Questions tagged [person-names]
The person-names tag has no usage guidance.
81
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Where does the "z" in "Heinz", "Fritz" and "Lutz" originate?
The German first names Heinrich and Friedrich have short forms Heinz and Fritz. The forms are similar - they both seem to replace the -rich ending with a z. This seems to give raise to a small pattern....
6
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2
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214
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Was bedeutet „Feuchtwangen“ auf Englisch?
A professional acquaintance has the last name Feuchtwanger, which prompted learning of the German city Feuchtwangen — from which an ancestor presumably kam aus. The literal meaning seems to be “wet ...
0
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1
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125
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What are the family names on Swiss houses called?
In rural areas of Switzerland, owners of houses put their surname on the front of the house.
What is this wooden name-sign called in English and German, and what is this custom and the act of doing it ...
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Modern short-form German names for boys and girls [closed]
Gion is a short-form name for Johannes, a boy's name. What are other examples for German, Austrian or Swiss boys and girls?
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2
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210
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Wie spricht man den Namen Pahl aus?
How would German native speakers typically pronounce the family name Pahl?
I know a family, who live in an English speaking country, that pronounce it with an English “aw” vowel sound - same as “Paul”....
2
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2
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320
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Wohin schreibt man den Namenszusatz in Formularen / Urkunden bei "Nachname, Vorname"
Zunächst einmal zur Einordnung: Unter Namenszusätzen verstehe ich hier Wörter, wie "de, De, Mc, von, van" etc., die nicht mit dem Familiennamen verschmolzen sind.
Also Namen wie: Vincent ...
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3
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Deutsche Entsprechung zu Karen?
Der weibliche Vorname Karen wird im Englischen seit wenigen Jahren exemplarisch für den Stereotyp der beschwerdefreudigen, hellhäutigen Vorstadtmittelklassehausfrau aus der „Boomer“-Generation mit ...
1
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1
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283
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What is the correct order and positioning of academic and professional titles in Austria?
People are a bit more concerned with academic, professional, and other titles in Austria than in other German-speaking regions; it's not unusual to refer to people with all their titles instead of ...
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1
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603
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What does/might the name Schroedinger mean?
A quick Google yielded no fruit; perhaps a language aficionado or expert could shed some more light.
6
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1
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Warum gibt es keine traditionell deutschen* Vornamen, die mit "Sch" beginnen?
Mir ist spontan kein Vorname, der mit sch beginnt und nicht vom Englischen eingedeutscht wurde, eingefallen. Ich habe also gesucht und nur relativ exotische Namen, wie folgt, gefunden:
Schwanhilde
...
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2
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Articles with names in "Heidi", Spyri's regional accent (Followup to previous questions linked in body)
In chapter 1 of "Heidi", Dete and her old acquaintance Barbel are leading Heidi up the mountain to meet her grandfather. The author, Johanna Spyri, starts talking about die Dete and die ...
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Trying to decipher a German name
I believe the first two words are "Erinnerung an", but can't decipher the name.
Please help.
2
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1
answer
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Prefix for last name: "in der"
While watching TV, I noticed that a person interviewed was named In der Maur. Rarely you can read von as prefix, mostly by former nobles, but it's the first time I have read in der as a prefix. I ...
6
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2
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232
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When should you use more than one letter in initials of a name (“Th.” for “Theodor”, “Ph.” for “Philipp”, etc)?
(This is a followup to the answers of Is ‘Th.’ in a name a short form of Theodor?, hoping to learn more details than are given there.)
It’s quite common in German for first-name initials to be given ...
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Is 'Th.' in a name the short form of Theodor?
I have come across some occurrences of 'Dr. Th.' followed by a name. I first thought it means Doctor theologiae, but I am seeing it in contexts that have nothing to do with theology.
Example:
...
3
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2
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376
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How to pronounce Arthur Wehnelt's last name as in the term Wehnelt cylinder or Wehnelt lens?
A Wehnelt lens, grid, cap, etc. is a standard component in an electron gun on may types of scientific instruments including electron microscopes. It is named after its inventor Arthur Rudolph Berthold ...
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Regeln für adjektivische Verwendung von Vornamen
Mit beispielsweise dem viktorianischen und dem wilhelminischen Zeitalter (nach Königin Viktoria bzw. Wilhelm II.) und dem julianischen und gregorianischen Kalender (nach Julius Cäsar bzw. Gregor XIII.)...
