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German is a language with [[T–V distinction]]. It is common that people who are informally addressed with ''du'' (friends, relatives, children) are also called by their first name, while people who are formally addressed with ''Sie'' are called by their last name, with ''Herr'' or ''Frau'' ("Mr." and "Mrs.") put in front.
German is a language with [[T–V distinction]]. It is common that people who are informally addressed with ''du'' (friends, relatives, children) are also called by their first name, while people who are formally addressed with ''Sie'' are called by their last name, with ''Herr'' or ''Frau'' ("Mr." and "Mrs.") put in front.


At the transition from childhood to adulthood, one might be called in a third form, namely using ''Sie'' with the first name. ''Sie'' is common for persons over the age of 15. This is how high school teachers may address their pupils from the 10th or 11th form (age 16/17) onwards, and parents might rarely use the same way to address their teenage children's friends if they have not known them since childhood. This usage is considered somewhat highbrow; noted humorist [[Max Goldt]] has remarked that this is the way upper-class parents would address their daughter's boyfriend over the breakfast table. Usage of ''Sie'' for family members or even among engaged couples has become extremely rare and considered the pinnacle of stiff, old-fashioned etiquette.
At the transition from childhood to adulthood, one might be called in a third form, namely using ''Sie'' with the first name (''Hamburger Sie'') . ''Sie'' is common for persons over the age of 15. This is how high school teachers may address their pupils from the 10th or 11th form (age 16/17) onwards, and parents might rarely use the same way to address their teenage children's friends if they have not known them since childhood. This usage is considered somewhat highbrow; noted humorist [[Max Goldt]] has remarked that this is the way upper-class parents would address their daughter's boyfriend over the breakfast table. Usage of ''Sie'' for family members or even among engaged couples has become extremely rare and considered the pinnacle of stiff, old-fashioned etiquette.


The opposite form, i.e. ''du'' with the last name (''Berliner Du'') is frequently used among retail workers or enlisted men in the military wearing badges with just their title and last name (e.g., Herr Schmidt, Frau Müller), who will address each other in the colloquial way while, for convenience, sticking to the name form on the badge. It is also common among [[kindergarten]] teachers who thus address each other the same way small children, who are yet to learn the Du/Sie distinction, address them. The latter usage is a product of pedagogical reform in the 1960s and 1970s; before, children in kindergarten addressed their teachers as ''Tante'' ("aunt") or ''Onkel'' ("uncle") and with their first names. Further, in some areas it is common in schools that students call each other by last name, in order to avoid ambiguity (since all students are born at about the same time, naming fashion causes many first names to be non-unique).{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}
The opposite form, i.e. ''du'' with the last name (''Berliner Du'') is frequently used among retail workers or enlisted men in the military wearing badges with just their title and last name (e.g., Herr Schmidt, Frau Müller), who will address each other in the colloquial way while, for convenience, sticking to the name form on the badge. It is also common among [[kindergarten]] teachers who thus address each other the same way small children, who are yet to learn the Du/Sie distinction, address them. The latter usage is a product of pedagogical reform in the 1960s and 1970s; before, children in kindergarten addressed their teachers as ''Tante'' ("aunt") or ''Onkel'' ("uncle") and with their first names. Further, in some areas it is common in schools that students call each other by last name, in order to avoid ambiguity (since all students are born at about the same time, naming fashion causes many first names to be non-unique).{{Citation needed|date=September 2011}}

Revision as of 03:56, 27 April 2012

German names consist of one or several Vornamen (forenames) and a Nachname (Familienname, family name). The Vorname is usually gender-specific.

Forenames

The Vorname (in English forename) is given to a child by the parents shortly after birth but not in all cases. It is not uncommon to give a child several Vornamen (forenames). Usually, one of them is meant to be normally used and called the Rufname (call name). This is often underlined on official documents, as it is sometimes the second or third name in a list, even though it is the person's main name.[1]

Surnames

Most surnames or family names (Nachnamen) consist of only one word. Titles of former aristocrats (like Graf for "Count") have become parts of the Nachname in Germany, giving longer names of several words, usually including the nobiliary particle von (meaning "of") or zu (meaning "to", sometimes "at"), often von und zu are also found together (meaning "of and to/at").[2][3] The legal rules for these names are the same as those for other Nachnamen, which gives rise to a number of cases where people legally bear such names but are not recognized by the associations of formerly noble families in Germany, which continue to apply the old rules of the German Empire in their publications. Most of these cases come about when a woman of noble descent marries a man with no title, and the two adopt the woman's name as their common Nachname, which was impossible under imperial law.

