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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Quirky names that work in German

103 replies

JulieBindelHasAKindle · 17/08/2023 12:51

Dp is German and I’m English and we are currently living in Italy but will be moving to the UK in the next 18 months. We’ve decided on Aloisa for a girl but are struggling to decide on a boys name. I always wanted to call my child Jude if they were a boy but it’s inappropriate in German. Names we like are as followed:

Karl (but it’s quite popular in Germany and I worry people will think of Marx)
Mies (dp wants this as it’s a family name however I don’t think it works in English)
Egon (I like but dp thinks it sounds too much like Elon)
Rainer (we both like but think it sounds tol American)
Wolf (we both like but worry it’s too ‘weird’ in English)

Names we can’t use: Otto, Rex, Rafael

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Original poster
JulieBindelHasAKindle · 17/08/2023 13:57

@KirstenBlest said rye-ner.

OP posts:
Meadowflower2023 · 17/08/2023 13:56

Reiner is lovely and I don't actually mind Wolf, but in the UK Wolf sounds super unusual unlike in Germany. I think Nico and Andrè are lovely but maybe they're overdone already in your DH home country. Rueben is another name I like because I love the nickname Roo. The girls name you've chosen is really really lovely btw.

Echobelly · 17/08/2023 13:44

Dieter
Clement (I know an Anglo German couple with a son with this name)
Florian is really nice, I think, particularly in a German accent

Caspianberg · 17/08/2023 13:43

We had similar requirements.

Conrad
Alvin
Sullivan
Wolfe
Stanley
Merlin
Samuel
Marcus

Thewolvesarerunningagain · 17/08/2023 13:41

Rainer is a wonderful name, as is Wolfgang (but Wolf maybe not).
Emil
Theo
Benedict
or how about Jonas ?

SerenityNowInsanityLater · 17/08/2023 13:40

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Original poster
JulieBindelHasAKindle · 17/08/2023 13:38

@Wanttoshavemyhairoff I love Dieter but we have a very long distinctive surname that begins with D so I think it would sound a bit comedic.

OP posts:
BlueChampagne · 17/08/2023 13:38

C/Konrad?

Whataretheodds · 17/08/2023 13:37

Korben
Torben

SerenityNowInsanityLater · 17/08/2023 13:36

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Whataretheodds · 17/08/2023 13:36

The problem with Wolf/Wolfgang is that pronunciation is totally different in English and German.

Max
Alex
Axel
Matthias (Matt/Matti)
Andreas
Dieter
Manfred
Ralf
Otto
Hans

"Jude" means "Jew" in German @Katrinawaves

Shesellsseashellsh · 17/08/2023 13:32

I love Linus

Bananalanacake · 17/08/2023 13:32

Henning.

HuntingoftheSnark · 17/08/2023 13:31

My father was Walter (and was German).

LlynTegid · 17/08/2023 13:31

You might be OK with Karl, like Benedict as well.

Original poster
JulieBindelHasAKindle · 17/08/2023 13:30

ineedanewnametoday · 17/08/2023 13:14

Julius
Julian
(That's if you don't mind the different pronunciation in English and German)

Tobias
Ansgar
Henrik
Frederik

I'm intrigued by the name Mies...I've never heard this name before (lived in Germany over twenty years) and there's an adjective mies which means something like lousy...do you know any more about it?

Dp’s grandfather was called Mies, he was from a Jewish family and I think came from Holland so it may be a Dutch/Jewish name! It’s pronounced slightly differently to the German ‘Mies’ which I think means crook (my German has seen better days) which is another reason why I’m not keen but dp doesn’t seem to see the issue as the baby will grow up in England 🙄

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SerenityNowInsanityLater · 17/08/2023 13:29

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SerenityNowInsanityLater · 17/08/2023 13:27

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KirstenBlest · 17/08/2023 13:26

Karl - Marx. Said differently in different countries - Karrl in German, Ka(r)l in England, Karrel in Scottish. Prefer the Carl spelling, or other forms of Charles.
Mies - Like. Well get said as Meez instead of Meess. Mies van der Rohe
Egon - Egon Ronay. Ego
Rainer - Pronunciation. Rye-ner v Ray-ner
Wolf - fine, Wolfgang on BC?

Otto, Rex, Rafael. - I only like Rex out of those.

I think only Wolf is quirky, and not sure why you want a quirky name.

Wanttoshavemyhairoff · 17/08/2023 13:24

I love Sebastian and Fabian .
Daniel would work in uk & Germany
I also like Dieter

BlackJumpsuit · 17/08/2023 13:20

I love Wolf! I think that's a great name .

ineedanewnametoday · 17/08/2023 13:14

Julius
Julian
(That's if you don't mind the different pronunciation in English and German)

Tobias
Ansgar
Henrik
Frederik

I'm intrigued by the name Mies...I've never heard this name before (lived in Germany over twenty years) and there's an adjective mies which means something like lousy...do you know any more about it?

Pocodaku · 17/08/2023 13:06

Roland
Dirk
Manfred
Udo

Ameanstreakamilewide · 17/08/2023 13:06

JulieBindelHasAKindle · 17/08/2023 12:51

Dp is German and I’m English and we are currently living in Italy but will be moving to the UK in the next 18 months. We’ve decided on Aloisa for a girl but are struggling to decide on a boys name. I always wanted to call my child Jude if they were a boy but it’s inappropriate in German. Names we like are as followed:

Karl (but it’s quite popular in Germany and I worry people will think of Marx)
Mies (dp wants this as it’s a family name however I don’t think it works in English)
Egon (I like but dp thinks it sounds too much like Elon)
Rainer (we both like but think it sounds tol American)
Wolf (we both like but worry it’s too ‘weird’ in English)

Names we can’t use: Otto, Rex, Rafael

I'd think of Karl Pilkington, but I'm an uncultured swine!

cruffinsmuffin · 17/08/2023 13:05

Karl and Mies are lovely! I wouldn't think Marx for Karl, I'd think Lagerfeld or similar.