Germanic given names are traditionally dithematic ; that is, they are formed from two elements, by joining a prefix and a suffix . For example, King Æþelred 's name was derived from æþele , meaning "noble", and ræd , meaning "counsel".
30-561: Ratzinger is a German surname . It may mean a person from Ratzing , there are several such places in Bavaria. Notable people with the surname include: Pope Benedict XVI , born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger Georg Ratzinger , a Catholic priest, musician, conductor, and brother of Pope Benedict XVI Georg Ratzinger (politician) , a Catholic priest, author, politician, and great-uncle of Georg Ratzinger and Pope Benedict XVI Joseph Ratzinger, Sr. ,
60-410: A patronymic system as they survive in parts of Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, but these do not form part of the official name. Women traditionally adopted their husband's name upon marriage and would occasionally retain their maiden name by hyphenation , in a so-called Doppelname , e.g. " Else Lasker-Schüler ". Recent legislation motivated by gender equality now allows a married couple to choose
90-571: A surname ( Nachname, Familienname ). The Vorname is usually gender-specific. A name is usually cited in the " Western order " of "given name, surname". The most common exceptions are alphabetized list of surnames, e.g. " Bach, Johann Sebastian ", as well as some official documents and spoken southern German dialects . In most of this, the German conventions parallel the naming conventions in most of Western and Central Europe, including English , Dutch , Italian , and French . There are some vestiges of
120-519: A German reading the name: Marquard , pronounced French pronunciation: [maʁkaʁ] in French, ended up being pronounced German pronunciation: [ˈmaʁkvaʁt] much like the German Markwart from which it was originally derived. Traditionally, the wife adopts her husband's Nachname on marriage and drops her own. However, due to the legal equality of sexes, the opposite
150-757: A large number of forenames, often six or more. This fashion was to some extent copied by the bourgeois class , but subsided again after the end of the 19th century, so that while two or three forenames remain common, a larger number is now rare. The practice persists among German nobility, e.g. Johann Friedrich Konrad Carl Eduard Horst Arnold Matthias, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen, Duke of Saxony (b. 1952), Ernst August Albert Paul Otto Rupprecht Oskar Berthold Friedrich-Ferdinand Christian-Ludwig, Prince of Hanover (b. 1954), Christian Heinrich Clemens Paul Frank Peter Welf Wilhelm-Ernst Friedrich Franz Prince of Hanover and Dukelin, Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg (b. 1985). Traditionally, there are dialectal differences between
180-535: A remnant of their second element, but reduced so that it cannot be identified unambiguously any longer; Curt/Kurt may abbreviate either Conrad or Cunibert. Harry may abbreviate either Harold or Henry. Other monothematic names may have originated as bynames rather than hypocorisms of old dithematic names; examples may include Old English Æsc "ash tree", Carl "free man" ( Charles ), Hengest "stallion", Raban "raven" ( Rabanus Maurus ), Hagano/ Hagen "enclosure", Earnest "vigorous, resolute". Germanic names often feature
210-408: A special case, as they were introduced later, in the late 18th to early 19th century, per fiat . The Prussian authorities imposed made-up and sometimes derogatory names. For instance, the name "Waldlieferant" (lit.: forest supplier) was "created" to ridicule a Jewish timber trader. Even way more offensive expressions ("Afterduft"; lit.: anus odor) were in use. This is by no means the rule, though; on
240-647: A thousand years, the most frequent name of Germanic origin in the English-speaking world has traditionally been William (from the Old High German Willahelm ), followed by Robert , Richard and Henry . Many native English (Anglo-Saxon) names fell into disuse in the later Middle Ages, but experienced a revival in the Victorian era ; some of these are Edward , Edwin , Edmund , Edgar , Alfred , Oswald and Harold for males;
