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Baby names

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

Original poster

Dh and I can’t find any girls name (half German)

131 replies

NC463 · 14/04/2024 00:11

It’s an absolute nightmare, I love the name Elodie and always have done but dh hates it. He wants something that reflects his German heritage but can’t give me any names apart from his grandmothers name, we do also have a very German surname which I’m conscious of. I’ve said I’m happy for this as a middle name however I don’t like the name myself. We’ve already decided on Finn for a boy, which we both love.
TIA

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MirandaBlu · 14/04/2024 19:47

WhatWouldYouDo33 · 14/04/2024 16:21

Another antiquated name. The youngest Petra I know is 50. And it’s also pronounced differently in German.

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Loads of little Petras in other parts of Europe - it was #15 for girls in Croatia last year and top 50 in other parts of the Balkans & Hungary too. I think the combo of being familiar/traditional (maybe a name used by grandparents?) + being usable in many European languages + the connection with the place name trend / connotations of adventure and travel that are giving it a boost.

Claramay78 · 14/04/2024 19:03

Stella

Mercurial123 · 14/04/2024 18:59

WhatWouldYouDo33 · 14/04/2024 16:21

Another antiquated name. The youngest Petra I know is 50. And it’s also pronounced differently in German.

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MN is full of antiquated names.

Saschka · 14/04/2024 18:37

The girls in DS’s KiTa had pretty standard names I’m afraid!

Lila, Naomi, Julia, Millie, Laura, Sophia, Aimee, Eva.

SirChenjins · 14/04/2024 18:27

Why not just go for a name that reflects your heritage? If your child’s surname reflects their German heritage on their father’s side then it seems more equitable to have a first name that reflects their mother’s heritage too.

kaiadeluded · 14/04/2024 18:26

She was told by her family to call herself 'Natasha' in the UK as it sounds more international but we all insisted on calling her by her real name, Katinka, because it was so nice.

kaiadeluded · 14/04/2024 18:24

I like Katinka, I lived with a pretty young med student with that name a few years ago.

FinanceLPlates · 14/04/2024 17:51

Charlotte nn Lotte or Lottie
Marlene
Alma
I actually quite like Pauline but you could go for Lina to make it sound more contemporary
Anna or Emma are classic names that work well in both English and German

All of these are both traditional but also current and don’t sound dated - unlike Gretchen, Inge, Heidi…

beetr00 · 14/04/2024 17:40

Inge as @inquisitiveinga suggested, there are are few pp's suggesting Freya too

https://www.babycentre.co.uk/babyname/1028727/inge

schnubbins · 14/04/2024 17:33

If I had had a girl
Carla
Karolina
or Frieda

DancingFerret · 14/04/2024 17:28

Svenja

blanketsnuggler · 14/04/2024 17:22

Another vote for Lena here.
Agata?
Hanna?

Lovelyview · 14/04/2024 17:11

Freya? It is seen as Norse but also has Germanic roots.

DNAwrangler · 14/04/2024 17:10

I’m in Germany. Some of the girls 8 and under that we know are

Lea
Finja
Leonie
Luisa
Annika
Linea
Charlotte
Linda
Clara
Amara
Elena
Maria
Nele
Amy
Lara

inquisitiveinga · 14/04/2024 16:58

Inga? 😜
Ida?
Agnes?

hotpotlover · 14/04/2024 16:56

I'm German and we chose international names for our children that are known and sound good in every country/language.

Our children are called Rose, Elisabeth and Samuel.

Bridgetoo · 14/04/2024 16:24

Anna.

The ultimate pan-European name imo

whiteorchids44 · 14/04/2024 16:23

I've always loved names like Annelise and Lorelei.

WhatWouldYouDo33 · 14/04/2024 16:21

Mercurial123 · 14/04/2024 16:18

Another vote for Petra. That was the German name assigned to me at school when we learned it. Everyone was allocated a German name. Thinking about it, that was a bit strange.

Another antiquated name. The youngest Petra I know is 50. And it’s also pronounced differently in German.

WhatWouldYouDo33 · 14/04/2024 16:20

Igneococcus · 14/04/2024 16:16

definitely don’t go for Beate, nobody in England will know how to pronounce it correctly.

As someone whose names ends in "e" I can confirm that nobody who doesn't speak German natively or very well can pronounce it correctly. I don't actually care that I haven't heard my name pronounced properly for several decades, even Germans mispronounce my name in the presence of people who don't speak German because most don't realize they talk about me when they call me by my correct name, but if it matters to you then don't give your child a German name that is hard to pronounce correctly. You'd be correcting people all the time.

My half Austrian friend who lives in England gave her children German names who are pronounced differently in English. Think for example Ida and Julia (pronounced Yulia). Guess what? Already in primary school their names get mispronounced constantly. Also by teachers.

FlutteryButterfly · 14/04/2024 16:20

Another vote for Silke

Mercurial123 · 14/04/2024 16:18

Another vote for Petra. That was the German name assigned to me at school when we learned it. Everyone was allocated a German name. Thinking about it, that was a bit strange.

Igneococcus · 14/04/2024 16:16

definitely don’t go for Beate, nobody in England will know how to pronounce it correctly.

As someone whose names ends in "e" I can confirm that nobody who doesn't speak German natively or very well can pronounce it correctly. I don't actually care that I haven't heard my name pronounced properly for several decades, even Germans mispronounce my name in the presence of people who don't speak German because most don't realize they talk about me when they call me by my correct name, but if it matters to you then don't give your child a German name that is hard to pronounce correctly. You'd be correcting people all the time.

Mugcake · 14/04/2024 16:05

Etta

Ella

Lina (could be a nn for paulina)

Freya

WhatWouldYouDo33 · 14/04/2024 16:03

Some of the suggestions here are very outdated (and not in a good way). A bit like calling an English child Peregrine or Albertine.

what name is Wildy?
definitely don’t go for Beate, nobody in England will know how to pronounce it correctly.

popular names in Germany are Leonie, Elisa, Matilda, Lena, Leni, Sophia, Emma not

Ursula, Gretel, Trudi, Traudi,

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