Personal name A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known ...

s in

German-speaking Europe This article details the geographical distribution of speakers of the German language, regardless of the legislative status within the countries where it is spoken. In addition to the German-speaking area (german: Deutscher Sprachraum) in Europe, ...

consist of one or several

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

s (''Vorname'', plural ''Vornamen'') and a

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

(''Nachname, Familienname''). The ''Vorname'' is usually gender-specific. A name is usually cited in the " Western order" of "given name, surname", unless it occurs in an alphabetized list of surnames, e.g. " Bach, Johann Sebastian". In this, the German conventions parallel the naming conventions in most of Western and Central Europe, including

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, and French. There are some vestiges of a

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

system as they survive in parts of Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, but these do not form part of the official name. Women traditionally adopted their husband's name upon marriage and would occasionally retain their maiden name by

hyphen The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. ''Son-in-law'' is an example of a hyphenated word. The hyphen is sometimes confused with dashes (figure d ...

ation, in a so-called '' Doppelname'', e.g. "

Else Lasker-Schüler Else Lasker-Schüler (née Elisabeth Schüler) (; 11 February 1869 – 22 January 1945) was a German-Jewish poet and playwright famous for her bohemian lifestyle in Berlin and her poetry. She was one of the few women affiliated with the Expressi ...

". Recent legislation motivated by

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

now allows a married couple to choose the surname they want to use, including an option for men to keep their birthname hyphenated to the common family name in the same way. It is also possible for the spouses to do without a common surname altogether and to keep their birthnames. The most common given names are either

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

", derived from names of Biblical characters or saints; ''Johann/Hans'' "John", ''Georg/Jörg'' "George", ''Jakob'' "Jacob" and "James"; ''Anna'', ''Maria'', ''Barbara'', ''Christina'') or from

Germanic name Germanic given names are traditionally dithematic; that is, they are formed from two elements, by joining a prefix and a suffix. For example, King Æþelred's name was derived from ', for "noble", and ', for "counsel". However, there are al ...

s (''Friedrich'' "Frederick", ''Ludwig'' "Louis", etc.) Since the 1990s, there has however been a trend of parents picking non-German forms of names, either for originality, or influenced by international celebrities, e.g. ''Liam'' (Gaelic form of ''William'') rather than the German equivalent ''Wilhelm.'' Most surnames are derived either from occupations, or from geographical origin, less often from bodily attributes. They became heritable with the beginning of central demographic records in the early modern period.

Forenames

The ''Vorname'' (in English ''

forename A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

'') is usually given to a child by the parents shortly after birth. It is common to give a child several ''Vornamen'' (forenames), one of them intended for everyday use and known as the ''Rufname'' ("appellation name" or "call name"). This ''Rufname'' is often underlined on official documents, as it is sometimes the second or third name in the sequence of given names on official record, even though it is the given name in daily use from childhood. For example, in the resume submitted by mathematician

Emmy Noether Amalie Emmy NoetherEmmy is the ''Rufname'', the second of two official given names, intended for daily use. Cf. for example the résumé submitted by Noether to Erlangen University in 1907 (Erlangen University archive, ''Promotionsakt Emmy Noethe ...

to Erlangen University in 1907, :''Ich, Amalie Emmy Noether, bayerischer Staatsangehörigkeit und israelitischer Konfession, bin geboren zu Erlangen am 23. März 1882 ...'' :"I, Amalie Emmy Noether, of Bavarian nationality and of Israelite confession, born in Erlangen on 23 March 1882 ..." the underlining of ''Emmy'' communicates that this is the ''Rufname'', even though it is the second of two official given names. In Germany, the chosen name must be approved by the local

Standesamt A Standesamt (German, plural "Standesämter") is a German civil registration office, which is responsible for recording births, marriages, and deaths. Soon after the German Empire was created in 1871 from the previous collection of German states ...

