I think
Fanny and Lion would definitely be a problem. Lion just because it is spelled like the animal and that pronunciation would not be what people say unless it is spelled
Leon. People would be bound to pronounce
Christian the English way. Arian is interesting, it would require some explaining on pronunciation and I can't tell if it is supposed to be a boy or girl name, but I think it can work.
Willi,
Willie,
Willy I only see as nicknames and don't think they should be names on their own and some teasing is possible. I would just nickname
Will and probably the full name
Wilhelm, but expect a W sound instead of a V.
Fritz I only know as a last name, but would know how to say it, though it would stand out. Point of reference though, I do live in an area that was settled mostly by Germans, hence the knowledge of this as a last name. I'm not sure everyone would.
Bent,
Bente - seems like the word bent and would probably be pronounced that way and I just don't think it would go so well in English speaking countries.
Edit: Apparently I am unfamiliar with the
Aryan association despite living in a highly
German influenced area of the U.S. and being of
German descent and having a friend whose middle name is
Adolf. I think Arian looks like a lot of trendy names now like
Aria,
Ariana,
Adrian,
Ari,
Ariyah, etc. How long before most people don't know about the association in the U.S.? For reference, I'm 29, enjoy history and am fairly well educated.
This message was edited 2/9/2023, 12:47 PM