In Austria, titles of nobility including certain other orders and honours held by Austrian citizens have since 3 April 1919 been abolished, including nobiliary particles such as von, the use of such titles by Austrian citizens is an offence punishable with a financial enforcement penalty.[4] For example, Otto von Habsburg, Austria-Hungary's last crown prince, was referred to as Otto Habsburg(-Lothringen) in Austria. In Switzerland, where titles of nobility have been rare for several centuries, they can be used in private conversation, but are not officially recognised.[citation needed]

Traditionally, the wife adopts her husband's Nachname on marriage and drops her own. However, due to the legal equality of sexes, the opposite is possible as well, though rare.

A few examples of the practice under German law, if "Herr Schmidt" and "Frau Meyer" marry:[5]

  1. They can keep their former Nachnamen. (Herr Schmidt and Frau Meyer). In the 1990s, the law was thusly changed. They can later change to variant 2, though the inverse is not possible.
  2. They can declare one name as a "marriage name" (Ehename). In doing so, they can either both adopt the husband's name, or both adopt the wife's name as an Ehename. (Herr Meyer and Frau Meyer; Herr Schmidt and Frau Schmidt)
  3. There is the possibility that one partner can combine both names by a hyphen. Thus, one of them then bears a double name (Doppelname). (Herr Schmidt and Frau Meyer-Schmidt (or Frau Schmidt-Meyer); the children have to be called Schmidt). Only one partner can take this option, making it impossible for both partners to have Doppelnamen (So no Herr Meyer-Schmidt and Frau Meyer-Schmidt)

All children of a family have to receive the same non-hyphenated Nachname at birth, which may be either the mother's or the father's Nachname (traditionally it was the father's). If the parents adopted an Ehename this is the Nachname of the child. It is strictly forbidden to give children Doppelnamen if it is not the Ehename.[6] The latter case can arise with traditional aristocratic Doppelnamen (e.g. Faber-Castell).

If a son bears the same Vorname as his father, he might add a Jun. after his Nachname, and father might put a Sen. The usage of "III" in the case of three people in the same family with the same name does not exist; instead there must be used other means of distinction. Roman numbers are considered reserved for monarchs and popes.

Gender-specific surname variants

Traditionally there was a differentiation of surnames of women from those of their male siblings – as is still a rule in Czech, Eastern Slavic, or Polish female surnames –, widespread in Germany until the 18th century. So in old records, especially church registers on rites de passage, such as baptisms, deaths and marriages etc., women may appear bearing regionally typical female surname variants. With the establishment of general official registration of legal names this practice was abolished in the 18th and 19th century, depending on the legislation of the respective states. Also the spelling of given and surnames, varying before from author to author, or even entry to entry, was then mostly fixed according to the official recorded form. Former noble titles appearing in male and female variants, transformed by the Weimar Constitution, article 109, into parts of the surnames in Germany, however, established for these surnames a new tradition of gender-specific variants in official registration. This practice was confirmed in a judgement by the Reichsgericht on 10 March 1926.[7][8][9]

Colloquially surname variants for women continue to appear in some German dialects. In Bavarian dialect surnames of women are sometimes added the ending "…in", used in standard High German to indicate noun variants for women or items of grammatical feminine gender, such as Näherin (seamstress), with Näher (seamster) being the male form. In West Low German parlance the ending "…sch(e)" is sometimes added to surnames of women, related to the standard High German adjective ending "…isch" (cognitive to English "…ish"), suffixed to nouns or adjectives indicating belonging / pertaining to, being of the kind described by the suffixed word: e.g. de Smidtsche, is Ms Schmidt (Smith), – but literally about – the Smithian (the woman pertaining to a man / family named Schmidt).[10] Another form, indicating a female bearer of a surname, was the addition of a genitive "s" (cf. Saxon genitive), the daughter or wife of Mr. Bäcker (lit. Baker) would appear as Ms Bäckers (in German without an apostrophe), as being Bäcker's daughter or wife.

