German Boy Names

Andreas is a beautiful name, with the patina of an Old Master painting, one that could make a dashing namesake for an Uncle Andrew.

Works better as a full name than Arnie does as a nickname.

In Spanish cultures, and spelled either Bastian or Bastien, this is a fairly common nickname name. The German fantasy children's book The Neverending Story features a young boy character called Bastian Balthlazar Bux, and it has also been seen in several screen versions.

This Nordic-sounding name is ripe for wider usage, especially as a fresh alternative to Christian or similar-sounding Carl.

This surname related to Clement is strongly associated with Major League pitcher Roger Clemens, winner of more Cy Young awards than any other pitcher in baseball history, and has a softer sound than Clement. Some variations are Clemen, Clementio, Clemention, and Clemons.

Dieter is a classic German name that got lots of satiric exposure via Mike Myers on "Saturday Night Live" a few years back. If mispronounced, it could conceivably be read as someone on a diet.

A perennial classic in the Netherlands, short-and-sweet Dirk is starting to feel like a fresher alternative to cousin Derek.

Fabian is the ancient name of a saint and pope that also has Shakespearean cred as Olivia's servant in Twelfth Night and more recently made an appearance in Harry Potter. In the U.S. Fabian became best known via the 1960s teen idol/singer who went solely by his first name.

If Flora and Florence have returned full force, Florian, with its trendy Latinate ending, could also have a chance. Popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland -- he was the venerated patron saint of those in danger from water and of firefighters -- might sound a tad feminine and floral to English speakers. But as a middle name, Florian could be a great way to honor grandma Florence (or any other flower name).

Franz is the German equivalent to Francis, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a Franz outside of countries with Germanic origins. In America the name is often associated with celebrated author Franz Kafka, who was born in Prague.

Both a saint's name and a presidential one via Gerald Ford—who was born Leslie—Gerald is a quintessential 1930s-40s name, when it ranked as high as Number 19. Hence all those nice middle-aged and senior Jerrys we've known and loved. Gerald has always been popular in Ireland, accounting for the prevalence of Fitzgeralds there. Though not considered stylish, Gerald remains on the popularity charts. Cousin Gerard has a similar profile, Geraldo is the well-used Spanish version, and Geraldine is the most promising of the family, in line to follow the path of Josephine to imminent revival.

Johannes never caught on in the US, but popular European short form Hannes may be more accessible.

Traditional German names of this ilk have had a difficult time emigrating into the American name pool, mostly because anti-German sentiment during the two world wars of the 20th century drove German names out of fashion. One of Heinrich's nicknames, Harro, might do better.

Heinz has become a cartoonish German name, prone to ketchup teasing.

Photographer Newton...or that hard thing you wear on your head.

Names ending in bert have long been in limbo, but with the return of Albert, maybe there's hope for Herbert. who could share the Bertie nickname. Herbert is a name that's been used by English speakers since medieval times, and was in the Top 25 in the US in the late 1920s, around the time of the presidency of Herbert Hoover, but there's been no sight of Herbert in the 21st century. Some Herberts, including novelists H. G. Wells and H. E. Bates, have preferred to go by their initials.

A standard form of John in Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Czech, Polish, Slovene, German, and Catalan. Properly pronounced yahn (in most of these languages), most Americans will still equate it with the Brady Bunchesque girls' name Jan.