German Girl Names: 139 Names With Meanings

German girl names such as Adelheid (“nobleness, nobility”), Mathilde, Friederike, Emilia, Frieda and Greta come from Old German words, saints’ names and pet names, and this list gives a checked meaning for 139 of them.

German girl names mix old Germanic names built from words for battle, strength and nobility with German forms of names shared across Europe and a large family of short forms and nicknames. Many are already familiar in English, and others, such as Edeltraud and Kunigunde, are rare finds.

We grouped the names into classic, modern, short, blended, rare, nature-themed, nickname and Swiss or Austrian names. Then come names that travel well in English, how naming works in Germany, how to say the names, and pairing ideas for siblings and middle names.

German Girl Names at a Glance

Every gender, usage label and meaning on this page was checked against the name’s own entry on Behind the Name in October 2026, and each name is spelled, umlauts included, exactly as the entry spells it. Where an entry says a meaning is uncertain or unknown, we say so. Names we could not verify this way are not on the list.

German girl names come from several layers of history. The oldest are built from Old German elements such as hilt (“battle”), lind (“soft, flexible, tender”), drud (“strength”) and adal (“noble”). Others are German forms of saints’ and biblical names, such as Elisabeth, Johanna and Katharina. And many are short forms and pet names, from Lotte to Liesel, that later became names in their own right.

You will also notice that a lot of these names are shared with other languages. Behind the Name lists German alongside Dutch, Scandinavian or English usage for many of them, so a name can feel German and still be easy to live with in the U.S. If you are comparing origins, our French girl names and Italian girl names lists use the same checked approach, and the brother list is German boy names.

A quick note on how to read the tables. The middle column shows the usage labels from each entry, shortened with “and more” when an entry lists many languages. When an entry describes a name only as a form of another name, the meaning shown is the meaning of that original name, taken from its own entry.

Classic German Names for Girls and Their Meanings

These are the names that fill German family trees: royal and saintly names, Germanic names with long histories, and the German forms of names used across Europe. Many have the vintage feel that parents in the U.S. are drawn to right now, and they sit comfortably beside the names on our old-fashioned girl names list.

Some of these are much older than they look. Hedwig joins two Old German words for fighting, hadu (“battle, combat”) and wig (“war”), and Hildegard pairs hilt (“battle”) with gart (“enclosure, yard”). The entry for Hildegard notes that Saint Hildegard was a 12th-century mystic from Bingen, famous for her writings and her visions. Mathilde comes from the Germanic name behind Matilda, “strength in battle”, and Gertrud from the name behind Gertrude, “spear of strength”.

Others came into German from Greek, Latin and Hebrew. Dorothea means “gift of god” and is built from the same two Greek words as Theodore, in reverse order. Elisabeth is the German and Dutch spelling of Elizabeth, and Johanna is the Latinate form of Joanna. Several, including Wilhelmine, Friederike, Karoline and Luise, are feminine forms of men’s names (the entries name Wilhelm, Frederick, Carolus and Louis).

Two links to the newest U.S. data are worth knowing. Charlotte, which the Social Security Administration (SSA) ranks No. 2 for girls born in 2025, is listed by Behind the Name with German usage among others, and its entry notes that it was the name of a German-born 18th-century queen consort of Great Britain and Ireland. Several more names on this page are German forms of U.S. top-10 names, which we point out where they come up.

Modern Names German Families Choose Today

These names feel current in Germany and travel easily. We are not claiming any ranking here: the only popularity data we cite on this page is the U.S. top 10. Several are labeled German (Modern) by Behind the Name, which means they came into German use recently.

A few patterns stand out. Endings in -ie (Leonie, Amelie, Rosalie) and -a (Emilia, Paula, Frieda) are common, and so are short, light names such as Mia, Lia and Lina. Amelie is the German variant of Amelia, the SSA’s No. 4 name for U.S. girls born in 2025, and Sophie is the French form of Sophia (No. 5), with German usage too. Mia itself is No. 6 in the U.S., and Behind the Name lists German among its usages.

Some modern names have honest question marks. Behind the Name says Finja is “probably” a feminine form of Finn and that the meaning of Juna is uncertain, perhaps a variant of Junia or Juno. We print those hedges as the entries give them rather than invent a meaning. Frieda, on the other hand, has a clear story: it is a variant of Frida, from the Old German element fridu, “peace”.

If you love Frieda, Leonie or Josefine but want something rarer, look at the old Germanic names further down, which share sounds with these modern favorites.

Short German Names for Girls

Short names are a German specialty. Many began as short forms or diminutives of longer names and then stood on their own. They also work well as middle names, and many of them turn up on our short girl names list.

Look closely and you will see family resemblances. Ida and Emma are both very old Germanic names: Ida comes from the element id, possibly “work, labor”, and Emma from irmin, “whole” or “great”. Emma is the SSA’s No. 3 name for U.S. girls born in 2025, and Behind the Name includes German among its usages. Oda and Ute both connect to Otto (Ute is a variant of Oda), and the entry for Ute notes that she is the mother of Kriemhild and Gunther in the medieval German saga, the Nibelungenlied.