Pseudonyms

Pseudonyms can be used by artists (Künstlername, "artist's name") and members of religious orders (Ordensname); If a pseudonym is widely known in public it can be added to the passport of that person (under the weaker legal status of Künstlername) and be used instead of the original name in most situations. The same field in the passport also serves to show religious names, i.e. the new name somebody takes on when becoming a monk or nun.[11]

Academic degrees and titles

The academic degree of Doktor (Dr.) and the academic title of Professor (Prof.) are not part of the name in Germany but can be entered into an identity card or passport and are frequently used in documents and addresses. In Austria, this is substantially different.

They are, however, always used in a written address (e.g., Dr. Meier, Prof. Dr. Müller), and will often be used in formal speech or sometimes by lower-ranked persons such as students, though many academics prefer being addressed just like anyone else, i.e. by Herr or Frau alone (see below).

Estate names

In rural areas it is common that farmers are known by the traditional name of their farm or estate (which often has been kept the same over centuries) rather than their Nachname. Although the Hofname is not an official name, people know it rather than the Nachname. In cases where Nachname and Hofname are not identical (usually because there was no male heir at some point in the family history) they are joined in official documents by genannt (abbr. gen.), e.g. Amann gen. Behmann. In Austria the term vulgo (abbr. vlg.) is used instead of genannt.

Name changes

There are only four circumstances in which one is allowed to change one's name:

  1. On marriage: the couple can choose the name of either partner, they can both keep their original names, or (provided the original family name of neither partner contains a hyphen), one partner can modify their own name, appending the partner's family name to their own, creating a hyphenated name ("Mr. Schmid and Ms. Meier-Schmid" or "Mr. Schmid-Meier and Ms. Meier").
  2. Correction of a name: if the state has made an error with the name and this can be proven, the original name can be restored. Example: "Maſs" became "Mahs" and is corrected to "Mass".
  3. Gender reassignment in case of transsexuals.
  4. Naturalisation of a foreigner in Germany (Art. 47 EGBGB). In this case, the person may choose to adopt German forms of his first and last name, or a new first name if the old first name cannot be translated into German.

Adding the Doktor (Ph.D.) degree (in Germany), or any other academic degree (in Austria), into one's identity card or passport is not considered a name change.

Order of names and use of articles

The Nachname is put after the Vorname. In the rural use of several regions where heavy dialect is spoken (i.e. Bavaria, Saxony, the Palatinate or the Saarland), the order is reversed, e.g. "der Mühlbach Klaus" instead of "Klaus Mühlbach". The definite article is always added in this style of naming. Especially in these regions, it is also the usual administrative way, but with a comma; the said person would appear in documents as "Mühlbach, Klaus" or even, with a title or profession "Mühlbach, Klaus, Dr./OLt[12]/Bäcker".

Except for Southern Germany, usage of the definite article with the name outside of dialect is uncommon, and considered a mistake in standard High German. It is considered familiar language, but not as a mark of rough, rural manners as in French. It is used especially when talking of and/or with children, but also in some other situations. E.g., "Ich bin der Nils", or even "Ich gab der Eva eine Süßigkeit". Respectively, these sentences mean, "I am [the, masculine] Nils", and "I gave [to the, feminine] Eva a sweet". Once again, such usage varies and is optional, and is often used in clarification or in emphasis.

In Austria, the definite article is always used in informal spoken language, but most of the time not in very formal or written language.

In some dialects (such as those spoken in the Western Palatinate and parts of the Rhineland), the article used with women's and girls' names is not the female, but the neuter article. This is because the German word for "girl", Mädchen, is a neuter noun, due to the diminutive suffix -chen.

Addressing people

German is a language with T–V distinction. It is common that people who are informally addressed with du (friends, relatives, children) are also called by their first name, while people who are formally addressed with Sie are called by their last name, with Herr or Frau ("Mr." and "Mrs.") put in front.

At the transition from childhood to adulthood, one might be called in a third form, namely using Sie with the first name (Hamburger Sie) . Sie is common for persons over the age of 15. This is how high school teachers may address their pupils from the 10th or 11th form (age 16/17) onwards, and parents might rarely use the same way to address their teenage children's friends if they have not known them since childhood. This usage is considered somewhat highbrow; noted humorist Max Goldt has remarked that this is the way upper-class parents would address their daughter's boyfriend over the breakfast table. Usage of Sie for family members or even among engaged couples has become extremely rare and considered the pinnacle of stiff, old-fashioned etiquette.