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5
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Is any group of people known by an animal name, specifically as 'bat'?
I'm wondering whether any specific people group (e.g. a certain nationality or a certain organization of people) can be referred to or is known by an animal name.
For example I know of people being ...
4
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2
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Wilhelm II. und Ludwig XIV
Ich habe gerade in Volker Kutschers »Der nasse Fisch«, oder vielleicht sollte ich in Volker Kutschers »Nassem Fisch« schreiben, den folgenden Satz gelesen :
Der Mann erinnerte ein wenig an Wilhelm ...
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1
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Should umlauts be used in names, even if the person with that name didn't use them? [duplicate]
I've recently come across a post (in English) speaking of Noether's theorem, where Noether's surname was consistently spelled as Nöther. But nowhere had I seen such a spelling of this name until this ...
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Where can I find a list of all family names containing Schild/Schilt?
I've been searching for a while but can't find any list of all family names (but current and historic) containing the element Schild/Schilt, either as a prefix or a suffix.
It's not even mentioned as ...
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3
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When referring to a person only by their surname, should I keep or omit "von"?
When referring to people, often they are named by their surname only (no titles, first names or initials if the surname alone would unambiguously denote the person in a context. E.g. Haydn, Merkel.
...
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220
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Sigmund vs. Sigismund
I am aware that this is not a question strictly related to the German Language, but I think it is still related.
I currently read a book where the name Sigmund appears a lot. However, my brain ...
3
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643
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Genitiv von Namen mit Adelsprädikat
Bildunterschrift in der Sächsischen Zeitung vom 28.01.19, Seite 3:
Das Wappen derer von Zimmermann, den Besitzern bis 1945
Gibt es Verweise in Grammatiken/Regelwerken auf diese Art der ...
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2
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217
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Welchem Zweck dient »der« in »Ja, ich bin der Martin«?
Ja, ich bin der Martin.
Welchem Zweck dient der hier?
Ich denke, dass es mit Welchen grammatischen Zweck dient hier "der": «als der er abgefahren war» verbunden ist, aber ein ...
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4
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Pronunciation of "Dirichlet"
I am interested in the pronunciation of the name "Dirichlet" as in the mathematician Johann Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet. Specifically, I am interested in whether the final "t" is silent. I have ...
6
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1
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Korrekte Bezeichnung von Professoren im Text
Ich kenne die Regeln für Professoren für die Anschrift und für die Anrede. Wie verweise ich jedoch korrekterweise im Text auf die Person? Beispielsweise in einem Brief:
Das wird Ihnen auch [Person] ...
3
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1
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327
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We are (called) the Smiths
How does one pluralize a family name?
Wir heißen den Smiths? der Smithen?
Wir sind die Smith Familie?
Which of these is most natural, and which are acceptable?
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Cornelsen - Why pronounced with long "e"
I know the syllable structure is cor-nel-sen
So it should be pronounced with a short "e", isn't it?
Or maybe because it is a last name the rules don't apply here?
9
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What is the 'mit A-Y' in 'ist dort die Firma Mayer mit A-Y'?
I see this conversation in Studio 21:
A: »Heier«
B: »Guten Morgen, ist dort die Firma Mayer mit A-Y?«
A: »Nein, hier ist Heier. HEIER.«
B: »Oh, Entschuldigung ...«
What is the ‘mit A-Y’?
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2
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129
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Johannes Nazaräer? (Articles)
The Nazarener were a 19th century German religious art movement. Preferring Nazaräer to Nazarener (because Nazarener is commonly thought to derive etymologically from the geographical Nazaret), how ...
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"Von neumannsche Ordinalzahlen" oder "von Neumann'sche Ordinalzahlen"?
Sofern ich weiß sind sowohl grimmsche Märchen und Grimm'sche Märchen korrekt.
Was passiert wenn das Adjektiv von einem mehrteiligen Namen kommt, zum Beispiel von Neumann.
Welche Formen sind korrekt ...
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How does one come up with good German names for a submissive girl? [closed]
I am a sub to a Dom and would like to change my name to celebrate this. What are ways to choose a good German name for this?
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How to pronounce Zoe(y), Lucy, Amy and Stella as German names?
I noticed that there are German friends who have such English-like names.
I pronounce these names in English as:
Zoe(y): ZO-ee, /zoːi/
Lucy: LOO-see, /luːsi/
Amy: AY-mee, /eimi/
Stella: STEL-ə, /...
