That surname exclusion is interesting. My oldest has a surname for both her first and middle name, but they also are common (in the top 100) girl’s names. How would they regulate something like that? So many names in Anglo-American traditions migrated from surnames to boy names, to gender neutral, to girls. Or maybe my family just has a weird assortment of surnames? But there are so many in our family tree that are now first names.
Easy to regulate, since your birth registration will be rejected if it doesn’t comply with German law. Not having a birth certificate is a bad idea if you ever want to get a job, get child tax allowances, get a passport or ID card, travel internationally, drive a car, etc.
Do they have a list of surnames? Would a very common first name for over 100 years be rejected because originally it was a surname? I’m guessing Germany has never had the tradition that is common in England of using surnames as first names.
Think James. A common first name. But also it’s a surname.
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Right, so many names that are also last names, can be used for first or middle names. Morgan, Taylor, Wilson, Parker, Hunter, etc.
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As well as names such as Jacob, Anthony, Thomas, Gregory, etc.
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I know somebody who is having a girl in a couple of months, Lemon Drop.
My understanding is that originally the first name had to be a saint’s name, literally a “Christian name”, (so James would be fine) but that has been widened to accommodate other religions. The onus is on you to prove why it should be acceptable, otherwise it won’t be allowed. Identifying that there is a Saint X is a common justification.
No product names in Germany? So I guess no Tiffanys or Mercedes?
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DH’s niece and hubby named their baby (the one who crashed our son’s wedding) “Marigold.” They use the full name always and request that everyone else do, too. No “Mary” or “Goldie” or any nickname.
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Are they Downton Abbey fans? Lady Edith’s illegitimate daughter is Marigold.
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I’d take the name Marigold (it’s kind of sweet) over Lemon Drop any day! Lemon Drop could be a hard one to not comment on! @CottonTales , you say the baby is not due for a couple months. Is there any possibility they are kidding?
I had 3 named Agnes in the family . One was a great aunt born in Scotland who went by Nan, which is a pet form of Agnes in Scotland. Then my aunt, dad’s older sister, also born in Scotland, that went by Nessie. Then she named one of her daughters Agnes also, born in USA, and my cousin went by Aggie.
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The car was named for a girl. https://www.mercedesbenzchicago.com/what-does-the-mercedes-benz-name-mean/#:~:text=Jellinek%20named%20the%20new%20cars,carry%20the%20Mercedes-Benz%20name.
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There are names that have been used as both given names and surnames by German people.
No, they are set on that. It is one of my daughters BFF from high school
Apparently German naming traditions and regulations are somewhat complicated around the surname prohibition. Perhaps you can use a surname that is also biblical or a saints name? Or a surname that is derived from a given name in the first place. It obviously is not as simple as a complete block on using surnames as given names. Since I am not likely to have a German child at this point I will let it go.
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When we were there (1989) you could have names that were from your religious tradition if you were German. They didn’t have to be saint’s names. There had been a big stink the year before when someone wanted to name their child Möwe which means seagull in German. It was rejected because the court ruled that the bird is “a nuisance and is seen as a pest and would therefore degrade the child."
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I love the flower names: Marigold, Violet, Daisy (Downton Abbey fans).
I have one of those names that can be (properly) spelled many different ways. So I’ve spent my life spelling my name to people on a daily basis. PITA. I was careful not to do that with my kids’ names.
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My D’s name is hard to misspell. S’s name on the other hand can be misspelled but is spelled in the traditional manner so he often gets it spelled correctly it goes by a shortened abbreviation he’s fine with.
I wanted to name my D a perfectly great name but when I sat down and figured out how many different ways it could be spelled I gave it up for that very reason.
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A pregnant acquaintance told me last week that she would name her baby Elmer if it was a boy. I had a much loved Elmer amongst my older relatives so it was easy to make a positive comment but we didn’t consider naming our son after him. We did give our daughter his wife’s name as her middle name.
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