Others are tidy pieces of longer names. Ilse and Elsa both come from Elisabeth. Greta comes from the Margaret family, and Lotte from Charlotte or Liselotte. Elke and Anke carry the Low German label: Elke is a Low German and Frisian diminutive of Adelheid, and Anke a Low German and Dutch diminutive of Anna.

One spelling note: Inge is listed by Behind the Name as both feminine and masculine. The entry explains that in Sweden and Norway it is mainly a masculine name, while elsewhere it is usually feminine.

Double and Blended German Names: Annalena, Hannelore and More

Many German names join two names into one. In this table, each blend is written as a single word, such as Hannelore and Liselotte, and Behind the Name explains which two names each one combines.

These blends are a gentle way to honor two relatives at once. Hannelore joins Hanne and Eleonore, and Liselotte joins Lise and Charlotte, which is why both Lise names and Lotte names can come from it. Marlene has the most famous story: its entry calls it a blend of Maria and Magdalene, popularized by the German actress and singer Marlene Dietrich, whose real name was Maria Magdalene Dietrich.

If you want to create your own double name in the U.S., there is no German rule to follow, but think about how a hyphen will look on school forms and how the name sounds with your surname.

Rare German Girl Names From Old Germanic Roots

If you are searching for rare German girl names, this is the richest section. These names are built from Old German or Old Norse elements, and many appear in medieval sagas or belonged to early saints and queens. Behind the Name labels several of them German (Rare). For more uncommon choices across cultures, see our unique girl names.

Once you know a few elements, you can read many of these names yourself:

• Hilt or hild: “battle”, in Brunhild, Kriemhild, Swanhild, Gerhild, Reinhild and Sonnhild, and in Hildegard and Hiltrud.
• Lind: “soft, flexible, tender”, in Sieglinde, Gerlinde, Dietlinde and Adelinde, and behind Linda.
• Drud (later traud or trud): “strength”, in Waltraud, Edeltraud and Hiltrud, and in Gertrud.
• Adal: “noble”, in Edeltraud and Adelinde, and in Adelheid.
• Run or rún: “secret lore, rune”, in Gudrun, Heidrun and Ortrun.

Several of these names come from the Nibelungenlied. Kriemhild is its heroine, the sister of Gunther and wife of Siegfried; Sieglinde is Siegfried’s mother; and Brunhild, cognate with the Norse Brynhildr, appears in the saga too. Isolde is the German form of Iseult, a name whose origins are uncertain, and its entry notes Richard Wagner’s 1865 opera Tristan und Isolde. Sonnhild, from German Sonne (“sun”) and hilt, is unusual because its entry says it was created in the modern era.

Some of these names are firmly tied to an older generation in Germany, and a few carry heavy stories in the sagas, so read the full entry before you choose. Hertha is a good example of why: its entry explains that it is a form of Nerthus, a Germanic fertility goddess described by the Roman historian Tacitus, and that the spelling with H came from a misreading of his text.

Nature, Peace and Angel Names for Girls

Parents often search for German names meaning peace, angel or flower. Here are the names on Behind the Name with German usage whose entries give those kinds of meanings. Some are Latin or Greek in origin and used in German, which the usage column makes clear.

For peace, Frida is the name to know: it began as a short form of names with fridu, “peace”, the same element in Friederike and in Frieda. For an angel name, Angelika is the German, Polish and Hungarian form of Angelica, “angelic”. Engel is more complicated: its entry says it may first have been a short form of names that referred to the Angles, but that from early times it has been strongly associated with the Old German word for “angel”. Behind the Name lists Engel as masculine and feminine and marks its German use as rare.

Two German words hide in plain sight. Heide is a diminutive of Adelheid that also coincides with the German word for “heath”, and Erika is the feminine form of Erik that coincides with the word for “heather” in some languages. For flowers, there are Flora, Rosa, Rosalie and Viola, and Iris means “rainbow” in Greek while also naming the flower. Stella means “star” in Latin, and our names that mean star list gathers more names like it.

Selma is a good reminder to check sources: Behind the Name says its meaning is unknown, possibly a short form of Anselma. Plenty of websites attach a confident meaning to it, but we have not found that in the reference we use, so we leave it as unknown.

German Nicknames and Diminutives for Girls

German pet names often end in -chen, -el, -l or -i, and many have become full names. Every one below is listed on Behind the Name with German usage. You can give one as a first name, or choose the longer name and use the nickname at home. Our nicknames for girls guide has ideas in English, too.

Some long names have a whole family of short forms. Margarete gives Gretchen, and Grete gives Gretel, the girl in the 1812 Brothers Grimm fairy tale. Elisabeth gives Liesel and Liesl, as well as Ilse and Elsa from the short-names table. Friederike gives Fritzi and Rike, and Charlotte or Liselotte gives Lotte and Lotti. Adelheid gives Heidi, made famous by the 1880 children’s novel Heidi by the Swiss author Johanna Spyri, along with Elke and Heide.