(civil registry office). Although a 1980 law previously stated that the name must indicate the gender of the child, a 2008 court ruling unanimously upheld the right of parents to decide their child's name, stating that the only legal limitation is that the name does not negatively affect the well-being of the child. Among

German nobility The German nobility (german: deutscher Adel) and royalty were status groups of the medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the German-speaking area, until the begi ...

, a fashion arose in the early modern period to give a large number of forenames, often six or more. This fashion was to some extent copied by the

bourgeois class The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

, but subsided again after the end of the 19th century, so that while two or three forenames remain common, a larger number is now rare. The practice persists among German nobility, e.g. Johann Friedrich ''Konrad'' Carl Eduard Horst Arnold Matthias, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen, Duke of Saxony (b. 1952), ''Ernst August'' Albert Paul Otto Rupprecht Oskar Berthold Friedrich-Ferdinand Christian-Ludwig, Prince of Hanover (b. 1954), ''Christian'' Heinrich Clemens Paul Frank Peter Welf Wilhelm-Ernst Friedrich Franz Prince of Hanover and Dukelin, Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg (b. 1985).

Popular given names

Traditionally, there are

dialectal The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...

differences between the regions of German-speaking Europe, especially visible in the forms of

hypocorism A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek: (), from (), 'to call by pet names', sometimes also ''hypocoristic'') or pet name is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as ''Izzy'' for I ...

s. These differences are still perceptible in the list of most popular names, even though they are marginalized by super-regional fashionable trends: As of 2012, the top ten given names of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

(Southern Germany) and of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

(Northern Germany) share the entries ''Ben, Paul, Finn, Luca, Max'' (male), ''Mia, Emma, Lea, Leonie, Anna, Lena, Hanna'', while Schleswig-Holstein retains the traditionally northern (Low German) forms ''Lasse'' (male) and ''Neele'' (female) in the top ten. The following table gives the most popular given names in Germany per decade (since 1890), and the most recent ranking, as of 2014.

Surnames

Surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

s (''family name''; ''Nachname'', ''Familienname'') were gradually introduced in

during the

Late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...

. Many of such surnames are derived from

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

s. They are generally classified into four groups by

derivation Derivation may refer to: Language * Morphological derivation, a word-formation process * Parse tree or concrete syntax tree, representing a string's syntax in formal grammars Law * Derivative work, in copyright law * Derivation proceeding, a proc ...

: given names, occupational designations, bodily attributes, and toponyms (including references to named buildings). Also, many family names display characteristic features of the

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

of the region they originated in. * Given names often turned into family names when people were identified by their father's name. For example, the first name '' Ahrend'' developed into the family name ''Ahrends'' by adding a genitive s-ending, as in ''Ahrend's son''.
Examples: '' Ahrends/ Ahrens'', '' Burkhard'', '' Wulff'', ''

Friedrich Friedrich may refer to: Names * Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' * Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other * Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Year ...

'', '' Benz'', ''

Fritz Fritz originated as a German nickname for Friedrich, or Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Frederick II of Prussia and Frederick III, German Emperor) as well as for similar names including Fridolin an ...

''. With many of the early city records written in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, occasionally the Latin genitive singular -i was used such as in ''Jakobi'' or ''Alberti'' or (written as -'y') in

Mendelssohn Bartholdy Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

. * Occupational name are the most common form of family names; anybody who had an unusual job would have been bound to be identified by it. Examples: '' Gaschler'' (

glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) of ...

), ''

Schmidt Schmidt may refer to: * Schmidt (surname), including list of people with the surname * Schmidt (singer) (born 1990), German pop and jazz singer * Schmidt (lunar crater), a small lunar impact crater * Schmidt (Martian crater), a List of craters on ...

'' (

smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

), '' Müller'' (

miller A miller is a person who operates a Gristmill, mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Mill (grinding), Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surname ...

