Johannes → German: Johann, Hans, Hannes.In the 12th century, names from the New Testament were common, often adapted or shortened to German, e.g.: From the 8th century onwards, bynames were introduced to the call name in Germany. Non-Germanic names were only from the 7th/8th century really present you can find in this time mainly names borrowed from the Bible e.g. However, the initial importance of the content did not last over time, the call name was chosen with more attention to euphony and ancestry. Moreover, some name members inhered only one gender, whereas others could be used for both feminine and masculine names (e.g. her and bert as in Walt-her, Her-bert, Bert-hold). Some of them could function both as front and back member of the compound name (e.g. they were in use either only as first member (e.g. Many parts of the name could only be used unilaterally, i.e. Until the 4th century, Germanic call names were built on the principle of combining two name members in a meaningful way e.g.: Gud-run, Sieg-run (run = magic, secret), Ger-hart, Ger-not (ger = spear, hart = hard/strict). At most, there was an individual byname to distinguish, from which, together with the supernames, developed today's inherited family names, which, however, could change in reality for a longer time due to changes. Until the Middle Ages in the German-speaking world, only one name was common. The marriage name is the name that the spouses decide on at the time of marriage to use as each spouse's own surname during their marriage.īirth and marriage names may also be used as a double name.Īrtistic names can also be used as family names without any relationship.įirst names have been in use since earlier times. Arbitrary adjustments are also possible, such as the adoption of a new spouse's name by the premarital children of one of the partners so that the new family can appear as a single entity in social and official dealings. The birth name can change through adoption, officially initiated name change or renaming.Ī person's surname can change in the course of life, for example through marriage, divorce, adoption or an official name change. The original family name acquired by descent is the birth name (for married women also maiden name) and expresses the affiliation to the parental family. The family name expresses the affiliation of the name bearer to a family, it is also called surname, last name or gender name. If the name refers to the mother, it is a metronym. Until the 19th century, patronyms with the most diverse endings were common throughout the German-speaking world. Example: Hinrich Peters Müller means "Hinrich Müller, Peter's son." This name formation is permissible in Germany today only in East Frisian, except for immigrants from other states. In Germany, middle names are usually patronyms from the father's first name with the usual ending for "-sohn" or "-tochter" in the respective national language or dialect. However, a middle name is not used if a person has more than one first name or family name. The name bearer is free to choose between his officially registered first names.Ī middle name is another name that is used between the first name and the family name. The order of first names does not represent a ranking. If more than one first name is used, the first name by which the person is mainly addressed is called the "call name". A person may have several first names, but must have at least one. Since then, every German bears names in the following order: a first name, possibly a middle name and the family name.Ī person's first name is the part of the name that does not express membership in a family, but identifies them individually. It was not until 1875 that registry offices were introduced in the German Empire and the existing names were fixed. German family names have gradually been established in German-speaking countries since the 12th century.
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