To change or not to change....

Writers' Corner
1

Hello, it’s me again! And again, I’m pouring all my energy into my World War Two era novel. The name confusion has only increased since I’ve begun writing again, so I need some input.
The issue is the Rosenthal family, Austrian Jews living in post WWI [name]Vienna[/name]. The father- [name]Otto[/name]- is a doctor, and a family tradition is to use two middle names. The mother- [name]Esther[/name]- is a concert pianist, with music casting a large influence on her naming choices. Their ethnic background is mainly Austrian- though Esthers father was Russian. They’re a very metropolitan family, so there are French and Duth influences as well. There used to be a large amount of siblings, each with two middle names (it was a brain overload, and frankly a bit ridiculous,) but I cut back to two brothers and three sisters (not including the main character.)
So the question is: should I change the siblings names or not? I’ll write out their original names, and then next to them I’ll write their possible switches. Suggestions are always welcome.
Thanks so much for taking time to help me out (again!)

  • [name]Athena[/name]

[name]Ottilie[/name] [name]Petronella[/name] [name]Marie[/name]- [name]Louisa[/name] [name]Petronella[/name] [name]Marie[/name]
[name]Ernst[/name] [name]Heinrich[/name] [name]Emil[/name]- [name]Theodor[/name] [name]Karl[/name] [name]Ludwig[/name]
[name]Edith[/name] [name]Magda[/name] [name]Louise[/name]- [name]Alice[/name] [name]Magda[/name] [name]Louise[/name], [name]Clara[/name] [name]Magda[/name] [name]Louise[/name]
[name]Helena[/name] [name]Karolina[/name] [name]Sophie[/name]- [name]Cordelia[/name] [name]Sophie[/name] [name]Lenore[/name]
[name]Anouk[/name] [name]Isobel[/name] [name]Doutzen[/name]- [name]Anais[/name] [name]Isobel[/name] [name]Doutzen[/name]
[name]Cornelius[/name] [name]Oto[/name] [name]Stephan[/name]- [name]Maximillian[/name] [name]Otto[/name] [name]Stephan[/name]

2

To save time, I’ll just write the first names from my fav combos.

[name]Louisa[/name]
Enest
[name]Edith[/name]
[name]Helena[/name]
[name]Anais[/name]-I think [name]Alice[/name] or [name]Clara[/name] would fit better with the other girls’ names
[name]Maximillian[/name]

3

[name]Louisa[/name] [name]Petronella[/name] [name]Marie[/name] - Not many Jewish families choose the name [name]Marie[/name] (it’s more of a Catholic tradition in [name]Austria[/name]). They would be more apt to choose [name]Miriam[/name]. [name]Luise[/name] is the [name]German[/name] spelling of [name]Louisa[/name].

[name]Theodor[/name] [name]Karl[/name] [name]Ludwig[/name] - I like this combo and I think it works well in the framework of your story.

[name]Edith[/name] [name]Magda[/name] [name]Louise[/name]- I can see [name]Edith[/name] as a sibling to [name]Louisa[/name] and [name]Helena[/name]. [name]Clara[/name] is a good choice too if you don’t want all of the sisters to have the same “a” ending.

[name]Helena[/name] [name]Karolina[/name] [name]Sophie[/name]- I don’t think [name]Cordelia[/name] is a good choice. [name]Helene[/name] would be a better spelling.

[name]Anouk[/name] [name]Isobel[/name] [name]Doutzen[/name]- [name]Anais[/name] [name]Isobel[/name] [name]Doutzen[/name] - I don’t know if the “French and Dutch influences” would pertain to naming children for a Jewish [name]German[/name]/Russian family so I’m not sure about these two choices. [name]Isobel[/name] is the Scottish spelling and [name]Doutzen[/name] seems like a more modern invention than the World War II period in which your novel is based. [name]Anna[/name] would be better with one of these names as a nickname choice.

