# German (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/german/  
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 | Russian |
| Meaning | “the peoples of germānia”, “closely related” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈd͡ʒɝ.mən/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Hansel |
| US babies named this | 10,295 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 10,290 / 5 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | not in the ONS data |

## Etymology

From Latin Germānus, Germānī (“the peoples of Germānia”), as distinct from Gauls (in the writings of Caesar and Tacitus), and of uncertain ultimate origin (possibly Celtic/Gaulish). Not related to german (“closely related”) or germane (from the Latin adjective germānus, through Old French). Attested since at least 1520. Replaced the older terms Almain and Dutch (from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz) in English. Besides cognates of German, Almain, and Dutch, two other categories of words for the Germans in other languages are cognates of Saxon and descendants of Proto-Slavic *němьcь; see those entries for more. The surname is generally from the noun, though sometimes confused with Herman, Hermann under Russian influence. As a German surname, Americanized from Germann. Compare Germán, Germain, Jerman.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 5 | 14,265 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 150 | 1,182 |
| 2012 | 166 | 1,114 |
| 2013 | 150 | 1,194 |
| 2014 | 161 | 1,167 |
| 2015 | 155 | 1,193 |
| 2016 | 171 | 1,130 |
| 2017 | 152 | 1,209 |
| 2018 | 161 | 1,183 |
| 2019 | 132 | 1,357 |
| 2020 | 121 | 1,429 |
| 2021 | 115 | 1,532 |
| 2022 | 124 | 1,460 |
| 2023 | 123 | 1,467 |
| 2024 | 102 | 1,653 |
| 2025 | 112 | 1,541 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: الأَلْمَانِيَّة, اللُّغَة الأَلْمَانِيَّة, أَلْمَانِيّ
- Armenian: գերմաներեն
- Bulgarian: не́мски, не́мски ези́к
- Catalan: alemany, alt alemany
- Chinese: дыййү, 德語 /德语, 德文, 德語 /德语
- Czech: němčina
- Danish: tysk
- Dutch: Duits
- Esperanto: germana
- Estonian: saksa
- Finnish: saksa
- French: allemand
- Georgian: გერმანული, გერმანული ენა
- German: Deutsch, deutsche Sprache, Deitscha, Tüütsch
- Greek: γερμανικά
- Hebrew: גרמנית
- Hindi: जर्मन, जरमन
- Hungarian: német
- Icelandic: þýska
- Indonesian: bahasa Jerman

## People named German

- Germán Pezzella, Argentine footballer
- Germán Lux, Argentine association football player
- Germán Burgos, Argentine footballer and coach
- Germán Denis, Argentine association football player (born 1981)
- Germán Riesco, Chilean politician and president (1854-1916)
- Germán Garmendia, Chilean YouTuber and Humorist
- Héctor Germán Oesterheld, Argentine journalist and cartoonist (1919–1978)
- Germán Cano, Argentine footballer
- Germán Lauro, Argentine shot putter and discus thrower
- Germán Conti, Argentinian association football player
- Germano Boettcher Sobrinho, Brazilian footballer (1911-1977)
- Germán Aceros, Colombian footballer (1938-2018)

## 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.