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HelpBAs from Germany... (long)
I just had a look at a few BAs - and found some rather uncommon names and unusual combos. So I thought I'd share....
Some names are just in there because I like them.
My biggest surprise: looks like Josepha and Alma are preparing for a comeback, there were actually quite a few of them already.
Anyway, do you like any? WDYT?
Girls
Theophania
Florentine Fabiola
Martha Amalia
Gerda Friederike
Frida Maelle
Josepha Grete
Josepha Eleonore
Jorinde Timea
Odetta Margarethe Fleur
Benedikta Gertrud Maria
Leonora Ursula
Thea Christine
Rebekka Marion
Adele
Alma Margaretha
Virginia Petra
Saphira Luise
Cosima Louise
Eléonore Bastienne
Flora Fritzi Pauline
Spyridoula Sophie
Medea
Liesbeth Charlotte
Anne Esther
Rabea Ulrike
Enna Kristin
Boys
Friedrich Konrad
Anton Justus
Ferdinand Leopold
Clemens Emilian
Kilian Christophorus
Jeremias Raphael
Paul Korbinian
Edgar Maximilian
Glenn August
Florian Lionel
Lennox Veit
Corvin Liam Joachim
Leander Balthasar
Egon Alfons
Hans Georg Alwin
Christoph Alfred
Fridolin
Hubertus Siegfried
Clivius
Vincent Wolfgang
Julian Claudius
Cornelius Immanuel
Lando Elias
Karl Gottlob
Lenz Viktor
Hector Lukas
Cosmo
Rasmus Martin
Richard Albert
Franz Johannes
Tim Gottfried
Some names are just in there because I like them.
My biggest surprise: looks like Josepha and Alma are preparing for a comeback, there were actually quite a few of them already.
Anyway, do you like any? WDYT?
Girls
Theophania
Florentine Fabiola
Martha Amalia
Gerda Friederike
Frida Maelle
Josepha Grete
Josepha Eleonore
Jorinde Timea
Odetta Margarethe Fleur
Benedikta Gertrud Maria
Leonora Ursula
Thea Christine
Rebekka Marion
Adele
Alma Margaretha
Virginia Petra
Saphira Luise
Cosima Louise
Eléonore Bastienne
Flora Fritzi Pauline
Spyridoula Sophie
Medea
Liesbeth Charlotte
Anne Esther
Rabea Ulrike
Enna Kristin
Boys
Friedrich Konrad
Anton Justus
Ferdinand Leopold
Clemens Emilian
Kilian Christophorus
Jeremias Raphael
Paul Korbinian
Edgar Maximilian
Glenn August
Florian Lionel
Lennox Veit
Corvin Liam Joachim
Leander Balthasar
Egon Alfons
Hans Georg Alwin
Christoph Alfred
Fridolin
Hubertus Siegfried
Clivius
Vincent Wolfgang
Julian Claudius
Cornelius Immanuel
Lando Elias
Karl Gottlob
Lenz Viktor
Hector Lukas
Cosmo
Rasmus Martin
Richard Albert
Franz Johannes
Tim Gottfried
Archived Thread - replies disabled
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Replies
I'm happy to see so many rare and old names!
I like...
Theophania*** - I didn't even know that was a name!
Florentine Fabiola*
Martha Amalia** - Martha is what I'd like to name a daughter
Gerda Friederike
Frida Maelle
Josepha Grete**
Josepha Eleonore*
Odetta Margarethe Fleur
Benedikta Gertrud Maria** - How very German! Germans should use German names.
Leonora Ursula
Rebekka Marion
Adele*
Alma Margaretha
Virginia Petra
Cosima Louise
Eléonore Bastienne
Flora Fritzi Pauline
Spyridoula Sophie* - wow.
Medea
Anne Esther
Friedrich Konrad* - Yay Friedrich!
Anton Justus
Ferdinand Leopold*
Clemens Emilian*
Kilian Christophorus*
I like...
Theophania*** - I didn't even know that was a name!
