annegret is sprightly sounding anywhere but Germany. It affords Annie or Greta, and just sounds cute. Another one I probably wouldn’t use up front, but would definitely use in the middle. I think it’s really usable here in the US.
- Augusta -I really do like Augusta. I hate Gus, but don’t mind Gussie, which makes this regal name a real winner for me. I much prefer it in full to any nicknames, though. It’s got a really dignified feel to it, and I like that.
- Dietlinde -Like Linda with Deet on the front. I feel like Dietlinde will probably never become popular, but that doesn’t keep me from liking it. I think it’s got a softness to it that’s rare in German monikers, with the strength characteristic of them. You’d get nothing but grief with the spelling and pronunciation, though.
- Gertrude -Once upon a time popular in America, Gertrude is now dated beyond belief. I love it, though. It’s much better said with a German accent, but I think it’s quite a nice name if you can get past the geriatric associations.
- Ilse -See here. Love it.
- Johanna -I prefer Joanna to avoid pronunciation confusion, but I love Johanna as well. The h lends it some heft that Joanna doesn’t have, and the name is a formidable one. It’s also definitely usable in the US, a marked plus.
- Liselotte -A smush of Liese and Charlotte. I like Liselotte. I think it’s markedly German but usable in the US. I wouldn’t use it myself, though. Also, the pronunciation in English would be something like Lees-lot, an altogether unfortunate combination of sounds. The German LEE-ze-law-tÉ™ is much lovelier, but you’ll never get it here.
- Olga -There’s something very sexy about Olga. I don’t know what it is; maybe all of the Eastern European models. I really like the name, and it’s totally usable here. Prepare for a lot of “oh, that’s…different” comments, though. It probably would not be well received.
- Roswitha -I covered Roswitha in my Roses post, but to reiterate, I love it. I would only use it in the middle though, because the pronunciation would give people fits. Gorgeous.
- Ulrika -I thoroughly like Ulrika. It’s intuitive, and rather pretty, in my estimation. However, I think most would find irredeemably harsh and ugly. Their loss, I say. Uli (like she of Project Runway fame) is a cute nickname. I approve of Ulrika and I wish someone would use it!
- Wilhelmina -Awesome, awesome name. It’s familiar in an English speaking context, formidable yet feminine, and affords cute nicknames Willa and Mina, should your daughter want to blend in. I would consider this for a daughter of mine if there weren’t names I simply like better and honoring. Actually, I might still consider it. It’s fantastic.
So, then, what are your favorite overtly German names? Would you use any? Do you think it matters to have German ancestry? Anything else? (So many questions!) I love German names, and I hope this list might act as inspiration for someone!
Monday, January 26th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Oh, I love Olga! Even in English, she’s pretty but she’s stunning in Russian & German. More like Olya than Ol-ga. really pretty! Wilhelmina, of course, but really just so I can use Mina, I adore Mina. Augusta’s a family name for me but she hates her name, goes by Ginger. 😀 Johanna, especially in German, Ilse, Gertrude (but no nickname!) & Roswitha, because she sounds gorgeous.
Other German names I like: Gottleib (I love saying it), Hannelore, Irmintrud, Liselotte & Ludwig. thse are the compounds though, don’t get me started on the ones that just seem to ‘Be’ German, Like Florian!
Monday, January 26th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Gottlieb: Something to do with God? It’s interesting but reminds me of Gottfried, as in Gilbert, as in annoying. Liselotte is up there, and I thought about doing Hannelore but decided against it.
Thanks for stopping by!
Monday, January 26th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Ilse and Wilhelmina are my favorites on your list. (Not in my current top 10, though they’ve both been top 10 at some point.)
I also like Adelheid and Johanna, and I think Gertrude is cute, though I know I’m in the minority on that one.
I actually may use Anneliese as a daughter’s middle name someday. While I don’t absolutely love it, I love that it would honor both my mother and my husband’s mother. Our mums’ middle names are Anne and Elizabeth – I think it’s cool that there’s a name out there that legitimately blends those two while being considerably less filler. I have a reasonable amount of German heritage (I really am so many things, but the three that make up the greatest percentage of my blood are Mexican, Greek, and German). I also studied German for 6 years in high school and college, so I feel a strong enough connection to the culture to justify using a German name.
Other German girls’ names I like are Klara, Liesl, Margarethe/Gretchen/Greta, and Elisa/Elise.
I am not an Olga fan. I know it’s not a bad name, but it just sounds and looks so ugly to me.
Monday, January 26th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Being 1/3 Deutsch myself and relatively familiar (though far from fluent) with the language, I love German names, as well as the German language. It sounds so dignified and no-nonsensy, plus it’s a great language to get angry in. 😀 That’s part of the reason I chose to learn it in school over Spanish, French, Italian, and other romance languages, which were far more with my peers. However, when you get angry in those languages, you sound drunk. Germans sound absolutely terrifying when angry. They even sound terrifying when they’re happy. No one ever messed with my namesake; my great-grandmother, a German immigrant with a bit of a mean streak. 😛
Anyway, wow. I have no attention span today. As I was saying, I love the language. It sounds beautiful and romantic to me in a quirky way, and it’s so straightforward. Once you know all the sounds in German, you know how to spell everything, because everything is spelled phonetically. There aren’t many funky sounds either (except for the r and the ch sounds, both of which take a while to master). However, the names don’t transition to English well. For instance, Gertrude is actually a beautiful name in German, said something like “geh-true-deh” (mangled, I know, but I don’t know how else to explain it!). But in English, it sounds stuffy and ugly. Same with Anneliese and all it’s misspelled variants (the English version sounds like anal ease to me), Johanna, Olga, Gretchen, Hannelore, and Wilhelmina. There are a few that are usable here, though, Augusta, for one. I like the German pronounciation better, of course, but I think the English one is still as pretty and dignified as ever.
