German

Where German comes from

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.
— Wiktionary's entry for German
  • Russian
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1882
    First appearance
    #943 among boys, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1936
    German Apukhtin born
    Russian footballer
  3. 1937
    German Sveshnikov born
    Soviet fencer
  4. 1991
    Peak, #581
    304 babies named German — more than any year before or since.
  5. 2011
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #1,178.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Russian.
Namesakes
  • German Apukhtin · Russian footballer, 1936–2003
  • German Sveshnikov · Soviet fencer, 1937–2003
  • German Khan · Russian businessman, born 1961
  • German Titov · Russian ice hockey player, born 1965
  • German Zonin · Soviet association football player, 1926–2021

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.