3
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2
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Die historische Verwendung von Femininsuffixe auf Namen
Der Text auf diesem Gemälde wundert mich.
Die Ehefrau Barbara vom Uhrmacher Sebastian Baumann in Friedberg
Warum steht hier Barbara Baumannin und nicht Baumann ? Ist das -in ein Femininsuffix oder ...
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1
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Need help about usage of "von"
I got confused about the usage of the word. "Von" can be written "Von" if it started in front of the sentence or "v." if abbreviated accroding to The Duden.
What about if you write it in sentences, "...
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3
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Personennamen: Genitiv-Spezialfall?
In einem Buch ist mir der Genitiv untergekommen:
... und spielte zwei oder drei Lieder Walther von der Vogelweides.
Mir ist schon klar, dass der Satz mit einem andere Namen, etwa Franz Schuberts, ...
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2
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331
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How does the name Ilja for a girl sounds in german?
My wife wants to name our daughter Ilja (Ilya) but I think this name is reserved as a Slavic Male name. Is that the connotation in Germany also? What do you think? Are there any female Ilja in germany ...
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Dialekte mit Vorname + Artikel, wann kein Artikel erlaubt?
Viele Dialekte benutzen Vornamen generell mit Artikeln (zumindest in der Alltagssprache), wie z.B.:
Weißt du, wo der Peter ist?
Ich treffe mich morgen mit der Susi.
Ich gehe nachher zum Frank.
Ich ...
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2
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Dative after 'von' with compound personal names
The preposition von takes the dative in German, but I'm unsure how to form the dative of a "compound" personal name like Karl der Große. As a proper noun, Karl does not change, but does der Große ...
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1
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How will the name Vega be pronounced in German?
With an /f/ or with a /v/ (f and v like in English..)?
And while we're at it, How does this name sound in German? Does it have any bad associations?
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Vor- oder Nachname, um mit einer Person über eine andere zu sprechen
Ich habe zwei Kollegen: Hans Müller und Josef Meier. Ich bin mit beiden "per Du", spreche also beide mit dem Vornamen an. Die beiden sind untereinander "per Sie", sprechen sich gegenseitig also mit ...
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How do you pronounce 'René', a German male given name, in German?
I have to transcribe a German male's name into another language.
His name is written 'René', as in 'René Descartes', except it's a German first name.
My German knowledge is very shallow, so I'd like ...
3
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2
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791
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Bindestriche in Komposita mit Eigennamen und anderen Substantiven
In der Physik ist es üblich Konzepte, Phänomene und Gleichungen nach ihren Entdeckern oder Entdeckerinnen zu benennen. Meist kommen hierbei Bindestriche zwischen den Namensgebenden und dem Konzept zum ...
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What is the meaning of the name "Fahrenheit" (or its etymology)? [duplicate]
What is the definition of the noun "Fahrenheit" (or the etymology of the name)? In Wiktionary it says "the surname literally means "experience", but I don't find any evidence of this in the Wahrig or ...
3
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1
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What does the surname "Hoerster" mean?
As you can see from my username, my surname is "Hoerster." Before the Hoersters came over to the United States from Prussia, and before that, Germany itself, they spelled their surname as Hörster. ...
3
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Meaning of “von Weizsäcker”
Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker was a famous physicist and his brother, Richard von Weizsäcker was German president. What does their last name mean?
I have two theories:
Weizsäcker = Weiz + Säcker
...
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What does a “Holzmacher” do?
What does a Holzmacher do, or what is their job? Is it a common last name? It seems to be literally, wood maker or wood doer. Is the name used to describe a carpenter, craftsmen or lumberjack?
3
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“dass sie es dem Werther gleichtaten” – what does the article mean here? [duplicate]
Eine tragische Liebesgeschichte, die manche Leser so ergriff, dass sie es dem Werther gleichtaten und ihrem irdischen Dasein ein Ende setzten.
As Werther is a name for a person, what does dem stand ...
5
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IPA von Haeckel (Hegel, Händel, ...)
Ich bin mir unsicher, ob und wie ich die IPA-Wiedergabe von Haeckel im englischen Wikipediartikel über Ernst Haeckel korrigieren oder ergänzen soll.
Dort steht [ˈhɛkəl], mir scheint aber auch [ˈhɛkl̩]...