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Baby Names
magpie1127
member
Brainstorming German names
magpie1127
member
in Baby Names
Hi Ladies!
I'm trying to come up with names that are German or generally European-sounding (to match our very German last name - sounds like Krug or Klum). However, I don't want them to be SO German that our future child sounds like he/she's a foreign exchange student.
Some of my favorites:
Ada
Eloise (German form is Heloise)
Greta
Clara
Adelaide
--
Milo
Leo
Otto (too ethnic for me, but I love it)
Any other ideas?
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Re: Brainstorming German names
Nice choices!
We know an Ada, Eloise (nn Ellie), Clara, and Adelaide.
DH is pushing for Otto since that was his grandfather's name. I like Milo too.
TTC #3: BFP 4/27/12, Ectopic 5/16/12 Expectant Management, 8/15/12 Cleared to TTC
BFP 9/25/12 EDD 6/6/13, Shooting 3-for-3 from the line: It's a Girl
PgAL/PAL Welcome
I didn't want a German name for my LO. We ended up with Greta Vivian K.....last name is German, strong K, rhymes with "nope"....
You can't get much more German than my LO's name. Total opposite of what I originally wanted.
Other girls names on our list were Matilda, Elsa, and Eva. We also had Otto and Milo on the list. But we named Greta's lovey "Otto" and he is an owl. Had she been a boy, she would have been Oskar after her great grandpa.
Danica 10.22.10 | Milo 12.23.12
I do not have any suggestions but wanted to add my own experience. We are currently living in Germany and my DH and I laugh all the time at the names. Not because the names themselves are funny but because they sound NOTHING like the pronunciation we would use in the US.
Our neighbors names are Hermann and Egbert but when you say them in German you would have no idea what they would translate to in English.
Oh yes, that's very true! I've spent quite a bit of time in Germany myself, so I know what you mean. My best friend in Germany is named Nicole, but it's obviously pronounced much differently there than it is here. However, I don't really find anything wrong with using the American pronunciation of the names, since the baby would be living here in the U.S. That's so cool that you get to live in Germany! I love, love, love Germany.
I love Clara! I also like Mathilde and Ilsa.
For boys I like Dieter, Johan, Dierk, or Matthais.
Love Adelaide, Heidi is actually a NN or is derived from this name
I also love Gretta (possible NN for Margaret) but our LN is a long German name and sounds a bit harsh paired with Gretta.
I know an Elsa who has a very German" K" LN and she's adorable. How about Gisele?
DS born at 34 weeks with (surprise!) gastroschisis turned short bowel syndrome.
131 days in the NICU, 7 trips to the OR, G-button, daily TPN....
My husband is a German citizen and still has family there, so we wanted to pick a name that both sets of grandparents can pronounce and that is spelled the same in both countries. We are having a boy. Our top pick right now is Daniel. #2 is Alexander. For a girl, we liked Katrina, which is not really a German name but is easy to say and spell in both languages.
If you want names that are a little more ethnic, I always liked Daniela and Michaela for a girl, but Michaela would be hard for an American to pronounce. Isabel and Kirsten are actually German names too. For boys, Matthias is nice, or you could use Mathis if you wanted something more pronounceable. Here are Germany's top 1000 names for 2011 (look in the right-hand column): https://www.beliebte-vornamen.de/jahrgang/j2011/top500-2011
Over-40 parents...what we lack in vigor, we make up for with cunning.
Thanks for the link! I do love Matthias. When I was staying in Germany, my friend's brother was names Matthias. I'd be afraid if people pronouncing it matheyeus, though, rather than mahteeus.