), ''

Meier Meier may refer to: People * Meier, Annemarie Sylvia, German chess master * Meier, Armin, Swiss cyclist * Meier, Armin (actor), German actor * Meier, Barbara, German model, most known for winning the third cycle of ''Germany's Next Topmodel' ...

'' (

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

administrator; akin to tenant, steward, sometimes also a bailiff), ''

Schulz Schulz is a common German and Jewish-Ashkenazi family name from Germany, particularly Northern Germany. The word ''Schulz'' originates from the local official title of Schultheiß or ''(Dorf-)Schulz(e)'', meaning village headman or constable / sh ...

e'' (

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

), ''

Fischer Fischer is a German occupational surname, meaning fisherman. The name Fischer is the fourth most common German surname. The English version is Fisher. People with the surname A * Abraham Fischer (1850–1913) South African public official * Ad ...

'' (

fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...

), '' Schneider'' (

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

), '' Maurer'' (mason), '' Bauer'' (

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

), ''

Zimmermann Zimmermann is a German occupational surname for a carpenter. The modern German terms for the occupation of carpenter are Zimmerer, Tischler, or Schreiner, but Zimmermann is still used. ''Zimmer'' in German means room or archaically a chamber wi ...

'' (

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

Metzger Metzger (also Mezger) is a German language, German/Yiddish (German-Jewish) occupational surname, meaning "butcher". Notable people with the name include: Metzger * AJR (band), Adam, Jack, and Ryan Metzger, members of American rock band AJR * Ale ...

or Fleischer (butcher),

Töpfer Töpfer, also spelled as Toepfer, is a German surname meaning potter. People * Alfred Toepfer (1894–1993), German entrepreneur, founder of Alfred Toepfer Stiftung F.V.S. * Ernst Toepfer (1877–1955), German painter * Johann Gottlob Töpfer ...

, Toepfer (potter) or Klingemann (weapons smith). Also, names referring to nobility such as ''

Kaiser ''Kaiser'' is the German word for "emperor" (female Kaiserin). In general, the German title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (''König''). In English, the (untranslated) word ''Kaiser'' is mainly ap ...

'' (emperor), ''

König König (; ) is the German word for "king". In German and other languages applying the umlaut, the transliterations ''Koenig'' and ''Kœnig'', when referring to a surname, also occur. As a surname in English, the use of ''Koenig'' is usual, and som ...

'' (king), ''

Graf (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...

'' (count) are common, with the name bearers probably only a minor functionary of a monarch. * Bodily attribute names are family names such as ''

Krause Krause (German for ''ruffle'') is a common German surname. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 64.9% of all known bearers of the surname ''Krause'' were residents of Germany (frequency 1:531), 20.6% of the United States (1:7,541), 3.5% of Brazil ...

'' (curly), '' Schwarzkopf'' (black head), '' Klein'' (small),

Groß Gross or Groß in German is the correct spelling of the surname under German orthographic rules. In Switzerland, the name is spelled Gross. Some Germans and Austrians also use the spelling with "ss" instead of "ß". It is a surname of German, Pru ...

(big). * Geographical names (toponyms) are derived from the name of a city or village, or the location of someone's home. They often have the '-er' postfix that signifies origin (as in English ''New Yorker''). Examples: ''Kissinger'' (from

Kissingen Bad Kissingen is a German spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and seat of the district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale river, it is one of the health resorts, which be ...

), ''

Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

'' (from Schwarzenegg or Schwarzeneck), ''

Bayer Bayer AG (, commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's areas of busi ...

'' (from

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, German ''Bayern''). Böhm indicates that a family originated in

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

. A special case of geographical names were those derived from a building or a natural landmark, e.g. a '' Busch'' (bush) or '' Springborn'' (spring/well). Before the advent of street names and numbers, even for long times afterwards, many important buildings like inns, mills and farmsteads were given house names or ''

Hofname Personal names in German-speaking Europe consist of one or several given names (''Vorname'', plural ''Vornamen'') and a surname (''Nachname, Familienname''). The ''Vorname'' is usually gender-specific. A name is usually cited in the " Western orde ...

n'' "estate names", e.g. ''

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by sign ...

'' "red sign/escutcheon", ''

Lachs Lachs (German language, German for "salmon") is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Charles Lachs (1879-1979), Bavarian-Swedish visual artist * Charlotta Lachs (1867-1920), Bavarian-Swedish singer * Friedrichs Lachs (1832-1910), B ...

'' "(sign of the) salmon", ''Bär'' "bear", ''

Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
''

A house or estate name could be combined with a profession, e.g. ''Rosenbauer'' (rose-farmer, from a farmstead called 'the rose'); ''Kindlmüller'' (child's miller, from a mill named 'the Christmas child', 'the prodigal child' or 'the king's child'). The preposition ''

von The term ''von'' () is used in German language surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means ''of'' or ''from''. Nobility directories like the ''Almanach de ...

'' ("of") was used to distinguish

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

; for example, if someone was baron of the village of Veltheim, his family name would be ''von Veltheim''. In modern times, people who were elevated to nobility often had a 'von' added to their name. For example,

Johann Wolfgang Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treatis ...

had his name changed to ''Johann Wolfgang von Goethe''. This practice ended with the abolition of the monarchy in Germany and Austria in 1919. Sometimes ''von'' is also used in geographical names that are not noble, as in ''von Däniken''. With family names originating locally, many names display particular characteristics of the local dialects, such as the south German, Austrian and Swiss

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

endings ''-l'' ''-el'', ''-erl'', ''-le'' or ''-li'' as in ''Kleibl'', '' Schäuble'' or ''Nägeli'' (from 'Nagel', nail). The same is true for regional variants in the naming of professions. While a barrel-maker from

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

may have been called "Böttcher", a

n could easily have been called "Schäffler". The

surnames In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name, ...

of the

German Jews The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...

are a special case, as they were introduced later, in the late 18th to early 19th century, per ''fiat''. The Prussian authorities imposed made-up and sometimes derogatory names. For instance, the name "Waldlieferant" (lit.: forest supplier) was "created" to ridicule a Jewish timber trader. Even way more offensive expressions ("Afterduft"; lit.: anus odor) were in use. This is by no means the rule, though; on the contrary, those surnames most quickly recognized as probably Jewish in origin are distinctly poetical ones, probably as they were made-up choices by the people themselves (e.g. '' Rosenzweig''). Immigration, often sponsored by local authorities, also brought foreign family names into the German-speaking regions. Depending on regional history, geography and economics, many family names have French,

, Hungarian or Slavic (e.g.

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

) origins. Sometimes they survived in their original form; in other cases, the spelling would be adapted to German (the Slavic ending ''ic'' becoming the German or or

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...

"-kis" becoming "-ke"). Over time, the spelling often changed to reflect native German pronunciation (''Sloothaak'' for the Dutch ''Sloothaag''); but some names, such as those of French

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss politica ...

settling in

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

, retained their spelling but with the pronunciation that would come naturally to a German reading the name: ''

Marquard Marquard is a small farming town in the Free State province of South Africa that serves Winburg in the northwest. The town was set up in 1905 by an influential Dutch Reform minister, JJ Marquard, with the help of Christoffel Cornelis Froneman ...

'', pronounced in French, ended up being pronounced much like the German ''Markwart'' from which it was originally derived.

Marriage

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 (Mr) Schmidt" and "Fräulein (Miss) Meyer" marry: # They can keep their former ''Nachnamen''. (Herr Schmidt and Frau (Mrs) Meyer). In the 1990s, the law was thus 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'' (Thus, there would be 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). In

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

(§ 93 ABGB), a couple can choose either of their surnames as married name. In the default case, this is the surname of the groom. The partner who is changing surnames (usually the bride) has the possibility to use their unmarried name alongside the married name with hyphenation. In

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

(Art. 160 ZGB), the couple can opt to both retain their unmarried name, or the couple can choose to use either surname as their married name. If both retain their name, they need to declare which will be the surname of any future children.

