First names: Old German names that are back in trend

Old German names that are back in fashion

Our grandmothers probably wouldn’t have thought that: That the old German first names from their generation would be in vogue again. But the trend can be clearly seen. While the influence from the USA and Great Britain with names like Kevin or Jennifer is declining, traditional children’s names like Greta, Karl, Maria, Almut, Johann or even Wilhelm can be heard more often on the playgrounds.

Desire for meaning

The nice thing about the old German names is that they are full of history and stories. Be it because your own ancestors already wore them and the (great) grandchildren continue this tradition. Or because one likes to orientate oneself on historical models (Charlemagne, for example) or literary figures (Effi or Emma).

And then there is the individual meaning of many German girls ‘and boys’ names. There is Hilde, the fighter, and Friedrich, who contains the Old High German words for “peace” and “mighty”. Franz is the free one, Konrad the “bold adviser” and Luise the “lute”.

Tradition is well received

Name researchers also see an increasing popularity of German names. Parents today are more traditional and conservative when choosing a name than the parents of the decades before, who were more on exotic first names.

It is often the short form of a classic name that is particularly popular. So, for example, Greta instead of Margareta, or Fritz instead of Friedrich.

Incidentally, not all of these names have their roots in Old High German, some are also of Greek or Hebrew origin. But they were also popular in Germany many decades ago, which is why we refer to them here as “old German names”.

Popular old German girl names:

Popular old German boy names:

These old German first names are less common, but also very beautiful:

You haven’t found the right name yet?

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Rare first names for boys

Rare first names for girls

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