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in reply to a message by Satu
Both of you - Andrea and Satu - have said that surnames "can't" be used as first names in Germany. Long ago I knew people in Germany with first names like "Eberhard", which is strictly a surname in the US, so it never occurred that a surname couldn't be used there as a first name.
Is that dictated or prohibited by law, or is it just a cultural thing?
- da.
Is that dictated or prohibited by law, or is it just a cultural thing?
- da.
1
Replies
Good morning Daividh!
Yes, in Germany it's prohibited by law to name a child with a surname (like Schmidt, Müller, Wegner, Mayer etc.) or with other words that are no first names. There are a very few exceptions because in America there are tons of first names that originally were surnames but that are now fully accepted as first names, so this law is weakening a little bit.
Eberhard is a common German first name which is used as a surname as well. Originally it was just a first name. So that example is _the other way round_ again.
Regards, Satu
Yes, in Germany it's prohibited by law to name a child with a surname (like Schmidt, Müller, Wegner, Mayer etc.) or with other words that are no first names. There are a very few exceptions because in America there are tons of first names that originally were surnames but that are now fully accepted as first names, so this law is weakening a little bit.
Eberhard is a common German first name which is used as a surname as well. Originally it was just a first name. So that example is _the other way round_ again.
Regards, Satu
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Thank you, Satu!
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Question for Satu (or any other German names mavens)
Hi, Satu. I wonder if you can supply the info for this question?
I remember reading somewhere that, during the Third Reich, Hitler decreed that all babies born to German citizens could only be legally named from a special list of Germanic names. This list excluded names of foreign origin.
I know that Hitler instituted name laws for Jews during that time, requiring all female Jews to use the name "Sarah" after their name, and all male Jews to use the name "Israel" after their name.
I've been trying to find a copy of the "official" names list for German babies born in the Third Reich. Are you aware if such a name list exists?
-- Nanaea
Hi, Satu. I wonder if you can supply the info for this question?
I remember reading somewhere that, during the Third Reich, Hitler decreed that all babies born to German citizens could only be legally named from a special list of Germanic names. This list excluded names of foreign origin.
I know that Hitler instituted name laws for Jews during that time, requiring all female Jews to use the name "Sarah" after their name, and all male Jews to use the name "Israel" after their name.
I've been trying to find a copy of the "official" names list for German babies born in the Third Reich. Are you aware if such a name list exists?
-- Nanaea
1