Languages › German German First Names and Their English Equivalents Share Flipboard Email Print Andrew Bret Wallis/DigitalVision/Getty Images German Vocabulary History & Culture Pronunciation & Conversation Grammar By Hyde Flippo Hyde Flippo German Expert Hyde Flippo taught the German language for 28 years at high school and college levels and published several books on the German language and culture. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on July 14, 2019 Anyone researching names soon becomes aware that, because of spelling variations and other changes, it is often difficult to determine the true origin of a name, particularly family names. Many names were altered (Americanized, anglicized) for various reasons. Just one example: The German last name Schön (beautiful) became Shane, a change that deceptively hides its German origin. Not all German first or last names have an English equivalent, but many do. We won't bother with obvious ones like Adolf, Christoph, Dorothea (dor-o-taya), Georg (gay-org), Michael (meech-ah-el), Monika (mow-ni-kah), Thomas (tow-mas), or Wilhelm (vil-helm). They may be pronounced differently but the resemblance is hard to miss. First Names (Vornamen) Adalbert/Albrecht (Albert)Alois (Aloysius)Anja/Antje/Anke (Anna)Bärbel (Barbara)Beke (north German form of Bertha)Bernd/Bernt (Bernard)Birgit (Swedish form of Brigitte, which is actually a Celtic name)Dolf (short form from names ending in - dolf)Dorle (Dora, Dot, Dorothy)Eugen (oy-gen, Eugene)Franz (Frank)Gabi (form of Gabriele)Gerhard (Gerald)Gottfried (Geoffrey, Jeffrey, Godfrey)Greta (Margaret)Hans/Jens/Johann(es) (Jack, John, Jonathan)Heinrich/Heino/Heinz (Henry)Ilse (Elizabeth)Jakob (James)Jörg/Jürgen (George)Jutta (Judy/Judith)Karl/Karla (Charles/Carol)Karsten/Carsten/Kersten (variation of Christian)Katrin (C/Katherine)Kirsten/Kirstin (Christine)Lars (Larry), Leni (Helen/e)Ludwig (Lewis/Louis)Margit (Martha)Matthias (Mathew)Nastasja (Anastasia),Nils (Nick)Ninja (neen-ya, Nina)Peer (Peter)Reinhold (Reginald)Renate (Renee)Rolf (Rudolph)Rüdiger/Rudi (Roger, Rudolph)Sepp (form of Joseph)Silke (Frisian form of Cecily/Cecilia)Steffi (Stephanie)Thea (short form of Dorothea)Theo (Theodore)Wim (form of Wilhelm). Female German First Names These female german names do not have an English equivalent. Ada/AddaAdelheid (Heidi is the familiar form)Astrid, Beate, Brunhild(e)Dagmar (from Danish)DietrunEffi/Elfriede/ElfiEike (also male)ElkeFraukeFriedel (related to Elfriede)GerdaGerlindeGertrud(e)GiselaGunthild(e)HarmkeHedwigHeidrunHeikeHelgaHilde/HildegardHildrunHilkeImkeIrmaIrmgardIrmtraudIngeborgKaiKriemhildLudmillaMarleneMathildeMeinhildOttilieRoswithaSentaSieglindeSigridSigrunSonjaTanja (from Russian)ThedaTilla/TilliTraudeTrudiUlrikeUnaUrsula/UschiUte/UtaWaltraudWilhelmineWinifred Male First Names These male german names do not have an English equivalent. AchimBodo/Bot(h)oDagobert (no, not Dogbert!)Detlef/DetlevDieter,DietmarDirkEberhardEckehard/EckartEgonEmil (masculine form of Emily, Emilio in Span)EngelbertErhard/ErhartFalkoGandolfGerd/Gert,Golo, Gunt(h)erGustav (from Swedish)Hartmut,HartwigHelgeHelmutHolger (from Danish)HorstIngomarJoachim (Achim)KaiKnutManfredNorbertOdo/UdoOtmarOttoRainer (rye-ner)ReinholdSiegfriedSiegmund/SigmundSönkTorsten/ThorstenTillUlfUlrich/UliUweVeitVilmarVolkerWaldemarWern(h)erWielandWigandWolfgangWolfram Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Flippo, Hyde. "German First Names and Their English Equivalents." ThoughtCo, Aug. 26, 2020, thoughtco.com/learn-genealogy-vocabulary-in-german-4090236. Flippo, Hyde. (2020, August 26). German First Names and Their English Equivalents. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/learn-genealogy-vocabulary-in-german-4090236 Flippo, Hyde. "German First Names and Their English Equivalents." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/learn-genealogy-vocabulary-in-german-4090236 (accessed March 23, 2023). copy citation Featured Video