The opposite form, i.e. du with the last name (Berliner Du) is frequently used among retail workers or enlisted men in the military wearing badges with just their title and last name (e.g., Herr Schmidt, Frau Müller), who will address each other in the colloquial way while, for convenience, sticking to the name form on the badge. It is also common among kindergarten teachers who thus address each other the same way small children, who are yet to learn the Du/Sie distinction, address them. The latter usage is a product of pedagogical reform in the 1960s and 1970s; before, children in kindergarten addressed their teachers as Tante ("aunt") or Onkel ("uncle") and with their first names. Further, in some areas it is common in schools that students call each other by last name, in order to avoid ambiguity (since all students are born at about the same time, naming fashion causes many first names to be non-unique).[citation needed]

The form Fräulein (meaning "Miss") to designate an unmarried woman is not considered politically correct anymore and thus has fallen out of official use. A minority of women, especially elderly unmarried women, may still insist on being addressed in this manner (seeing it as an honorific rather than discrimination), but most consider it to be somewhat offensive.

Similarly, addressing a woman by her husband's first name is largely unknown or at most considered archaic. Laura Bush would not be Mrs. George W. Bush (Frau George W. Bush), but Mrs. Laura Bush. Thus, the wife of Gerhard Schröder, Doris Schröder-Köpf, is referred to as Frau Doris Schröder-Köpf, never Frau Gerhard Schröder.

The ten most common family names

  1. Müller, Möller (Miller)
  2. Schmidt, Schmitt, Schmitz (Smith)
  3. Schneider (Tailor)
  4. Fischer (Fisher)
  5. Meyer, Meier, Meir, Meyr, Mayer, Maier, Mair, Mayr (Constable/Mayor)
  6. Weber (Weaver, Webster)
  7. Wagner (Carter/Cartwright, Wagoner/Waggoner)
  8. Becker, Bäcker (Baker)
  9. Schulz, Schulze, Schultze, Schulte (Constable/Mayor)
  10. Hoffmann, Hofmann (Man of the yard, farm)

The ten most common given names from 1600 to 2006

These are the names most frequently given to babies in 2006.[13]

Girls:

  1. Marie
  2. Sophie/Sofie
  3. Maria
  4. Anna, Anne
  5. Leonie
  6. Lena
  7. Emily
  8. Johanna
  9. Laura
  10. Lea/Leah

Boys:

  1. Leon
  2. Maximilian
  3. Alexander
  4. Lukas/Lucas
  5. Paul
  6. Luca
  7. Tim
  8. Felix
  9. David
  10. Elias

Most popular names between 1957 and 2006 for girls:
Andrea, Angelika, Anja, Anke, Anna, Anne, Annett, Antje, Barbara, Birgit, Brigitte, Christin, Christina, Christine, Claudia, Daniela, Diana, Doreen, Franziska, Gabriele, Heike, Ines, Jana, Janina, Jennifer, Jessica, Jessika, Julia, Juliane, Karin, Karolin, Katharina, Kathrin, Katrin, Katja, Kerstin, Klaudia, Kristin, Laura, Lea, Lena, Lisa, Mandy, Manuela, Maria, Marie, Marina, Martina, Melanie, Monika, Nadine, Nicole, Petra, Sabine, Sabrina, Sandra, Sara, Sarah, Silke, Simone, Sophia, Sophie, Stefanie, Stephanie, Susanne, Tanja, Ulrike, Ursula, Uta, Ute, Vanessa, Yvonne.

Most popular names between 1957 and 2006 for boys:
Alexander, Andreas, Benjamin, Bernd, Christian, Daniel, David, Dennis, Dieter, Dirk, Dominik, Eric, Erik, Felix, Florian, Frank, Franz, Jan, Jens, Jonas, Jörg, Jürgen, Karl-Heinz, Kevin, Klaus, Kristian, Leon, Lukas, Marcel, Marco, Marko, Mario, Markus, Martin, Mathias, Matthias, Max, Maximilian, Michael, Mike, Maik, Niklas, Patrick, Paul, Peter, Philipp, Phillipp, Ralf, Ralph, René, Robert, Sebastian, Stefan, Stephan, Steffen, Sven, Swen, Thomas, Thorsten, Torsten, Tim, Tobias, Tom, Ulrich, Uwe, Wilhelm, Wolfgang

