Or are they generally an amalgamation of French, [name]German[/name], and Italian names? With, possibly, a few other cultural inspirations? My dad has recently insisted to me that we are not [name]German[/name], but Swiss, and I’m just curious if it makes a huge difference as far as names are concerned… I like the idea of having a few names on my list to honor my heritage. I do have some Welsh and French and English names already, and I did have some [name]German[/name] names I loved ([name]Emmeline[/name], [name]Johanna[/name], [name]Genevieve[/name], etc.), but I’m just curious what some Swiss names would be…
I actually have no idea but, we have family friends who live in Zurich and they all have “[name]German[/name]” names.
I would assume that what could be considered “swiss” would be an amalgamation of [name]German[/name], French and Italian names.
You can be Swiss- a national of Switzerland… but in terms of languages, Swiss isn’t a language.
Romansh is a language, though, and only holds official language status in Switzerland (along with [name]German[/name], French and Italian, all of which are obviously official in other countries apart from Switzerland). I have a friend whose family is Swiss, but they speak Swiss [name]German[/name]… and write Standard [name]German[/name] because Swiss [name]German[/name] is a spoken language, not a written one). They are definitely not [name]German[/name], though.
http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/fr/index/themen/01/02/blank/dos/prenoms/02.html
^ This is a stat page for names in Switzerland. You can search by name & year, or by the top 20 of a given year. I don’t know if that helps, but if you go back to like, 1902 you get a very different list than the current one, and it’s decidedly more [name]German[/name], so that may give you some insight.
I’m willing to bet there are names that are strictly regionally Swiss… but I have no idea what they are or there you’d find them.
I’m definitely not an expert in Switzerland- this is just the info I’ve gotten from my friend, and wikipedia. Good luck!
Briefly checked my genealogy records and found 2 Christians, [name]Michael[/name], and [name]Anna[/name] [name]Caterina[/name]…all [name]German[/name], I think, and living near [name]Bern[/name].
I know two teenage Swiss people. The girl is named [name]Fiona[/name] and the guy is named [name]Sam[/name]. I’m not sure if there are actual Swiss-originating names, but you can look at the popular or traditional ones in Switzerland
I don’t think so, [name]Ash[/name]. All the Swiss people I know have [name]German[/name], French, Italian and Russian names. [name]Silvan[/name], [name]Julian[/name], [name]Fabian[/name] (lots of -an names!), [name]Sasha[/name], [name]Anoushka[/name]…
That’s what I figured. I figured I might get inspiration from their most popular name lists, but I feel like a lot of those ([name]Amelie[/name], [name]Leonie[/name], [name]Mia[/name], [name]Alina[/name], [name]Samuel[/name], etc., etc.) are rather international, or one culture or another–and it doesn’t feel Swiss to me. My dad said that we’re from the [name]Black[/name] [name]Forest[/name] area, but isn’t that Germany? I was just taking his word for it when he said we were Swiss, but I just googled it, and it doesn’t look like the [name]Black[/name] [name]Forest[/name] area ventures into Switzerland at all. Does it? Maybe I need to see exact cities and such on the family tree program my dad has. I’m a bit confused now, haha.
I have a family friend from switzerland and her name is [name]Rebekah[/name]. Her husbands english and there kids are [name]Jordan[/name] and [name]Emma[/name]. I don’t think they do sorry [name]Ash[/name]
Yeah, The [name]Black[/name] [name]Forest[/name] is right at the border isn’t it? So I guess if you family came from that area, they could technically have lived across the border, in Switzerland. There are some beautiful Swiss places with lovely names there though, if you’re interested. I’m not usually a fan of place names, but really, Switzerland can’t be beat on spectacular scenery and beautiful air combined with lovely names. Cities, lakes and mountains together!
[name]Alas[/name], that’s what I expected. [name]Ebony[/name], I’ve only known one Swiss person, and he was a [name]Benjamin[/name]. Pretty normal there, too!
@thatkathryngirl - Thanks for the list! I found a lot of those really interesting! Using a Romansh name seems weird, though, as my family was from the [name]German[/name] portion of Switzerland…
@ottilie - Basel, [name]Geneva[/name], and Winterthur are lovely and all very interesting! I love [name]Winter[/name], but Winterthur is really intriguing. Like a mash-up of [name]Winter[/name] and [name]Arthur[/name] or something. Hmm. I talked to my dad tonight, and looked at the family tree, and I have discovered that both are true–the Kauffmanns are from the Wurttenberg (also Mosberg, I believe?) area of Germany, but a family that married into the Kauffmann family, the Machmers, are from across the country line in Switzerland. I’m not sure where in Switzerland, but my dad says he has a letter somewhere proving relations to the Swiss Machmers. I don’t think I mentioned it here, but what got this all started (besides the “We’re not [name]German[/name]!” comment, which is weird, since we obviously are!) is a little conversation I had with my dad where he said there might be a chance that my Kauffmann family and [name]Martin[/name] [name]Luther[/name]'s head secretary/assistant/aide, who apparently was also a Kauffmann, are directly related. The Kauffmanns I’m related to (and their descendants) are all staunch Lutherans, and my dad has traced the Kauffmanns back to a [name]Jacob[/name] Kauffmann who was born in Wurttenberg in the 1600s. And one of my dad’s uncles told him of the possibility of being related to [name]Luther[/name], I find it all really intriguing! Until this point my family tree was filled with strange Americans who were involved in illegal gambling and were prisoners in Ohio, and relations to American celebrities, like [name]Dwight[/name] Eisenhower (the president) and [name]Patsy[/name] Cline (the singer)–all the European stuff is so much more interesting, haha. Apparently I have family from Margate/[name]Isle[/name] of Thanet in [name]Kent[/name], as well, and now I’m just itching to see where all these ancestors came from.
[name]Ebony[/name], I’ve only known one Swiss person, and he was a [name]Benjamin[/name]. Pretty normal there, too!