Nobility

Titles of former aristocrats (like ''Graf'' for "Count") have become parts of the ''Nachname'' in Germany, giving longer names of several words, usually including the

nobiliary particle A nobiliary particle is used in a surname or family name in many Western cultures to signal the nobility of a family. The particle used varies depending on the country, language and period of time. In some languages, it is the same as a regular p ...

'' (meaning "of") or ''zu'' (meaning "to", sometimes "at"), often ''von und zu'' are also found together (meaning "of and to/at").For example: Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg Nobiliary particles used by German nobility 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 in Germany, 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 including certain other orders and honours held by Austrian citizens have since 3 April 1919 been abolished, including nobiliary particles such as ''von'', the use of such titles by Austrian citizens is an offence punishable with a financial enforcement penalty. Adelsaufhebungsgesetz, Verwaltungsstrafbarkeit (Nobility Repeal Act, Administrative Offense). For example,

Otto von Habsburg Otto von Habsburg (german: Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius, hu, Ferenc József Ottó Róbert Mária Antal Károly Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Lajos Gaetan ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

's last crown prince, was 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.

Common surnames

Germany

The most common surnames in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

are reportedly: # Müller, Möller ("miller") #

, Schmitt, Schmitz,

Schmied Schmied is a surname of German origin. Its meaning is derived from the German word Schmied, which is a smith (of tin, gold, silver, or other metal). Common variants are Schmidt, Schmitt, and Schmitz. People * Wieland der Schmied (libretto), '' ...

("smith, blacksmith") # Schneider ("tailor") #

("fisherman") # Weber ("weaver") #

Meyer Meyer may refer to: People *Meyer (surname), listing people so named * Meyer (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the name Companies * Meyer Burger, a Swiss mechanical engineering company * Meyer Corporation * Meyer Sound Labo ...

, Meier, Meir, Meyr, Mayer, Maier, Mair, or Mayr (often the senior farmer in a given settlement unning a "full range" farmstead in terms of area, workforce and harvest, compared to various partitions of lesser size often as the leaseholder of a landlord like an abbey, a worldly ruler, etc.; "tenant, steward, sometimes also a bailiff, but ''not'' a mayor") #

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

("carter, cartwright") #

, Schulze, Schultze, Schulte, Schultheiß ("constable") #

Becker Becker () 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 (and thus his family). In northern Germany it can also derive from the ...

, Bäcker ("baker") #

Hoffmann Hoffmann is a German language, German surname. People A *Albert Hoffmann (horticulturist), Albert Hoffmann (1846–1924), German horticulturist *Alexander Hoffmann (politician), Alexander Hoffmann (born 1975), German politician *Arthur Hoffmann ...

, Hofmann ("steward; tenant/leaseholder; courtier") These are all occupational names, designating common occupations around 1600 when surnames became heritable, so that these names arose independently across Germany.

Austria

# Gruber (5482) #

Huber Huber is a German-language surname. It derives from the German word ''Hube'' meaning hide, a unit of land a farmer might possess, granting them the status of a free tenant. It is in the top ten most common surnames in the German-speaking world, ...

(5109) #

(4624) #Mueller (4410) #

Pichler Pichler is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alfred Pichler (1913–1992), bishop * Anita Pichler (1948–1997), Italian writer and translator * Anton Pichler (footballer) (born 1955) * Anton Pichler (1697–1779), en ...

(4227) # Steiner (4176) # Moser (4175) #Mayer (3901) # Bauer (3840) #

Berger Berger is a surname in both German language, German and French language, French, although there is no etymological connection between the names in the two languages. The French surname is an occupational name for a shepherd, from Old French ''bergi ...

