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HelpOne more question about German names...
for now at least = ). Gretel is a somewhat stereotypical German/Dutch name because of the story of Hansel and Gretel, but I've always thought it was a very pretty name. Someone mentioned Greteleise/Gretelise. What about just Gretel? How does name appear to German speakers? What about fellow Americans? Would this be wierd. I like Greta too, but I just don't seem to like names that end in -a as much.
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The name is not used in Germany at all. I never met one. It seems really nickname-ish and it is very connected to the story so the child might get teased (there's a German song about Hänsel and Gretel and all children know it so people might sing that to her). Hänsel is a (very old fashioned and hardly ever used) nickname for Hans and Gretel a nickname for Margarethe.
To be honest I would be really embarrassed to be named Gretel. It just seems really silly. It is something German parents would never ever choose, I guess. Greta, yes but not Gretel. Liesel is a very stereotypical German name as well and I've never met one. Lisa is very popular, though. You could compare Gretel to Gretchen. Gretchen is also not used in Germany. It was a long long time ago, but also as a nickname for Margarethe. Do you know "Faust" ? Gretchen's full name is Margarethe there as well, it's mentioned in the book.
I never heard of anyone named Gretelise. It looks a bit weird. It would be pronounced GRAY-teh-LEE-zeh. but I never met anyone named that and never saw the name anywhere, did you make it up ?
did you mean to write Greteliese or do you really mean Greteleise ? "leise" is the German word for "quiet". pr. LY-zeh. so Greteleise would be GRAY-teh-LY-zeh.
To be honest I would be really embarrassed to be named Gretel. It just seems really silly. It is something German parents would never ever choose, I guess. Greta, yes but not Gretel. Liesel is a very stereotypical German name as well and I've never met one. Lisa is very popular, though. You could compare Gretel to Gretchen. Gretchen is also not used in Germany. It was a long long time ago, but also as a nickname for Margarethe. Do you know "Faust" ? Gretchen's full name is Margarethe there as well, it's mentioned in the book.
I never heard of anyone named Gretelise. It looks a bit weird. It would be pronounced GRAY-teh-LEE-zeh. but I never met anyone named that and never saw the name anywhere, did you make it up ?
did you mean to write Greteliese or do you really mean Greteleise ? "leise" is the German word for "quiet". pr. LY-zeh. so Greteleise would be GRAY-teh-LY-zeh.
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Oh sorry I meant Greteleise. Someone responded to my other post about German names with that name. It reminded me of Gretel. I figured it would sound ridiculous to people in Germany. I wasn't aware that Gretchen wasn't used anymore though. It seems like German people are very particular about how acceptable a name is, like a culture difference compared to here. Is that a fair observation? There are naming laws in Germany right?
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Yes, we have naming laws in Germany but they are weird! You aren't allowed to give your child a name from which you can't tell its gender. You can't just name a girl Kim because Kim is unisex. So if you name your daughter Kim you have to choose a middle name that's strictly feminine. So no Kim Ashley. It would have to be something like Kim Isabel or Kim Ashley Isabel etc
The thing is that there isn't a rule for the whole country about which names are permitted and which names aren't. There is always a single person who decides. If you are not happy with the decision you can however go to court. A couple wanted to name their daughter Tiger (middle name only, I think the first name was Anna or Emma) and they weren't allowed to. They went to court and they still said no. Then they went to court again and were finally allowed to use it. And it was just the middle name!
They also didn't approve of Narvik at first (which is a normal sounding name, not weird or anything in Germany) but I think the parents went to court. They did however approve of Pepsi-Karola uaaaahhhhhh Pepsi ?
Do you want a list with the names popular in Germany ?
Here is one:
http://www.beliebte-vornamen.de/2007.htm
for 2007....
many German sites list the popularity of first and middle names in the same popularity chart so you can't actually tell if the name is popular as a first or only as a middle name which is confusing or they combine the popularity of Marie and Maria but the above link is for first names only (so Maria/Marie isn't number 1 unless on lists that include middle names) which I think is much better and it also doesn't combine the popularity of similar names like Sophie and Sophia which is good. It does combine different spellings of the same name, though. So yeah it should give you a good idea about what is popular now.
The thing is that there isn't a rule for the whole country about which names are permitted and which names aren't. There is always a single person who decides. If you are not happy with the decision you can however go to court. A couple wanted to name their daughter Tiger (middle name only, I think the first name was Anna or Emma) and they weren't allowed to. They went to court and they still said no. Then they went to court again and were finally allowed to use it. And it was just the middle name!
They also didn't approve of Narvik at first (which is a normal sounding name, not weird or anything in Germany) but I think the parents went to court. They did however approve of Pepsi-Karola uaaaahhhhhh Pepsi ?
Do you want a list with the names popular in Germany ?
Here is one:
http://www.beliebte-vornamen.de/2007.htm
for 2007....
many German sites list the popularity of first and middle names in the same popularity chart so you can't actually tell if the name is popular as a first or only as a middle name which is confusing or they combine the popularity of Marie and Maria but the above link is for first names only (so Maria/Marie isn't number 1 unless on lists that include middle names) which I think is much better and it also doesn't combine the popularity of similar names like Sophie and Sophia which is good. It does combine different spellings of the same name, though. So yeah it should give you a good idea about what is popular now.
This message was edited 10/1/2008, 5:43 PM
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I love Helene, it's very pretty! I like Elias and Jonas as well.
Matthias (most common spelling) is a bit dated. I know 20 Matthias' over the age of 40 but only one under the age of 40 (he is 22). Matthis is not as dated. Stefan is a 70s name.
Annika is an 80s name but it is very nice, I like it. Lena is a classic and still very common, so is Lina.
Inga is pretty. I also know an Inka. Romy is very sweet! I also like Franz, it's cool. Did you consider Fritz ? I never liked Enya I prefer Anya.
Matthias (most common spelling) is a bit dated. I know 20 Matthias' over the age of 40 but only one under the age of 40 (he is 22). Matthis is not as dated. Stefan is a 70s name.
Annika is an 80s name but it is very nice, I like it. Lena is a classic and still very common, so is Lina.
Inga is pretty. I also know an Inka. Romy is very sweet! I also like Franz, it's cool. Did you consider Fritz ? I never liked Enya I prefer Anya.
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