Florentine Fabiola*
Martha Amalia** - Martha is what I'd like to name a daughter
Gerda Friederike
Frida Maelle
Josepha Grete**
Josepha Eleonore*
Odetta Margarethe Fleur
Benedikta Gertrud Maria** - How very German! Germans should use German names.
Leonora Ursula
Rebekka Marion
Adele*
Alma Margaretha
Virginia Petra
Cosima Louise
Eléonore Bastienne
Flora Fritzi Pauline
Spyridoula Sophie* - wow.
Medea
Anne Esther
Friedrich Konrad* - Yay Friedrich!
Anton Justus
Ferdinand Leopold*
Clemens Emilian*
Kilian Christophorus*
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Maybe I should post current BAs more often then - old/traditional names are really popular right now. Friedrich, for example, pops up quite frequently these days ;-)
Gottlob is (IMO, of course) a rather bold choice by the way. I guess you could almost compare it to finding a little Faintnot in a current English BA.
(Gotthilf, Gottlieb, yes, those are "grandfather names", Gottlob feels even "older", though).
I really like Martha and Adele, too. And I have recently fallen in love with Benedikta.
Gottlob is (IMO, of course) a rather bold choice by the way. I guess you could almost compare it to finding a little Faintnot in a current English BA.
(Gotthilf, Gottlieb, yes, those are "grandfather names", Gottlob feels even "older", though).
I really like Martha and Adele, too. And I have recently fallen in love with Benedikta.
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I believe it was my grandfather who was Wilhelm Gottlieb...he changed it to William when he got to the US.
I just love the old German names...I don't understand why Germans have to use names that can't really be pronounced or have much meaning or history in their language. I once met a Hedwig "Hedi" who said that even in Germany she had to spell out her name. And in German class where I go by Hedwig, the first time I told the teacher she didn't pronounce it correctly (or at least the way my family does).
I just love the old German names...I don't understand why Germans have to use names that can't really be pronounced or have much meaning or history in their language. I once met a Hedwig "Hedi" who said that even in Germany she had to spell out her name. And in German class where I go by Hedwig, the first time I told the teacher she didn't pronounce it correctly (or at least the way my family does).
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I have an uncle Albert on my German side of my family...we don't have any purely German Richards though...my grandfather is Richard, and although his mother was purely German his father was Scotch-Irish, and I don't think there were any Richards in his mothers family (though they did have a Percy, highly unusual for Germans).
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Wow, I actually like a lot of them, especially among the girls. I see you listed the middle name each time, is it mentioned a lot in Germany? For some reason I thought it was mainly an Anglo-Saxon practice.
I love Alma and I think it has all the qualities for a comeback. If Ava and Alice are so popular, why not Alma? Josepha is a little more surprising.
Favourites:
Teophania - I had this name on my mind a lot these days, I especially like Teophanie.
Odetta Margarethe Fleur - the overall aspect is a little strange and I don't think Odetta Margarethe flows well, but I like it.
Rebekka Marion
Leonora Ursula
Anne Esther
Virginia Petra
Cosima Louise
Alma Margarethe
Eleonore Bastienne - sounds like a French girl from the 19th century
I love Alma and I think it has all the qualities for a comeback. If Ava and Alice are so popular, why not Alma? Josepha is a little more surprising.
Favourites:
Teophania - I had this name on my mind a lot these days, I especially like Teophanie.
Odetta Margarethe Fleur - the overall aspect is a little strange and I don't think Odetta Margarethe flows well, but I like it.
Rebekka Marion
Leonora Ursula
Anne Esther
Virginia Petra
Cosima Louise
Alma Margarethe
Eleonore Bastienne - sounds like a French girl from the 19th century
This message was edited 12/16/2009, 4:57 AM
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Mentioning the middle names... I'm under the impression that it's a fairly new thing in Germany. When I clicked my way through all those BAs, about 1/3 of them (maybe a tad more) had the middle names mentioned. And I'm pretty sure a some of the babies who had only the first name mentioned don't have any middle name at all. For a while, it was a little out of fashion to give your children middle names (especially in the 1980s I think. Maybe this was a regional/"religious" thing as well: many of my Protestant friends from northern Germany have only a first name while most of my friends from the Catholic south have a first name plus at least one middle name. One of them is usually the name of a godparent).