(3642) # Hofer (3549) # Fuchs (3251) # Eder (3232) #

Leitner Leitner is an Austrian-German surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alan Leitner (born 1947), American artist * Aloysius Leitner, United States Marine Corps *Anton G. Leitner (born 1961), German writer and publisher *Dummy Leitner (18 ...

(3223)

Gender-specific surname variants

Traditionally, there was a differentiation of surnames of women from those of their male siblings (as is still a rule in

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

, Eastern Slavic, or Polish female surnames), widespread in Germany until the 18th century. Thus, in old records, especially

church register A parish register in an ecclesiastical parish is a handwritten volume, normally kept in the parish church in which certain details of religious ceremonies marking major events such as baptisms (together with the dates and names of the parents), ma ...

s on rites de passage, such as baptisms, deaths and marriages etc., women may appear bearing regionally typical female surname variants (like, in South Germany: Peter Huber, but Anna Huberin). With the establishment of general official registration of

legal name A legal name is the name that identifies a person for legal, administrative and other official purposes. A person's legal birth name generally is the name of the person that was given for the purpose of registration of the birth and which then ap ...

s, this practice was abolished in the 18th and the 19th centuries, depending on the legislation of the respective states. Also, the spelling of given and surnames, varying previously from author to author, or even entry to entry, was then mostly fixed according to the official recorded form. Former noble titles appearing in male and female variants were transformed by the Weimar Constitution, article 109, into parts of the surnames in Germany, but a new tradition of gender-specific variants, for official registration, was established for these surnames. This practice was confirmed in a judgement by the

Reichsgericht The Reichsgericht (, ''Reich Court'') was the supreme criminal and civil court in the German Reich from 1879 to 1945. It was based in Leipzig, Germany. The Supreme Court was established when the Reichsjustizgesetze (Imperial Justice Laws) came in ...

on 10 March 1926. Colloquially, surname variants for women continue to appear in some German dialects. In

Bavarian dialect Bavarian (german: Bairisch , Bavarian: ''Boarisch'') or alternately Austro-Bavarian, is a West Germanic language, part of the Upper German family, together with Alemannic and East Franconian. Bavarian is spoken by approximately 12 million peop ...

surnames of women sometimes are formed by adding the ending "-in", used in standard High German to indicate noun variants for women or items of grammatical feminine gender, such as Näherin (seamstress), with Näher (seamster) being the male form. In

West Low German Low Saxon, also known as West Low German ( nds, Nedersassisch, Nedersaksies; nl, Nedersaksisch) are a group of Low German dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, northwestern Germany and southern Denmark (in North Schleswig by parts of th ...

parlance the ending "…sch(e)" is sometimes added to surnames of women, related to the standard High German adjective ending "…isch" (cognitive to English " …ish"),

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...

ed to nouns or adjectives indicating belonging / pertaining to, being of the kind described by the suffixed word: for example, ''de Smidtsche'', is Ms Schmidt (Smith), but literally about ''the Smithian'' (the woman pertaining to a man/family named Schmidt). Another form, indicating a female bearer of a surname, was the addition of a genitive "s" (like the

Saxon genitive In English, possessive words or phrases exist for nouns and most pronouns, as well as some noun phrases. These can play the roles of determiners (also called possessive adjectives when corresponding to a pronoun) or of nouns. For nouns, noun ph ...

), the daughter or wife of Mr. Bäcker (literally Baker) would appear as Ms Bäckers (in German without an apostrophe), as being Bäcker's daughter or wife.

Pseudonyms

Pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

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 A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

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 An identity document (also called ID or colloquially as papers) is any documentation, document that may be used to prove a person's identity. If issued in a small, standard credit card size form, it is usually called an identity card (IC, ID c ...

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

and are frequently used in documents and addresses. They are, however, often 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).

