Germanic Baby Names
Names from the early Germanic languages — Frankish, Gothic and their kin. Most are two-part compounds built from words for fame, battle, rule and protection; they spread across Europe with the Franks and arrived in English largely through the Normans.
| Save name | Name & meaning | History 1926–2025, yearly counts; individually scaled | Babies 2025 · rank | 5-year rank movement | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bright fame | 3,772#92 | Down 12 rank positions in five years | 1947 | ||
Will + helmet; often resolute protector | 10,545#9 | Down 4 rank positions in five years | 1947 | ||
King, ruler + hard, brave | 1,505#234 | Down 26 rank positions in five years | 1946 | ||
Man, through Karl; alternative army derivation | 5,898#48 | Down 2 rank positions in five years | 1947 | ||
Tender, soft | 294#902 | Down 87 rank positions in five years | 1947 | ||
Counsel + ruler | 438#638 | Down 79 rank positions in five years | 1947 | ||
Peace, with a disputed first element; form of Geoffrey | 544#552 | Down 166 rank positions in five years | 1962 | ||
Member of the Franks; also a short form of Francis or Franklin | 584#514 | Down 86 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Spear | 201#1,073 | Down 266 rank positions in five years | 1952 | ||
Ever ruler | 1,256#273 | Down 75 rank positions in five years | 1970 | ||
Man, in the Charles family; also song or hymn | 82#2,242 | Down 331 rank positions in five years | 1946 | ||
Counsel + protection | 807#395 | Down 84 rank positions in five years | 1924 | ||
Whole; great | 12,754#3 | Down 1 rank positions in five years | 2003 | ||
Home ruler | 12,020#5 | Up 4 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
From Aveline, an older name of uncertain meaning | 9,123#8 | Up 1 rank positions in five years | 1921 | ||
Power of the army | 1,381#252 | Up 20 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Nobility, through the Adalheidis family | 3,547#65 | Up 11 rank positions in five years | 1921 | ||
Feminine form of Charles, from a Germanic word meaning man | 185#1,222 | Down 275 rank positions in five years | 1947 | ||
Man, through Karl | 187#1,134 | Down 321 rank positions in five years | 1956 | ||
Noble and bright | 461#614 | Down 91 rank positions in five years | 1921 | ||
Spear + power or authority | 168#1,206 | Down 251 rank positions in five years | 1942 | ||
Famous spear | 297#834 | Down 149 rank positions in five years | 1953 | ||
Several origins: Terence or Theresa familiar form, or a Thierry surname | 192#1,116 | Down 183 rank positions in five years | 1957 | ||
Home ruler, through Henry; also a familiar form of other Har names | 329#775 | Down 56 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Counsel; advice + wolf | 211#1,048 | Up 54 rank positions in five years | 1921 | ||
Several surname origins: Hughard, Hávarðr, or ewe herder | 226#1,004 | Up 40 rank positions in five years | 1921 | ||
Life through Eve; voice in Persian; other roots uncertain | 7,732#11 | Down 8 rank positions in five years | 2007 | ||
Grace in the Anna family; eagle in the Frisian masculine name | 472#619 | Up 7 rank positions in five years | 1959 | ||
Nobility through Alison; alternatively son of Alan or Alexander | 2,564#103 | Down 23 rank positions in five years | 1994 | ||
Nobility, through Alicia; spelling probably influenced by alyssum | 680#453 | Down 254 rank positions in five years | 1999 | ||
Man, through Charles | 2,418#150 | Down 1 rank positions in five years | 2001 | ||
Serious, earnest; older Germanic vigor or strife | 213#1,040 | Down 31 rank positions in five years | 1921 | ||
Brave lion | 438#637 | Down 2 rank positions in five years | 1921 | ||
Bright fame, through Robert; also associated with the bird | 400#704 | Up 197 rank positions in five years | 1961 | ||
Vigor, bravery, through Amalia | 12,699#4 | Up 2 rank positions in five years | 2021 | ||
Possibly olive tree; origin disputed | 14,939#3 | Steady | 2024 | ||
Peaceful ruler | 728#435 | Up 49 rank positions in five years | 1951 | ||
Feminine form in the Charles family; man or army root | 2,646#96 | Down 25 rank positions in five years | 2000 | ||
Ruler of the people, through Theodoric | 1,191#284 | Up 25 rank positions in five years | 1989 | ||
Ever ruler, through Eric; also associated with heather | 156#1,399 | Down 288 rank positions in five years | 1986 | ||
Noble kind, through Alice | 672#460 | Down 46 rank positions in five years | 1984 | ||
Peace element; Jeffrey form with uncertain first element | 110#1,556 | Down 562 rank positions in five years | 1962 | ||
Army + bright | 49#2,656 | Down 353 rank positions in five years | 1928 | ||
Power of the spear, through Gerald | 73#2,447 | Down 495 rank positions in five years | 1930 | ||
Brave in battle, through Wigheard | 6,480#38 | Down 9 rank positions in five years | 2017 | ||
Thor's stone | 365#729 | Down 76 rank positions in five years | 1985 | ||
Bright | 30#4,568 | Up 91 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Brave bear | 137#1,362 | Down 112 rank positions in five years | 1924 | ||
Shield rim; also shield wolf through Randolf | 117#1,506 | Down 450 rank positions in five years | 1960 | ||
Possibly work in Germanic; Sanskrit refreshment and sacred speech | 209#1,120 | Up 59 rank positions in five years | 1918 |
Page 1 of 4
Sources & methodology
Meaning summaries use Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0) and referenced name histories. Each name’s detail page includes its sources.
Names are included when their documented origin matches Germanic. The list shows up to 100 names for each sex, ordered by current popularity. Origin records are derived from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); coverage reflects documented records, not every name in the language. Rankings and counts come from official SSA birth records. “—” means fewer than five published applications for that sex and year.