A few nicknames have a regional or generational feel. Traudl is a diminutive of Gertraud, Waltraud or Edeltraud, and Zenzi a diminutive of Kreszenz. Gabi is listed as both feminine and masculine, but its entry says it is usually a feminine name in German-speaking regions. If you choose a nickname as a legal first name, say it out loud with the full name you might have used, and pick the one that sounds right at every age.

Swiss and Austrian Names for Girls

German is spoken in Switzerland and Austria as well as Germany, and Behind the Name marks a few names with those labels. The list is short because we only include names whose entries carry the label.

Verena and Regula are both connected to Zurich in their entries. Saint Verena was a 3rd-century Egyptian-born nurse who settled near Zurich, and Vreni is her name’s Swiss diminutive. Regula, Latin for “bar, rule”, was a 3rd-century martyr who is the patron saint of Zurich. Leopoldine, labeled German (Austrian), is the feminine form of Leopold; Leopold’s entry notes that Saint Leopold, a 12th-century margrave of Austria, is now considered the patron of that country.

How German Names Work: Choosing, Spelling and Saying Them

In Germany, parents choose a child’s first name, but the registry office (Standesamt) records it. A 2019 summary by the German Bundestag’s research service explains that there is no statute listing which first names are allowed and no official list of names; the area is shaped by court decisions and customary law. The registry office can refuse to record a name that would endanger the child’s welfare, and there is no official limit on the number of first names. An explanatory sheet published by a Berlin district registry office puts the same principle simply: the chosen first names may not conflict with the child’s welfare, and their spelling follows the general rules of German spelling unless parents ask for a different one.

Spelling matters in German names, and the umlaut (the two dots in ä, ö and ü) is part of the name. Käthe, Bärbel, Jördis and Cäcilie are spelled here exactly as their entries spell them. U.S. records and forms do not always carry accent marks or special characters, so ask your hospital or birth registration office what can be recorded and decide early how you will write the name at home and at school.

Behind the Name prints pronunciations in the International Phonetic Alphabet. In that system, ˈ comes before the stressed syllable and ː marks a long vowel. Here is what the entries give for a sample of names on this page.

A few patterns help. The German w sounds like an English v, which is why the IPA shows a v sound in the second syllable of Hedwig and at the start of Wiebke. German ei sounds like the English word “eye” (Adelheid, Heidi), and ie is a long “ee” (Friederike, Liesel). The sound written ç in the IPA, at the end of Hedwig and in the middle of Gretchen, is a soft sound that English does not have, so most American families use a close approximation, and that is fine.

Names That Travel Well in English, Plus Sibling and Middle Name Pairings

Many families want a name that honors German roots and is easy to say and spell in the U.S. These names from the tables above are our picks for that. It is our opinion, not a statistic.

• Already familiar in English: Clara, Emma, Ella, Ida, Greta, Hannah, Paula, Stella, Iris, Viola and Edith.
• German spellings of English favorites: Mathilde (Matilda), Elisabeth (Elizabeth), Katharina (Katherine), Josefine (Josephine), Johanna (Joanna) and Amelie (Amelia).
• Easy to say, still clearly German: Frieda, Heidi, Liesel, Lotte, Elke, Leonie and Romy.
• Bolder choices that may need spelling out: Hedwig, Adelheid, Sieglinde, Waltraud and Kunigunde.

A practical tip: before you choose, say the name the way an American teacher would read it off a list. Names with ie, ei or a German w may be read differently in English (Leonie, Heide and Hedwig, for example). That is not a reason to avoid them, just a reason to decide in advance how you will say and spell the name. Families with Irish or Russian roots as well may enjoy comparing with our Irish girl names and Russian girl names.

These pairings are our suggestions, built only from names on this page and their checked meanings. Treat them as starting points.

• Classic first, short middle: Mathilde Ida, Johanna Greta, Dorothea Lene, Charlotte Thea and Hildegard Emma.
• Short first, flowing middle: Ida Friederike, Greta Josefine, Lotte Amalia and Thea Rosalie.
• Shared meanings: Frida and Friederike both carry “peace”; Edeltraud and Adelheid share adal, “noble”; Gerlinde and Gerhild share ger, “spear”.
• Sisters with one sound: Lina and Lena, Ella and Elsa, or Ilse and Elke, which feel connected without matching.
• Mixing old and new: Hedwig and Emilia, Sieglinde and Leonie, or Kunigunde and Mia, if you like a vintage name beside a lighter one.

For a brother, our German boy names list uses the same checked approach. Whatever you choose, say the full name aloud with your surname, write out the initials, and picture it on a birthday card.

Related Betteroo Guides

• German Boy Names
• Greek Girl Names
• French Girl Names
• Old-Fashioned Girl Names
• Nicknames for Girls
• Unique Girl Names

The Bottom Line

German girl names range from old Germanic names such as Hedwig, Hildegard and Sieglinde, to German forms of names shared across Europe such as Elisabeth and Katharina, to light modern picks such as Emilia, Leonie and Frieda, and pet names such as Gretchen and Liesel. Shortlist a few, read the full meaning on each name’s entry, keep the umlaut if the name has one, and check how it sounds in English.

Then say each name out loud with your surname, picture it on a kindergarten cubby, and choose the one that feels like your daughter.

Frequently Asked Questions

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