German

Boy name

German has been given to 10,295 babies in the U.S. since 1882. It peaked in 1991.

Meaning & origin /ˈd͡ʒɜː.mən/

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;

Origin: Russian

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.