Most popular names for girls in 1900:

  1. Frieda
  2. Anna
  3. Martha
  4. Erna
  5. Gertrud
  6. Emma
  7. Elisabeth
  8. Margarete / Margarethe
  9. Marie
  10. Else

Most popular names for boys in 1900:

  1. Walter
  2. Karl
  3. Heinrich
  4. Wilhelm
  5. Hans
  6. Ernst
  7. Otto
  8. Paul
  9. Friedrich
  10. Hermann

Most popular names for boys in 1616 in Darmstadt (Hesse):[14]

  1. Johann, Johannes
  2. Hans
  3. Georg
  4. Henrich, Heinrich
  5. Caspar
  6. Balthasar
  7. Conrad
  8. Melchior
  9. Jost
  10. Adam

Most popular names for males between 1600 and 1900 in Württemberg:

  1. Johann, Johannes, Hans
  2. Georg, Jörg, Jerg
  3. Jakob/Jacob
  4. Michael/Michel
  5. Martin
  6. Friedrich
  7. Christoph
  8. Ludwig
  9. Konrad
  10. Andreas

Most popular names for females between 1600 and 1900 in Württemberg:

  1. Anna
  2. Maria/e
  3. Katharina/Catharina
  4. Barbara
  5. Christina/Christine
  6. Margarethe/a
  7. Elisabeth/Elisabetha
  8. Rosina
  9. Magdalena
  10. Agnes

German names in English-speaking countries

Names like Gretchen, Grettel or Lorelei, which are used in English-speaking countries, especially the US, and are qualified as German, are rather not registered as legal names in German-speaking countries. Gretchen and Gretel appear in nicknaming as diminutive forms for Margaret(h)e. "Mädchen", like the actress Mädchen Amick, means girl in German and is therefore not used as a given name. Lorelei is a mythological creature.

See also

References

  1. ^ Rechtstipps – der private Rechtsberater
  2. ^ For example: Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg
  3. ^ Nobiliary particles used by German nobility
  4. ^ Adelsaufhebungsgesetz, Verwaltungsstrafbarkeit (Nobility Repeal Act, Administrative Offense).
  5. ^ Das Namensrecht – Doppelname, Geburtsname, Familienname. Familienrecht-ratgeber.de. Retrieved on 2011-11-01.
  6. ^ Das Bundesverfassungsgericht. Bundesverfassungsgericht.de. Retrieved on 2011-11-01.
  7. ^ Cf Reichsgesetzblatt (Reich's law gazette), No. 113 (1926), pp. 107seqq.
  8. ^ Cf. also Sebastian-Johannes von Spoenla-Metternich, Namenserwerb, Namensführung und Namensänderung unter Berücksichtigung von Namensbestandteilen, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, Europäischer Verlag der Wissenschaften, 1997, (=simultaneously: Wilhelmshaven, Fachhochsch., Diploma thesis), p. 137. ISBN 3-631-31779-4
  9. ^ In a suit on a legal name change after a sex reassignment therapy the Bayerisches Oberstes Landesgericht (Bavarian Supreme Court) decided on 2 October 2002 that the register office (Standesamt) has to issue a birth certificate for a person of reassigned gender giving the gender-specific form of the variable surname part (deriving from the former title) according to the gender which is now assigned to the person. Cf. Bayerisches Oberstes Landesgericht, Aktenzeichen: 1Z BR 98/02, Beschluß vom 2. Oktober 2002
  10. ^ This usage of the possessive suffix "…isch(e)" then also caused its more general perception as feminine ending for professions, such as in "de Kööksch" (literally the "cookee"). Cf. Hein Timm, Wörterbuch Hochdeutsch-Plattdeutsch, Hamburg: Ernst Kabel, 1980, p. 54. ISBN 3-921909-35-x.
  11. ^ Rechtsinformationen zu Künstlernamen
  12. ^ Oberleutnant
  13. ^ Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache (GfdS): Beliebteste Vornamen. Gfds.de. Retrieved on 2011-11-01.
  14. ^ alte Vornamen aus den Jahren 1616 und 1675. Beliebte-vornamen.de. Retrieved on 2011-11-01.


Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special%3ADiff%2F489419799