270-455: Is possible as well, though rare. A few examples of the practice under German law, if "Herr (Mr) Schmidt" and "Frau (Miss) Meyer" marry: All children of a family have to receive the same non-hyphenated Nachname at birth, which may be either the mother's or the father's Nachname (traditionally it was the father's). If the parents adopted an Ehename this is the Nachname of the child. It
300-484: Is sometimes the second or third name in the sequence of given names on official record, even though it is the given name in daily use from childhood. For example, in the resume submitted by mathematician Emmy Noether to Erlangen University in 1907, the underlining of Emmy communicates that this is the Rufname , even though it is the second of two official given names. In Germany, the chosen name must be approved by
330-487: Is strictly forbidden to give children Doppelnamen if it is not the Ehename . The latter case can arise with traditional aristocratic Doppelnamen (e.g. Faber-Castell). In Austria (§ 93 ABGB), a couple can choose either of their surnames as married name. In the default case, this is the surname of the groom. The partner who is changing surnames (usually the bride) has the possibility to use their unmarried name alongside
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#1732772674997360-521: The Late Middle Ages . Many of such surnames are derived from nicknames . They are generally classified into four groups by derivation : given names, occupational designations, bodily attributes, and toponyms (including references to named buildings). Also, many family names display characteristic features of the dialect of the region they originated in. The preposition von ("of") was used to distinguish nobility ; for example, if someone
390-473: The nobiliary particle von (meaning "of") or zu (meaning "to", sometimes "at"), often von und zu are also found together (meaning "of and to/at"). The legal rules for these names are the same as those for other Nachnamen , which gives rise to a number of cases where people legally bear such names but are not recognized by the associations of formerly noble families in Germany , which continue to apply
420-421: The 1990s, there has however been a trend of parents picking non-German forms of names, either for originality, or influenced by international celebrities, e.g. Liam (Gaelic form of William ) rather than the German equivalent Wilhelm and Mila . Most surnames are derived either from given names ( patronym ), occupations, or from geographical origin, less often from bodily attributes. They became heritable with
450-465: The beginning of central demographic records in the early modern period . The Vorname (in English forename ) is usually given to a child by the parents shortly after birth. It is common to give a child several Vornamen (forenames), one of them intended for everyday use and known as the Rufname ("appellation name" or "call name"). This Rufname is often underlined on official documents, as it
480-605: The contrary, those surnames most quickly recognized as probably Jewish in origin are distinctly poetical ones, probably as they were made-up choices by the people themselves (e.g. Rosenzweig ). Immigration, often sponsored by local authorities, also brought foreign family names into the German-speaking regions. Depending on regional history, geography and economics, many family names have French , Dutch , Italian , Hungarian or Slavic (e.g. Polish ) origins. Sometimes they survived in their original form; in other cases,
510-562: The etymology of the supposed original name cannot be recovered. The oldest known Germanic names date to the Roman Empire period, such as those of Arminius and his wife Thusnelda in the 1st century CE, and in greater frequency, especially Gothic names , in the late Roman Empire, in the 4th to 5th centuries (the Germanic Heroic Age ). A great variety of names are attested from the medieval period , falling into
540-441: The father of Georg Ratzinger and Pope Benedict XVI Wumpscut , born Rudolf 'Rudy' Ratzinger See also [ edit ] Ratzinger Foundation Ratzinger Report 8661 Ratzinger , a main-belt asteroid [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with the surname Ratzinger . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding
