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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Animal enclosure; also a Norman place name | 1,471#240 | Up 103 rank positions in five years | 1921 | ||
Bright fame, through Robert | 61#2,809 | Up 858 rank positions in five years | 1953 | ||
Famous in battle, through Louis | 736#433 | Up 64 rank positions in five years | 1921 | ||
Man, in the Charles family; possibly army | 223#1,083 | Down 59 rank positions in five years | 1962 | ||
Nobility or noble kind, through Adelheid | 894#340 | Up 42 rank positions in five years | 1972 | ||
Ruler of the people, through Derek | 288#850 | Down 301 rank positions in five years | 1980 | ||
Will and protection, through Wilhelmina | 41#3,704 | Up 133 rank positions in five years | 1925 | ||
Army man | 58#2,368 | Up 6 rank positions in five years | 1921 | ||
Power of the spear or brave spear | 526#564 | Down 200 rank positions in five years | 2000 | ||
Man or free man, through Charles | 99#1,948 | Down 244 rank positions in five years | 1952 | ||
Elf ruler | 2,003#146 | Down 90 rank positions in five years | 2012 | ||
Bright pledge | 145#1,330 | Down 155 rank positions in five years | 1930 | ||
Ever ruler, through Erik | 213#1,109 | Down 92 rank positions in five years | 1990 | ||
Of noble kind via Alice; also an Allison surname form | 644#476 | Down 36 rank positions in five years | 1980 | ||
A diminutive name connected with the Geats | 788#393 | Down 124 rank positions in five years | 2007 | ||
Counsel and power, through Reynold | 153#1,284 | Down 294 rank positions in five years | 1962 | ||
Noble; adornment; island; first daughter | 1,401#219 | Down 34 rank positions in five years | 1918 | ||
Land; later associated with the word lance | 279#862 | Down 97 rank positions in five years | 1970 | ||
Eagle power | 120#1,477 | Up 267 rank positions in five years | 1924 | ||
Will and helmet or protection, through William | 409#691 | Up 318 rank positions in five years | 1930 | ||
Usually “man”; alternatively linked with “army” | 107#1,593 | Down 23 rank positions in five years | 1960 | ||
Fame and land; alternatively fame and bravery | 466#608 | Down 38 rank positions in five years | 1924 | ||
Feminine form of Karl, usually traced to “man” | 340#803 | Down 127 rank positions in five years | 1964 | ||
Wood in the French/Germanic tradition; valley or ravine in Hebrew | 103#1,637 | Down 275 rank positions in five years | 1957 | ||
Home ruler, through Henry | 226#1,073 | Up 3 rank positions in five years | 1921 | ||
Brave counsel, through Conrad | 62#2,271 | Down 588 rank positions in five years | 1964 | ||
Mind; thought; spirit | 360#732 | Up 17 rank positions in five years | 1916 | ||
Battle | 55#3,007 | Up 413 rank positions in five years | 1921 | ||
Noble | 3,864#59 | Up 40 rank positions in five years | 2016 | ||
Ever ruler | 879#366 | Down 68 rank positions in five years | 2007 | ||
Manly, through Andrew; also a medieval form of Drogo | 541#553 | Down 22 rank positions in five years | 1985 | ||
Variant of Linda, linked with soft or tender | 30#4,618 | Up 1,147 rank positions in five years | 1947 | ||
Whole or great | 50#3,181 | Down 671 rank positions in five years | 1920 | ||
Father is peace | 4,140#79 | Down 7 rank positions in five years | 2020 | ||
Sea in Hawaiian; other meanings depend on the naming tradition | 3,768#93 | Steady | 2022 | ||
Feminine form of Carl | 248#1,009 | Down 388 rank positions in five years | 1995 | ||
Peaceful ruler | 94#1,736 | Down 308 rank positions in five years | 1953 | ||
English form of Miles, meaning uncertain; separate Greek name probably means mill | 3,511#100 | Up 24 rank positions in five years | 2024 | ||
Bright fame | 150#1,441 | Down 236 rank positions in five years | 1964 | ||
My father is joy | 379#731 | Down 222 rank positions in five years | 2003 | ||
Wealth or fortune | 422#652 | Down 4 rank positions in five years | 1920 | ||
Spear and strength | 95#1,713 | Down 257 rank positions in five years | 1956 | ||
Serious, earnest | 25#4,163 | Down 418 rank positions in five years | 1926 | ||
Bright mind or spirit | 34#3,399 | Down 453 rank positions in five years | 1924 | ||
Noble kind | 183#1,229 | Down 136 rank positions in five years | 1989 | ||
Genuine and brave | 1,129#301 | Up 167 rank positions in five years | 2025 | ||
Whole, great | 24#5,291 | Up 637 rank positions in five years | 1920 | ||
Peace element; first element uncertain | 31#3,598 | Down 897 rank positions in five years | 1975 | ||
From Wendel, associated with the Vandals | 67#2,165 | Down 53 rank positions in five years | 1940 | ||
Nobility | 203#1,139 | Down 497 rank positions in five years | 1998 |
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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.