[name]Maximillian[/name] [name]Otto[/name] [name]Stephan[/name] - [name]Max[/name] is more commonly chosen by Jewish families than [name]Cornelius[/name] so I would go with [name]Maximillian[/name]. [name]Stefan[/name] is the usual [name]German[/name] spelling of [name]Stephen[/name].

4

Thanks for the input.
@marinadance17- Thanks. I think [name]Anais[/name] or [name]Anouk[/name] would suit the character better then [name]Alice[/name] or [name]Clara[/name]. But thank you (again.)
@[name]Micha[/name]- Thank you for the detailed reply!

  • I’d be willing to change [name]Ottilie[/name]/[name]Luise[/name]'s middle name to [name]Miriam[/name] to make it more accurate, as well as the spelling of [name]Louisa[/name]. Is [name]Luise[/name] an overall better choice then [name]Ottilie[/name]?

  • [name]Theodor[/name] is the correct [name]German[/name] spelling, yes? I think it works a bit better then [name]Ernst[/name].

  • I find it interesting that you chose [name]Edith[/name] of [name]Clara[/name] and [name]Alice[/name]. [name]Do[/name] you mind if I ask why? And also: in your post, I was confused by your statement about [name]Clara[/name]. Could you please clarify?

  • [name]Helene[/name] is a nice enough name, I could also see this character as a [name]Cordelia[/name]. I’m interested in why you don’t think it’s a good choice.

  • The problem with [name]Anouk[/name] is that she’s very much an [name]Anouk[/name] or [name]Anais[/name]. Through out the entire naming process, she’s always been [name]Anouk[/name]. I suppose it wouldn’t be too hard to make her real name [name]Anna[/name], with her nickname always being [name]Anouk[/name]. Also: according to nameberry, [name]Isobel[/name] is also the [name]German[/name] variation. Would it be [name]Isabel[/name] or [name]Isabelle[/name]? What would you suggest instead of [name]Doutzen[/name] as a middle name? Something more traditionally [name]German[/name], or something Russian?

  • Alright, that works well enough. I’ll make those spelling changes.

  • [name]Athena[/name]

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[name]Mischa[/name] has already provided excellent advice, so I’ll add what hasn’t been covered yet. I have no idea what Austrian Jews named their children back then, so my comments are made from a secular point of view. But I think if one of the children had a Hebrew middle name, the others most likely would have one too.

[name]Ottilie[/name] is as usable as [name]Luise[/name]. My great-aunt is named [name]Ottilie[/name], she was born in 1913 (which will make her a centenarian next year). I haven’t personally heard of anyone here named [name]Petronella[/name], but apparently there was a Dutch swimmer born in 1926 with that name, so I guess it would fit right in with the family’s Dutch ancestry.

[name]Ernst[/name] [name]Heinrich[/name] [name]Emil[/name]- [name]Theodor[/name] [name]Karl[/name] [name]Ludwig[/name]: You can really use either of them, they’re equally authentic. And the spellings are perfectly correct.

[name]Edith[/name] [name]Magda[/name] [name]Louise[/name]- [name]Alice[/name] [name]Magda[/name] [name]Louise[/name], [name]Clara[/name] [name]Magda[/name] [name]Louise[/name] - [name]Louise[/name] would most likely have been spelled [name]Luise[/name], as has already been stated above. Again, just use whichever you like best, all of them would work.

[name]Helena[/name] [name]Karolina[/name] [name]Sophie[/name]- [name]Cordelia[/name] [name]Sophie[/name] [name]Lenore[/name]: [name]Cordelia[/name] strikes me as rather offbeat in that time and setting, too Shakespearean. I’d go with [name]Helene[/name]. [name]Lenore[/name] surprised me, I always thought this was an English variety of [name]Eleanor[/name], but my [name]German[/name] book also has it (as a variety of [name]Leonore[/name], which itself is a version of [name]Eleonore[/name]. The latter is certainly the most common form of the name used in a [name]German[/name]-speaking environment).