570-779: The female names Mildred and Gertrude also continue to be used in present day, Audrey continues the Anglo-Norman (French) form of the Anglo-Saxon Æðelþryð , while the name Godiva is a Latin form of Godgifu . Some names, like Howard and Ronald , are thought to originate from multiple Germanic languages, including Anglo-Saxon. OH þrúðr, OE þrȳð, drut, trud, thrud, thryth Some medieval Germanic names are attested in simplex form; these names may have originated as hypocorisms of full dithematic names, but in some cases they entered common usage and were no longer perceived as such. Some hypocorisms retain
600-423: The local Standesamt (civil registry office). Although a 1980 law previously stated that the name must indicate the gender of the child, a 2008 court ruling unanimously upheld the right of parents to decide their child's name, stating that the only legal limitation is that the name does not negatively affect the well-being of the child. Among German nobility , a fashion arose in the early modern period to give
630-530: The local dialects, such as the south German, Austrian and Swiss diminutive endings -l -el , -erl , -le or -li as in Kleibl , Schäuble or Nägeli (from 'Nagel', nail). The same is true for regional variants in the naming of professions. While a barrel-maker from Hamburg may have been called "Böttcher", a Bavarian could easily have been called "Schäffler". The surnames of the German Jews are
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#1732772674997660-454: The married name with hyphenation. In Switzerland (Art. 160 ZGB), the couple can opt to both retain their unmarried name, or the couple can choose to use either surname as their married name. If both retain their name, they need to declare which will be the surname of any future children. Titles of former aristocrats (like Graf for "Count") have become parts of the Nachname in Germany, giving longer names of several words, usually including
690-573: The old rules of the German Empire in their publications. Most of these cases come about when a woman of noble descent marries a man with no title, and the two adopt the woman's name as their common Nachname , which was impossible under imperial law. Germanic name However, there are also names dating from an early time which seem to be monothematic, consisting only of a single element. These are sometimes explained as hypocorisms , short forms of originally dithematic names, but in many cases
720-566: The person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ratzinger&oldid=1169479156 " Categories : Surnames German-language surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata All set index articles German surname Personal names in German-speaking Europe consist of one or several given names ( Vorname , plural Vornamen ) and
750-493: The regions of German-speaking Europe, especially visible in the forms of hypocorisms . These differences are still perceptible in the list of most popular names, even though they are marginalized by super-regional fashionable trends: As of 2012, the top ten given names of Baden-Württemberg (Southern Germany) and of Schleswig-Holstein (Northern Germany) share the entries Ben, Paul, Finn, Luca, Max (male), Mia, Emma, Lea, Leonie, Anna, Lena, Hanna , while Schleswig-Holstein retains
780-530: The rough categories of Scandinavian ( Old Norse ), Anglo-Saxon ( Old English ), continental ( Frankish , Old High German and Low German ), and East Germanic (see Gothic names ) forms. By the High Middle Ages , many of these names had undergone numerous sound changes and/or were abbreviated, so that their derivation is not always clear. Of the large number of medieval Germanic names, a comparatively small set remains in common use today. For almost
810-590: The spelling would be adapted to German (the Slavic ending ic becoming the German -itz or -itsch or Baltic "-kis" becoming "-ke"). Over time, the spelling often changed to reflect native German pronunciation ( Sloothaak for the Dutch Sloothaag ); but some names, such as those of French Huguenots settling in Prussia , retained their spelling but with the pronunciation that would come naturally to