Hofname (estate name)

In rural areas it is common that farmers are known by the traditional name of their '' Hof'' (farm or estate). Because of the long-standing tradition of impartible inheritance in

, ownership of a ''Hof'' had often been tied to direct patrilineal descent over centuries. Thus, farmers were traditionally known by their ''Hofname'' even before the development of the ''Nachname'' in the early modern period, and the two systems came to overlap. Many ''Nachnamen'' are in fact derived from such ''Hofnamen'', but in some instances, the ''Hofname'' tradition survived alongside the official ''Nachname''. Historically, the ''Hofname'' was the first type of commoners' family name to become heritable. This process began still in the

(14th to 15th century); e.g.

Ulrich Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system. He attended the Unive ...

(b. 1484) inherited his father's surname, in origin a ''Hofname'' (from the term ''Twing'', denoting a type of walled-in estate) even though he did not inherit his estate. 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''. This is called a or vulgo name. Historically, other forms can be found as well, including Amann ''sonst'' Behmann ''genannt'', Amann ''oder'' Behmann, ''an'', ''auf'', ''zu'', ''alias'', ''modo'', ''vel'', ''dictus'', ''dicti'', ''vero'', ''qui et'', or ''de''. In some cases the form ''genannt'' changed into ''von'' over time, in other cases it was changed into a

hyphenated surname A double-barrelled name is a type of compound surname, typically featuring two words (occasionally more), often joined by a hyphen. Examples of some notable people with double-barrelled names include Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Sacha Baron Co ...

(like Amann-Behmann), but these examples are not the only origins for these latter types of names.

Name changes

There are only a few circumstances in which one is allowed to change one's name: # 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 their own name, appending the partner's family name to their 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 the case of

transsexuals Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignm ...

. # Naturalisation of foreigners (per Article 47 of the EGBGB). In this case, the foreigners may choose to adopt German forms of their first and last names, or adopt new first names if their old first names cannot be adapted into German. # Changing a name that is too complicated (too long or difficult spelling because of origin), too common (like Müller or Schmidt), or causes ridicule (which can be because of the name itself, like "Fick" ("Fuck", even though of different etymologic origin), or because of association, like "Adolf"). Though the ''Namensänderungsgesetz'' (Law concerning the changing of names) allows changing because of any "important reason", in practice this will very rarely be allowed. Adding ''Doktor'' (Ph.D.) in Germany, and adding any 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

is spoken (i.e.

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, the Palatinate or the

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...

), 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./OLtOberleutnant/Bäcker". Except for

Southern Germany Southern Germany () is a region of Germany which has no exact boundary, but is generally taken to include the areas in which Upper German dialects are spoken, historically the stem duchies of Bavaria and Swabia or, in a modern context, Bavaria ...

, usage of the definite article with the name outside of dialect is uncommon, and considered a mistake in Standard German. 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'' ('I am the Nils'). 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, the Saarland and parts of the Rhineland), the article used with women's and girls' names is not the feminine, but the neuter article. This is because the German word for "girl", ''Mädchen'', is a neuter noun, due to the diminutive suffix ''-chen''.

References

* Rosa Kohlheim, Volker Kohlheim : ''Familiennamen: Herkunft und Bedeutung von 20000 Nachnamen'' (Family Names: Origin and Meaning of 20,000 Last Names), 2000,

Duden The Duden () is a dictionary of the Standard High German language, first published by Konrad Duden in 1880, and later by Bibliographisches Institut GmbH. The Duden is updated regularly with new editions appearing every four or five years. , i ...

External links

German names

API to determine the likely gender of a German name
for gender studies
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 {{DEFAULTSORT:German Name Names by culture

Names A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A persona ...

Forenames

Popular given names

Surnames

Marriage

Nobility

Common surnames

Germany

Austria

Gender-specific surname variants

Pseudonyms

Academic degrees and titles

Hofname (estate name)

Name changes

Order of names and use of articles

See also

References

External links