German Dog Names

A Top 200 choice in the US from the late 1880s to the early 1930s, Irma has nevertheless fallen out of favor with modern parents, and doesn't look set for the sort of comeback that some of her vintage sisters have enjoyed in recent years. The devastating hurricane which hit the Caribbean Islands and the south-east coast of the US in 2017 has no doubt dealt its chances of revival a further blow.

A vibrant variation of Adele, with a bit of extra flair from that "-a" ending. It could join the army of popular A girls' names, especially with its tie to the success of singer Adele.

An elegant, continental name for the post-Steve era. It debuted on the US Top 1000 in 1949 and has been on the list every year since except for a year off in 2008.

Spelling variation more popular in Germany than the original, which is also well-used there.

Ever since the enormous German cannon was dubbed by Allied soldiers "Big Bertha" in World War I, this name hasn't worked for a sweet little baby girl. But this was not always so. Hard as it might be to imagine now, Bertha was a Top 100 name until the 1930s, and in the 1880s was the seventh most popular name in the land--the equal of Joseph.

Meret is an interesting name found in several cultures. In Egyptian mythology, she was a goddess associated with singing, dancing and rejoicing and her meaning is 'beloved.' But the name also has significance in Hebrew, Danish and Norwegian. Close relatives include Merete and Maret.

Pauline had its moment of glory almost a century ago, when movie audiences were thrilling to the silent serial The Perils of Pauline; it's a sweet and gentle name that just might be due for reconsideration. Off the list since the late 1990s, Pauline was a Top 50 name from around 1908 to 1930.

Manly almost to the point of macho.

Innocent, sincere, and bright-eyed, and as outdated as its mother name, Gertrude.

Anja is one of the most international of several versions of Ann/Anna now being imported, also including Anya and Annika.

Both Karla and Carla are sliding down the ranks, though Karla remains far more popular in the USA than Carla.

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, which is now officially extinct.

Very popular in France and Belgium, this name -- pronounced mat-tees, like the surname of the painter Matisse -- might make an appealing new way to say Matthew here.

More stylish than either Paula or Pauline, it was given a glamour gloss by model Paulina Porizkova in the nineties.

Sweet but sleek, and distinctive, Liesl is an old German nickname-name for Elisabeth. It might have once seemed inextricably tied to to its country of origin, but now, like Elsa, Enzo, Saoirse, Freya, Soren, and Heidi, it leans more towards being international and European chic.

Common Arabic version of Elijah. The Ilyes spelling is a Top 100 name in France.

Actress Tilda Swinton injected this dated nickname name with some modern charm.

Kiefer is a strong occupational surname associated with "24" star Kiefer Sutherland, but one that could well join the other 'er' surnames currently in favor. Keifer is a German surname transferred to first name use, derived from two old Germanic words, kien and forhe, both of which mean "pine tree."

Though she has long stood on her own, Elke has many longer cross-cultural connections, to the Dutch/German/Scandinavian Adelheid and Alice and the English Adelaide, as a feminine version of Elkanah and as a Yiddish form of Eleanor.

Popular form of John in Germany. Just remember to pronounce it YAHN-nik, which most English-speakers won't. Jannick is another spelling.