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Germain

#10,023 in 2025Boys' name

Form of Germanus

Germain has been given to 1,034 babies in the U.S. since 1913. In 2025 it ranked #10,023 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1981, with 30 recorded.

Babies named Germain, 2025

1 in 474,000

Germain over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
010203018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Germain: meaning, origin, and history

Form of Germanus

French

What Germain means

Germain is a form of Germanus.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

A patronymic from a medieval given name, identical with the French one; or from an ethnic term for a German.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Germain (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Germain is used in English and French. Its origins include French.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Germanus.

Pronunciation and spelling

In French, Germain is pronounced /ʒɛʁ.mɛ̃/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 992 boys were recorded with the name Germain between 1913 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 30 in 1981; its best national rank was #1,700 in 1972.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #12,695 in 2020 to #10,023 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #11,144 in 2015 to #10,023 in 2025.

In the United States, 42 girls were recorded with the name Germain between 1961 and 1980. Its highest annual count was 7 in 1966; its best national rank was #5,446 in 1966.

How common is Germain?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 474,000
7 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 244,000
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#10,023
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
328,272 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Germain sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 328,272 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Germain. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Germains were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Germain was born before 1986 — so the typical Germain is around 39 today.

Median birth year
1986
About 39 years old
Biggest decade
1980s
19.9% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
24.2%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
838
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1980s — 19.9% of all recorded uses (197).

Is Germain rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+1,359
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+2,672
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+1,121
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.17×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
23.3%
Peak was 1981 (30)
Years since peak
44
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
33.7% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,700
1972

Spellings of Germain

Germain is not the most common spelling — Herman is, with 67.1% against Germain's 0.49%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Germain is used

Across 1910–2025, Germain was most concentrated in California — about 1 in 100,000 boys, against 1 in 325,664 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

01 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in 100,000
  2. 2Minnesota1 in —
  3. 3New York1 in —
  4. 4Texas1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Germain has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Germain around the world

Where Germain ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2001–2002
    #3,225
    in 2002
  • France
    1900–2025
    #1,023
    in 2025
  • Canada
    1993–1995
    #1,710
    in 1995

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques and Statistics Canada. ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Germain by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#10,023
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 2,672
Best rank ever
#1,700
1972
Peak year
1981
30 that year
First recorded
1913
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
992
Count in 2025
7

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#5,446
1966
Peak year
1966
7 that year
First recorded
1961
Last recorded
1980
All-time count
42
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Germain

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

GershonGerrardGeraldoGeremyGeromeGeremiahBritainGershomGermaineGerrickGerritGeronimoMcclainJermainHussainCaptainGerrellGergoryGerogeMaclainAntwainGerhardtGerhardGerson

Sibling names for Germain

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Germain

Top names of 1981, Germain's peak yearThe 1980s in fullOther names that peaked in 1972Boys' names starting with G