# Germain (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/germain/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Germaine, Jermain |
| US babies named this | 1,034 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 992 / 42 (4% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 6, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

A patronymic from a medieval given name, identical with the French one; or from an ethnic term for a German.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 5 | 6,910 |
| 1963 | 5 | 6,965 |
| 1964 | 5 | 7,116 |
| 1966 | 7 | 5,447 |
| 1972 | 5 | 8,707 |
| 1974 | 5 | 9,215 |
| 1978 | 5 | 10,277 |
| 1980 | 5 | 10,903 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 23 | 4,306 |
| 2009 | 15 | 5,902 |
| 2010 | 13 | 6,481 |
| 2011 | 10 | 7,685 |
| 2012 | 8 | 9,148 |
| 2013 | 11 | 7,197 |
| 2014 | 15 | 5,822 |
| 2015 | 6 | 11,150 |
| 2016 | 9 | 8,371 |
| 2017 | 7 | 10,055 |
| 2018 | 7 | 10,021 |
| 2019 | 9 | 8,420 |
| 2020 | 5 | 12,701 |
| 2024 | 6 | 11,387 |
| 2025 | 7 | 10,027 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 3 | 3,134 |
| 2002 | 3 | 3,225 |

## People named Germain

- Jacques-Germain Soufflot, French architect (1713–1780)
- Germain Derycke, Belgian road bicycle racer (1929–1978)
- Germain of Paris, Bishop of Paris
- Germain Pilon, French artist (1525–1590)
- Germain Boffrand, French architect (1667-1754)
- Germain Nouveau, French poet of the symbolist movement (1851–1920)
- Germain Chardin, French rower
- Germain Sanou, Burkinabé footballer
- Germain Pirlot, Belgian esperantist, author of the name "euro"
- Germain Berthé, footballer
- Germain Katanga, former leader of the Patriotic Resistance Force in Ituri
- Antoine Germain Labarraque, French chemist and pharmacist (1777-1850)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.