I’m new to this forum and hoping for some input for our little one due in 2020. I’ve always been super interested in names since I was young and am always the one people come to to get name suggestions and now that it’s actually my turn, I’ve totally hit a wall. Nothing seems to suit anymore…
Some background: I am British, my husband is [name_m]German[/name_m] and we live in the US. [name_u]Baby[/name_u]'s last name will be [name_m]German[/name_m] and given we might move to Germany at some point in the future / lots of family is still there, we’d like a name that works well in both languages (but definitely doesn’t have to be [name_m]German[/name_m] by origin). That already disqualifies maaaany of my hipster-y favourites ([name_u]Marlowe[/name_u], [name_u]Wren[/name_u], and the likes). We also really don’t want anything out of the top 30.
For Boys: We really only have one favourite so far, which is [name_m]Levi[/name_m]. We are not Jewish or religious in general - is that weird? Husband has vetoed Atlas and Remus already which I love.
For Girls: We have absolutely no clue. We want something that isn’t too romantic / girly. My husband likes [name_u]Theo[/name_u] for a girl but I feel like the kid is going to get too much grief with this name, especially given it’s getting very popular for boys at the moment. I really like [name_f]Alma[/name_f] but the husband thinks it’s a bit too old fashioned… I also like [name_f]Maeva[/name_f] and Sapphra, but both don’t sound super smooth when said by a [name_m]German[/name_m] native speaker…
[name_m]Levi[/name_m] is great!
[name_u]Remy[/name_u], [name_u]Everett[/name_u], [name_m]Sebastian[/name_m], [name_m]Silas[/name_m], [name_m]Rufus[/name_m] and [name_m]Casper[/name_m] came to mind
[name_f]Thea[/name_f] from pp is great!
[name_f]Flora[/name_f], [name_f]Alba[/name_f], [name_f]Ada[/name_f], [name_f]Indie[/name_f], [name_f]Lola[/name_f], [name_f]Viola[/name_f]?
[name_m]Levi[/name_m] is a great name and I don’t think it’s weird at all if you use it!
Like your husband I love [name_u]Theo[/name_u] for a girl but if you don’t you could use [name_f]Thea[/name_f], as others have suggested? It’s a beautiful name. Or [name_f]Theodora[/name_f] nn [name_u]Theo[/name_u]/[name_f]Thea[/name_f]. And if your husband thinks [name_f]Alma[/name_f] is too old-fashioned then I think greyblue’s suggestion of [name_f]Alba[/name_f] is a good one. It’s more contemporary and has a lot of spunk!
[name_u]Scout[/name_u], [name_u]Juniper[/name_u] and [name_f]Maeve[/name_f] are some of my absolute faves, unfortunately don’t work in Germany though. Similar for [name_m]Ezra[/name_m], [name_u]Arlo[/name_u] and [name_m]Otis[/name_m]. [name_m]Will[/name_m] definitely pitch [name_f]Thea[/name_f] and [name_f]Alba[/name_f]
I’m curious, why do you think [name_u]Arlo[/name_u] doesn’t work in [name_m]German[/name_m]?
Also, do you want a name that’s pronounced the same in both languages? Because [name_m]Levi[/name_m] would be Leh-vee not [name_u]Lee[/name_u]-vy in Germany. [name_u]Theo[/name_u] would be Teyo.
Some naming tips, though your husband is probably already aware of them:
Germans generally have problems with the Th and slight difficulty with the English J
Also, I would strongly suggest you avoid a unisex name or a male name for a girl, that’s not really done in Germany. Up until a few years ago, it was even legally required to give a name that clearly indicates the child’s gender.
Names that are too quirky are generally seen as silly. If you have a child named Sapphra, expect a few eye-rolls
Some suggestions:
[name_f]Mara[/name_f]/[name_f]Lara[/name_f]/[name_f]Tara[/name_f]/[name_f]Cara[/name_f]
[name_f]Anya[/name_f]
[name_f]Annika[/name_f]
[name_f]Mia[/name_f]
[name_f]Astrid[/name_f]
[name_f]Maya[/name_f]/[name_f]Maja[/name_f]/[name_f]Maia[/name_f]
[name_f]Annabelle[/name_f]
[name_f]Isobel[/name_f]
[name_f]Lena[/name_f] or [name_u]Lisa[/name_u] (though they are very, very popular in Germany)
[name_f]Alicia[/name_f]
[name_f]Michelle[/name_f]
[name_f]Kiara[/name_f]
[name_f]Natalie[/name_f]
[name_f]Natasha[/name_f]
I feel like [name_m]Rafael[/name_m]/[name_m]Raphael[/name_m] is such a cosmopolitan, universal name. I also love [name_m]Caspian[/name_m].
For a girl:
[name_f]Mathilde[/name_f]/[name_f]Matilda[/name_f]
[name_f]Paloma[/name_f]
[name_f]Ingrid[/name_f]
[name_f]Sophia[/name_f]/[name_f]Sofia[/name_f]
[name_f]Irina[/name_f]
[name_f]Anna[/name_f]
Thank you for those suggestions, I like [name_u]Flynn[/name_u], [name_m]Leander[/name_m], [name_m]Hugo[/name_m] and [name_m]Oscar[/name_m] in particular - those should also work well in [name_m]German[/name_m].
My concern with [name_u]Arlo[/name_u] is that my husband says Germans would not be good at pronouncing a strong R in the middle of a name, so [name_u]Arlo[/name_u] might end up sounding more like “[name_m]Ah[/name_m]-lo”. Not sure if that’s maybe just the region he is from? Good point on the silly names haha, our [name_m]German[/name_m] nieces/nephews all have extremely “down-to-earth” names (think [name_f]Emma[/name_f], [name_f]Mia[/name_f], [name_f]Sophia[/name_f] etc), so anything “exotic” will probably not go down super well, we’ll have to find some kind of balance I suppose.
[name_m]German[/name_m] girls’ names in particular are really difficult. Most of them that haven’t fallen out of fashion tend to be very feminine flourishy like [name_f]Emma[/name_f], [name_f]Mia[/name_f], [name_f]Sophia[/name_f]. On the other hand a lot of the borrowed names like [name_f]Summer[/name_f], [name_f]Diana[/name_f], [name_f]Jacqueline[/name_f], or [name_m]Kevin[/name_m] (for boys) are considered trashy.
These are some names that are familiar in the US and Germany and do not seem to be considered Chantalisms or Kevinisms:
