According to the Association for German Language (GfdS), the most popular baby names in Germany in 2010 were Sophie/Sofie and Maximilian:
Girl Names
- Sophie/Sofie
- Marie
- Maria
- Sophia/Sofia
- Mia
- Anna
- Lena
- Emma
- Hannah/Hanna
- Johanna
Boy Names
- Maximilian
- Alexander
- Paul
- Leon
- Lukas/Lucas
- Luca/Luka
- Elias
- Louis/Luis
- Jonas
- Felix
(These rankings don’t account for all German births last year, but they do account for over 50% of them.)
The GfdS also offered examples of the unusual baby names parents wanted to bestow in 2010. Some were accepted by the government, others were rejected.
| Accepted: | Rejected: |
| Belana Kantorka Kix Laperla Lelibeth Loana Lovelle Miransah Monel Napoleon Noredien Nox Quidan Segesta | Cheraldine Gihanna Idjen (rather than Etienne) Junge (“boy”) Laslo (for a girl) Leuis Menez Partizan Pfefferminza (pfefferminze is “peppermint”) Puppe (“doll”) |
Finally, my source claims German law “stat[es] that middle names, like nicknames, can be modified at will.” I wasn’t aware of this. Can anyone out there confirm/deny?
Source: ‘Maximilian’ and ‘Sophie’ most popular baby names of 2010
Image: Adapted from Flag of Germany (public domain)