[name]Anouk[/name] [name]Isobel[/name] [name]Doutzen[/name]- [name]Anais[/name] [name]Isobel[/name] [name]Doutzen[/name] - I agree with what has been said about [name]Doutzen[/name]; [name]Anouk[/name] and [name]Anais[/name] also don’t appear to fit the times for me. I like the suggestion of [name]Anna[/name] nn [name]Anouk[/name] though, in case [name]Anouk[/name] has already been used in the Netherlands back then (I don’t know anything about Dutch naming history). There is no ‘[name]German[/name]’ version or spelling of [name]Isabella[/name], if you want to Germanify the first middle name, you’ll have to use [name]Elisabeth[/name].

[name]Cornelius[/name] [name]Otto[/name] [name]Stephan[/name]- [name]Maximillian[/name] [name]Otto[/name] [name]Stephan[/name]: [name]Both[/name] spellings of [name]Stefan[/name] have been and still are used in Germany and [name]Austria[/name]. In your case, I’d use [name]Stefan[/name], which appears to have been more common back then (think Austrian writer [name]Stefan[/name] Zweig), but a quick Wikipedia check also revealed several Stephans born around 1900. In [name]German[/name], [name]Maximilian[/name] is definitely spelled with only one L though. Purely based on the siblings’ names, I’d go with that instead of Cornelius (which would be as authentic though).

Here are some popularity lists from the 1920s / 1930s in case you need some more names (they cover Germany, but Austrian naming tradition is mostly the same).

Hitlisten Deutschland – die häufigsten Vornamen (overview)
These lists have been compiled from various sources such as obituaries, yearbooks and church records as there are no official statistics in Germany.

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@aj_bear - I think [name]Luise[/name] is a better choice for your family than [name]Ottilie[/name] and [name]Miriam[/name] for a mn would be more accurate for a Jewish family. Yes, I believe that [name]Theodor[/name] is the correct [name]German[/name] spelling. I chose [name]Edith[/name] because it was the most like her mother’s name [name]Esther[/name] and I’ve know Jewish people with both names. [name]Clara[/name] Rosenthal would be a good choice too but the only drawback is then all of the girls may have the same name ending of “a” ([name]Clara[/name], [name]Louisa[/name]/[name]Luise[/name], [name]Helena[/name] and possibly [name]Anna[/name]). Generally, [name]Cordelia[/name] isn’t chosen by Germans. I’ve heard the similiar sounding [name]Kornelia[/name] and [name]Kordula[/name] but not [name]Cordelia[/name]. The [name]German[/name] version of [name]Isobel[/name] is usually [name]Elisabeth[/name], [name]Elsbeth[/name], [name]Liesbeth[/name], [name]Elsa[/name]/[name]Else[/name], [name]Elise[/name], [name]Elke[/name], [name]Liesl[/name] or even [name]Bettina[/name]. In modern times with more homogeneous baby naming, I’ve seen the spelling [name]Isabell[/name] but I don’t think it would be an option at the time of your novel when traditional names were more the rage. Maybe something like [name]Anna[/name] [name]Elisabeth[/name] with the second mn of [name]Dagmar[/name], [name]Ruth[/name], [name]Judith[/name]/[name]Judita[/name] or [name]Hermine[/name]. You can give her the nn [name]Anouk[/name]. [name]Hope[/name] that helps and good luck with your story!

7

You’re right, [name]Kordula[/name] and [name]Kornelia[/name] are the names occuring in Germany/[name]Austria[/name] instead of [name]Cordelia[/name]. The C spellings are more widely used though. My mom, born in 1958, is named [name]Cornelia[/name] nn [name]Conny[/name].

8

@mischa- thanks for replying again. Your post was very helpful. I’m still a bit unsure about [name]Edith[/name]/[name]Clara[/name] but I’ll try writing with both to see how it feels. It really is helpful, thanks again.
@ayane- thank you for both of your posts. I think that since I won’t be using [name]Cornelius[/name], I’d use [name]Cornelia[/name] instead of [name]Helene[/name]. Your imput was very, very helpufl. Thanks so much.

  • [name]Athena[/name]