German Names

Probably intended as a variant spelling of Kyle, this German word (meaning "wedge") is not used as a name there.

Irrevocably tied to long-lived, controversial South Carolina senator Strom (born James) Thurman; Strom, which sounds like an anagram of Storm, was his mother's maiden name. With a stretch, you might consider this one of the German names for boysthat's also a nature name.

Variant of Marianne

Clunky Gertrude is heading towards obscurity in the US, but here's a variation that might intrigue - Gesine, also spelled Gesina.

See LOUISE.

Confessional memoirist Augusten Burroughs is the first literary notable to bear one of this family of names since the confessional saint.

Less commercial-sounding than Brand.

Like Mitzi, the bubbly Fritzi shows signs of rising again. Has a bit of a comic-strip feel.

Selig comes from the Yiddish vocabulary word meaning 'happy, fortunate, blessed.' Most of us are more familiar with its Woody Allen variation, Zelig.

A male character in The Chronicles of Narnia, but could conceivably be used for a girl.

Feminine spin on Arnold that received a brief flurry of use in the early 1990s.

Concise and clipped European version of the earnest Ernest.

Cute tomboyish diminutive that's popular in Germany but has not spread far. An interesting choice for the parent who wants an elaborate feminine proper name with a modern short form.

A name used in Germany and Holland as a form of Jerome, it's the unlikely moniker of fictional detective Hieronymous "Harry" Bosch.

Conjures up the military image of Fort Benning in Georgia — or the surname of actress Annette.