Austrian Royal Baby Names

Franz is the German equivalent to Francis, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a Franz outside of countries with Germanic origins. In America the name is often associated with celebrated author Franz Kafka, who was born in Prague.

One of the most familiar German names, with an upright Prussian image. Friedrich might just have been out for long enough to start coming back in.

Whether it's pronounced with an "een" or an "aine" or an "enn" sound at the end, Helene doesn't feel as current the more forthright Helen or the airier Helena. Helene reached a high of Number 228 in the US in 1916, when ene, ine and een names were all the fashion, and stayed in the Top 500 until 1962, making a final exit in 1970. It still ranks well in its native France, and even more in Norway (#70). Model Heidi Klum's daughter 'Leni' has Helene on her birth certificate.

Isabella has been a Top 10 name for girls in the US for two decades now. The Latinate form of Isabel, a variation of Elizabeth which originally derived from the Hebrew name Elisheba, Isabella reigned as Number 1 in 2009 and 2010.

The traditional German spelling of this name, used by Goethe, Bach and many other luminaries.

Johanna is the version of this name used in Holland, Germany, and Scandinavia. The extra h makes Johanna a slightly more dignified version of Joanna.

Joseph is one of the most classic names in American nomenclature, popular with parents from many ethnic backgrounds and having dual-religious appeal.

Josepha is less heard in this country than in other parts of the world, seen as a slightly awkward feminization a la Ricarda and Benjamina. In the U.S., Josephine or Joanna is the more usual feminine form of Joseph, though you might consider Josepha if you want to break rank.

Manly almost to the point of macho.

Karoline is the form of the classic Caroline commonly used in Germany and throughout Scandinavia, where it is popular. It's an acceptable if not tradition spelling variation, given to nearly 100 baby girls in the US last year, versus more than 3000 named Caroline.

Katharina is an attractive form of Katherine and a great way to update a classic. But English speakers may want to choose the Katerina or Katarina spelling to avoid pronunciation confusion.

This aristocratic, somewhat formal Germanic route to the popular Leo is a royal name: Queen Victoria used it to honor a favorite uncle, King Leopold of Belgium. Though Leopold sounds as if it might be a leonine name, it's not really a relative of such choices as Leon, and Leonard.

A sophisticated girls' name for those attracted to Leona, Leonie and Leonore.

As heavy as a marble bust of Beethoven.

See LOUISE.