Franz?

[Fibbertigibbet]

I've started thinking about the name Franz for a boy because

• Kafka is one of my favourite authors
• I like Francis (nn Fran) but it sounds a bit catholic and I don't like Frank or Frankie very much
• It is one of the few boys' names DH and I can agree on!

However I'm not sure if it sounds painfully middle class! Also neither of us are German, and our surname (a bit unusual, so not posting) is an unusual German noun. Too weird, or charmingly unusual?

It's a great name but personally I would only use it if I had some German heritage. If your surname is a German word does that mean that somewhere back in time you had German family? Or is it just a coincidence?

I like it and it doesn't scream middle-class to me, although I'd probably a assume you had German/Mittel-European heritage. I think in some languages it's pronounced Fronz, but am not sure.

I like it sounds cool imo.

GuatemalanRum Without wanting to give too much away, it's a made-up surname, although both my birth surname and DH's birth surname trace back to Germanic roots. Is that enough?

Any Germanic roots would be enough for me.

Very cool that you invented your own surname!

My immediate thought would be Franz Ferdinand.

Not sure if that's good for you or bad for you so hey

Franz Ferdinand too.

DH is German and we spend quite a bit of time there so my first reaction would be that Franz was an old man born in the 1920's. It was the 128th most popular boys name in Germany last year (just checked!) but I'm not sure it's considered grandad chic just yet (that might reassure you or not!). I would absolutely assume you had some relatively close German connections to use it as to my ears it sounds very Germanic.

Also I think it might also depend on the German noun your surname is - does it sound comical in German, would non-German speakers know what it is etc?

Surname is a bit of a weird one in that it's not a noun any non-german speakers or even most German speakers would know- it was completely coincidental, but I googled it after our name change and realised it actually was a word in German! It's a word for a very specific and unusual thing (or rather an unusual version of a common thing, and used only to refer to that version of the thing) most people will never even come across, where everyone would know what it was, but the kind fo object you likely wouldn't realise had its own word (like if I had the surname Tittle- it's a word in the English language, most English speakers would just say "the dot on top of an i" and not even realise Tittle was a noun, except this is for an actual tangible object). If you google the surname you get pictures of the thing, but only from specialist websites. It's not like our surname is Orangensaft!

I am a bit concerned after what people have said that perhaps we're not German enough!

Francis on birth certificate, but DS always, always known as Franz, perhaps??? It just gives you and everyone else a bit more freedom.

i think its cool.

You dont need german heritage to be a fan of Kafka

Otto's quite popular now - I don't think it's too much of a stretch from that. I like it, and think the Kafka connection gives it a valid meaning for you. It's a little bit close to Fritz, that would be my only worry.

It's great! I wish I'd thought of it for ds who was going to be Francis, but I didn't like Frank!

I agree you don't need German heritage to be a fan of Kafka (in fact he was Austrian/Czech) so in that sense it's not an issue. It's more the connotations it might have for people which I guess was the OP's concern - to me it sounds very Germanic and I would probably think you had some close German connections. It certainly doesn't sound any more unusual than lots of names suggested on here though! I don't think it sounds that similar to Fritz so wouldn't be too concerned about that.

Not sure if you care how it is perceived in German speaking countries. In the uk it would probably be nicely unusual. Don't think there to be any association with class in the uk. In Germany or Austria it would depend on the last name. It is certainly unusual to call one's son Franz these days

joesgirl I'm not hugely concerned about how it's perceived in German speaking countries (as in whether it's old fashioned there), but it would have to be acceptable enough that we could travel to Germany, Austria etc. and not have a problem. For what it's worth, we've visited Germany post surname change and nobody batted an eyelid. I guess in its most stark translation it would be equivalent of being called Frank Lawnmower or Frank Stepladder, which whilst odd, wouldn't be too horrendous.

I guess I should clear up what I mean by "middle-class", because that's not really what I mean! I guess what I'm trying to say is does it sound try hard "look at me I'm the most bohemian mummy in the baby yoga class"? I imagine an exchange where I introduce a baby as Franz and someone saying "Oh, are you German?" and saying "Oh no, it was a display of my love for darkly metaphysical and psychologically brutal literature by foreign authors!" and the person being more than a bit bemused and thinking I am the worst kind of holier-than-thou, extra virgin oil drizzling, all singing and dancing twit, who probably buys organic fairtrade underpants and runs a vegan interior design blog. I don't know if when it transpires my reasons for using the name aren't a display of geneological roots I'll look a bit of a tit.

I think you should go for it then. I have named one of my DC after a famous writer (while my husband thinks it's a king :) so I understand your passion. And Kafka is a worthy choice IMHO.

But seriously speaking, as a German speaker I can assure you, the name is perfectly fine. It may have more regional connotation to Austria and Bavaria, more rural than urban, and for being the first of two names of several emperors. But it is a neutral solid name with all its benefits.

And in the uk, as I said I think your choice of naming him after Kafka is cool.

I think it is a lovely name. I know a few small boys in Austria and South Germany called Franz but overall it is not very popular anymore.
Josef seems to be a popular middle name for Franz (there was a famous Austrian emperor called Franz Josef)

It's an old man's name in Belgium, and not quite ready for a comeback.

Having said that, Fransicus is nice.

Fonz is short for Alfonso.

Love Francis, and think Franz would make a good potential nn.

I like it.