Nowadays, the middle names are back - sort of. It's an ongoing discussion on the forums and among young parents(-to-be that I know) whether a middle name is "necessary" or not...
Oh wow, that went off-topic, sorry for that. And as I said, it's just my impression. Maybe JHK can confirm...?
Anyways, I'm with you on Alma: I'd love that name to come back. I really like it.
Ditto on Odetta Margarethe. The flow is a little off, but for some reason this combo works for me.
Nowadays, the middle names are back - sort of. It's an ongoing discussion on the forums and among young parents(-to-be that I know) whether a middle name is "necessary" or not...
Oh wow, that went off-topic, sorry for that. And as I said, it's just my impression. Maybe JHK can confirm...?
Anyways, I'm with you on Alma: I'd love that name to come back. I really like it.
Ditto on Odetta Margarethe. The flow is a little off, but for some reason this combo works for me.
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About MNs in Germany
Well, I'm no expert either but I'll give you my impression: Capucine might be right about middle names not being en vogue in the 1980s, I'm a counter-example though: Born in 1987, I have a middle name that isn't even honoring. However, I do agree that picking a middle name which the parents "just liked" is becoming more and more common. I think honoring middle names have been in use for over a century (especially in catholic families where two middle names are no exception, one for either godparent). Yes, middle names in Germany are not mentioned as often as they are in the US but I regularly mention mine ;)
Well, I'm no expert either but I'll give you my impression: Capucine might be right about middle names not being en vogue in the 1980s, I'm a counter-example though: Born in 1987, I have a middle name that isn't even honoring. However, I do agree that picking a middle name which the parents "just liked" is becoming more and more common. I think honoring middle names have been in use for over a century (especially in catholic families where two middle names are no exception, one for either godparent). Yes, middle names in Germany are not mentioned as often as they are in the US but I regularly mention mine ;)
This message was edited 12/17/2009, 10:47 AM
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Thanks. In France middle names are most of the time honoring names or godparents name too for the Catholics, but are usally not thought as "combos". They're much less mentioned than in England or the USA for example. That's why it made me curious.
I wish I had one, even old or dated!
I wish I had one, even old or dated!
This message was edited 12/16/2009, 6:43 PM
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I find it quite interesting to learn the different takes on these things myself :-)
In general, first names plus godparent names aren't really considered "combos" here, either. They are sort of "just there".
But from what I observed among the young parents I know and on the boards, people are slowly veering away from "just sticking" a godparent's name to the chosen first name and are moving towards giving their children "just-because-names" (à la "Why did you choose this middle name?" "Just because we liked it" ;-) ) instead or in addition to an honouring name.
I'm pretty sure some of the middle names in the BAs I posted here are honouring names; it's just a tad hard to tell which ones they are as we are having a huge wave of old names right now. Old names - alongside Scandinavian names - are really popular/almost trendy right now.
That's why one could wonder whether some of the names in there belong to a child born in 2009 or in 1909 ;-)
In general, first names plus godparent names aren't really considered "combos" here, either. They are sort of "just there".
But from what I observed among the young parents I know and on the boards, people are slowly veering away from "just sticking" a godparent's name to the chosen first name and are moving towards giving their children "just-because-names" (à la "Why did you choose this middle name?" "Just because we liked it" ;-) ) instead or in addition to an honouring name.
I'm pretty sure some of the middle names in the BAs I posted here are honouring names; it's just a tad hard to tell which ones they are as we are having a huge wave of old names right now. Old names - alongside Scandinavian names - are really popular/almost trendy right now.
That's why one could wonder whether some of the names in there belong to a child born in 2009 or in 1909 ;-)
This message was edited 12/16/2009, 7:45 PM
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