840-560: The surname they want to use, including an option for men to keep their birthname hyphenated to the common family name in the same way. It is also possible for the spouses to do without a common surname altogether and to keep their birthnames. The most common given names are either Biblical (" Christian ", derived from names of Biblical characters or saints; Johann/Hans "John", Georg/Jörg "George", Jakob "Jacob" and "James"; Anna , Maria , Barbara , Christina ) or from Germanic names ( Friedrich "Frederick", Ludwig "Louis", etc.) Since
870-3183: The traditionally northern (Low German) forms Lasse (male) and Neele (female) in the top ten. The following table gives the most popular given names in Germany for every tenth year (since 1890). Anna, Martha / Marta, Frieda / Frida, Berta / Beertha, Emma, Marie, Maria, Margarethe / Margarete, Erna, Elsa Carl / Karl, Wilhelm, Otto, Heinrich, Friedrich, Paul, Hans, Gustav, Max, Ernst Anna, Martha / Marta, Frieda / Frida, Emma, Marie, Elisabeth, Maria, Berta / Bertha, Gertrud, Margarethe / Margarete Wilhelm, Carl / Karl, Heinrich, Hermann, Friedrich, Paul, Otto, Ernst, Hans, Walter / Walther Gertrud, Erna, Martha / Marta, Hertha / Herta, Margarethe / Margarete, Anna, Käthe, Elisabeth, Frieda / Frida, Hildegard, Walter / Walther, Carl / Karl, Hans, Wilhelm, Otto, Curt / Kurt, Heinrich, Hermann, Paul, Helmut / Helmuth Ilse, Hildegard, Gertrud, Irmgard, Gerda, Lieselotte, Elfriede, Ursula, Edith, Erna Hans, Carl / Karl, Heinz, Curt / Kurt, Werner, Walter / Walther, Günter / Günther, Herbert, Helmut / Helmuth, Gerhard, Rolf Ursula, Helga, Gisela, Inge, Gerda, Ingrid, Ingeborg, Ilse, Edith, Hildegard Günter / Günther, Hans, Carl / Karl, Heinz, Werner, Gerhard, Horst, Helmut / Helmuth, Walter / Walther, Curt / Kurt, Rolf Karin, Ingrid, Helga, Renate, Elke, Ursula, Erika, Christa, Gisela, Monika Peter, Klaus / Claus, Hans, Jürgen, Dieter, Günter / Günther, Horst, Manfred, Uwe, Wolfgang Brigitte, Renate, Karin, Angelika, Monika, Ursula, Ingrid, Marion, Barbara, Gisela, Regina Peter, Hans, Wolfgang, Klaus / Claus, Manfred, Jürgen, Michael, Bernd, Werner, Günter / Günther Sabine, Susanne, Petra, Birgit, Gabriele, Andrea, Martina, Ute, Heike, Angelika Thomas, Michael, Andreas, Peter, Frank, Uwe, Klaus / Claus, Stefan / Stephan, Jürgen, Jörg Nicole, Anja, Claudia, Stefanie / Stephanie, Andrea, Tanja, Katrin / Catrin / Kathrin, Susanne, Petra, Sabine Stefan / Stephan, Michael, Andreas, Thomas, Frank, Markus / Marcus, Christian, Oliver, Matthias, Torsten Julia, Katrin / Catrin / Kathrin, Stefanie / Stephanie, Melanie, Sandra, Anja, Nicole, Nadine, Christina, Sabrina Christian, Michael, Sebastian, Stefan / Stephan, Jan, Daniel, Martin, Dennis, Alexander, Thomas Julia, Sarah / Sara, Jennifer, Katharina, Lisa, Christina, Jessika / Jessica, Anna, Laura, Melanie Jan, Tobias, Christian, Alexander, Daniel, Patrick, Dennis, Sebastian, Marcel, Philipp Anna, Lea / Leah, Sarah / Sara, Hannah / Hanna, Michelle, Laura, Lisa, Lara, Lena, Julia Lukas / Lucas, Jan, Tim, Finn / Fynn, Leon, Niklas / Niclas, Tom, Jonas, Jannik / Yannik / Yannick / Yannic, Luca / Luka Mia, Hannah / Hanna, Lena, Lea / Leah, Emma, Anna, Leonie / Leoni, Lilli / Lilly / Lili, Emily / Emilie, Lina Leon, Lukas / Lucas, Ben, Finn / Fynn, Jonas, Paul, Luis / Louis, Maximilian, Luca / Luka, Felix Mia, Emilia, Hannah / Hanna, Emma, Sofia / Sophia, Lina, Ella, Mila, Clara, Lea / Leah Noah / Noa, Ben, Mateo / Matteo / Matheo / Mattheo, Finn / Fynn, Leon, Elias / Elyas, Paul, Henry / Henri, Luis / Louis, Felix Surnames ( family name ; Nachname , Familienname ) were gradually introduced in German-speaking Europe during
900-532: Was baron of the village of Veltheim, his family name would be von Veltheim . In modern times, people who were elevated to nobility often had a 'von' added to their name. For example, Johann Wolfgang Goethe had his name changed to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe . This practice ended with the abolition of the monarchy in Germany and Austria in 1919. Sometimes von is also used in geographical names that are not noble, as in von Däniken . With family names originating locally, many names display particular characteristics of
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