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 12:30 am
Great list of baby names! I love Olga too.
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 8:06 am
Emmy Jo: That’s great that there’s a name that works for you so well! If only there were some sort of Kimmargaret name, now. 😀
Lydia: I didn’t take German in high school, but I should have. I’m atoning now in college. 😀 I think the language is beautiful, as well, although my mum wrinkles her nose at it. A friend of mine is damn near fluent and the way he says Gertrude is stunning, really. It is much more pretty in its native tongue.
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Since you are clearly a German name expert, I was wondering if you could clear something up for me! I read the other day about an author who has a daughter named Lotte, which I just love. However, in my head I pronounce it like Lottie. Is this right? Please let me know if you have any idea!
Additionally, I love clunky German names, but really just clunky Eastern European names in general! Ingrid, for example, is in my top ten and on the move upwards! Would love to meet a little girl with such a name.
Emma, England
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Emma, not an expert by any means, but thanks. 😀 Lotte is pronounced as such: LAW-tÉ™, like LAW-tuh. It’s very pretty, isn’t it? Thanks for stopping by!
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Oh, Gertrude and Olga. So refreshing to see them getting some love. It makes me so upset when I mention them and every single person wrinkles their nose, just because of phonetic fashion. I think they’re unbearably sexy. I absolutely love these stompy barefoot power German names, both in English and German (a LOT), but – I had a class about 20th century Germany last semester with a professor from Germany, and I would just go google-eyed whenever he would say these names in his beautiful accent – Albert, Helmut, Wilhelm, Georg, Ulrich…
I am in love with these names of yours: Ulrika, Olga, Gertrude. I really like: Ilse, Augusta, Dietlinde, Adelheid, Johanna. I like all of the others.
Fun fact: I know a pair of sisters whose names are Sarah Mae and Verona Lieselotte. Verona says her middle name like you do, and everyone who knows it finds it more or less intuitive.
Also I am not the same Emma as the other! I am from Nashville.
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
I love the “power names”, as you call them, because I think they convey a femininity not based off of appearance and coquettish-ness. They’re strong women; spear, battle maiden, etc.
Nice to know that Liselotte is more feasible than I thought!
And you shall be NashvilleEmma, and there will also be EnglandEmma, in my mind. 😀
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 at 1:01 am
My sisters are named Hilda and Olga, which sound a lot better in Spanish than in English. Incidentally, I’ve noticed recently that a lot of common Spanish names are of German origin.
Some of my favorite German names: Adele Hannelore Katarina Katja Liesel
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
How neat! I love cultural crossovers like that. I did Katja and Liesl in my Catherine and Elizabeth posts, actually.
Thursday, January 29th, 2009 at 11:40 am
I do like a lot of German names, I have quite a bit of German in me, my mother’s side of the family are all German (and French).
Adelheid-I actually like this and don’t find it very clunky but you are right, it is seen as like our Bertha here, very old and fusty. I don’t care for Heidi though, so this is not a name I’d use.
Anneliese-this is nice, but getting a bit trendy for me. I don’t care for the English pronunciation, and I’ve actually known three Anneleises. It’s not bad though.
Annegret-I adore this, but I have a whole list of name scrunches, I LOVE name scrunches (that will be my next post!)
Augusta-love this, though I prefer an August name on a boy. I prefer this as a double barrel name. Mary Augusta…just gorgeous.
Dietlinde-don’t care for this, I just see diet (hate those!), and Linda which I dislike for personal reasons.
Gertrude-I absolutely love this, and didn’t really know it was considered dated until recently. I never compared this to like Bertha or Agatha. I adore Gertie.
Ilse-very pretty
Johanna-one of my favorites, I love the pron. of Jo-HAWN-uh, though most name nerds will say this is wrong and it’s Yo-HAWN-uh. I love this with the nickname Jo-Jo. It reminds me of the author of Heidi, very nice.
Liselotte-adorable, again I’m the smush queen.
Olga-I actually love this. I really disliked it until recently, I met a little 5 year old name Olga, and she was so cute, and it totally fit her. I think it’s gorgeous now.
Roswitha-very pretty, but I prefer just Rosemary.
Ulrika-this is not something I would use, but I like it.
Wilhelmina-LOVE this one. I really like Willa, and adore Mina. I prefer Wilhelm on a boy though.
Here are some other German name I like (these are not all necessarily German, but very popular in Germany): Aloisia, Ingrid, Katharina, Leona (my grandmother’s name), Leonie, Leonore, Mathilde, and Ottilie.
Thursday, January 29th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
That’s neat about your heritage. I think that German and French names are delightfully clashy. A good clashy, if you know what I mean. Johanna Elise, say. Katharina is my favorite spelling of the name. The H adds a richness. I feel like we have very similar taste!
Thanks for stopping by!