German baby girl names – the most popular names

When we first thought about having a baby there were some German baby girl names that popped up. In this post I am going to tell you Germany’s TOP 10 baby girl names! Doing some research about the most popular German baby girl names right now in Germany, I was very surprised because they are very easy to pronounce and very international!

I will used the general German baby girl names ranking, but I will also give you the lists about the frequency of usage for first given names or second given names in Germany. This is the most up to date official list of the society for German language.

10. Johanna

On number 10 you can find Johanna. Johanna can be found in the bible and derives from the Greek. Johanna means “God is gracious”. In German you prounounce the “J” (jay) as an “I” (ai) (watch the video below for the pronunciation in German). Actually this could be a tricky name internationally because the “J” (jay) is pronounced like a “J” in other languages. Do you know that song (Johanna give me hope): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7EIhN1KSEM

9. Anna

The number 9 most used baby girl name in Germany is Anna. Which is not a part of the name Johanna. On the contrary of what many might think, these are 2 different names. Anna is a romanization of the name Hanna and can mean “favor” or “grace”. “Anne” with an “e” in the end is a French variant and “Ann” without “a” or “e” was the original spelling for the English version of this name. In 2019 was released a movie called Anna, I wonder if it will make the name even more trendy in Germany in 2020 or the oposite.

8. Mia

On the place 8 of the most popular German baby girl names is Mia! Nobody really seems to know where the name comes from, but it is a short and easy name to remember and pronounce, I would say in every language. Maybe with small differences.

7. Hannah / Hanna

Hannah or Hanna is the next one, and is the 7th name most used in Germany. Hanna without an “h” in the end proceeds form the version with an “h” in the end. This is an Hebrew name and it can be found in the bible. As I mentioned before the name Anna, which is the 9th most used name for baby girls in Germany, derives from Hanna, so the meaning is the same: “favor” or”grace”. But the variation with an “H” in the beginning and in the beginning and in the end is preferable in Germany as the version without “H”s. It is also a very easy to spell name and thus very international.

6. Emma

The number 6th most popular German baby girl name is Emma. This is a Germanic name, and in my opinion it has a very beautiful meaning, it means “whole” or “universal”. It is extremely popular, not only in Germany but also in countries like the USA, France, Sweden, Russia, Canada, Norway, Hungary, Finland, Denmark, Spain and others. I guess I can say that this is one of the most popular names for baby girls in the globe nowadays, which is quite interesting because of its meaning. On top of that, it is also the most popular first given name for baby girls in Germany.

5. Emilia

Emilia is the next name on the list. It is the 5th most used name in Germany for girls in the country. This is a Latin name and if you are a person that is into meanings, maybe this is not a choice for you. There is not a common agreement but the meaning of the name Emilia, it might mean industrious/hard working or rival. Very different types of meanings when comparing to the other top baby girl names in Germany.

4. Sophia / Sofia

The name Sophia/Sofia ranks as number 4, it comes from the Greek and means “wisdom”. There is no difference when pronouncing both variations of the name. This is again a very easy name and difficult to be wrongly pronounced almost everywhere!

3. Maria

Maria is the 3rd most popular name in Germany. It derives from the Hebrew name Miriam and can be read many times in the bible. I think it is interesting that even if Maria is a feminine name, it is used in many countries as a second given name for boys, with the objective of protection by the Virgin Mary. This happens not only in Germany but also in other countries. The meaning of the name Maria is highly debated, it might mean “bitter”, “drop of the sea” , or even “love” or “beloved”. Despite Maria being a very popular name for baby girls in Germany, it is usually used as a second given name combined with others. For example: Johanna Maria or Anna Maria.

2. Sophie/Sofie

The second most used name in Germany is a variation of the number 4 and is Sophie or Sofie, with an “e” in the end. It is the anglicized version of Sophia, so it also comes from the Greek and has the same meaning: “wisdom”. There is again no difference when pronouncing it with “ph” or just an “f” in German. Sophie is the most used second given name for girls in Germany, it can be combined with other names for example: Mia Sophie or Emilia Sophie.

1. Marie/Mari

And now, on the top of the list you can find the name Marie or Mari. Again, there is no difference while pronouncing both of this names in German. Again it derives from Maria with an “a” in the end and it is considered by many the French and Czech version of this name. The meaning is debatable, but it is usually intended to be related to the Holly Mary in the bible, the mother of Jesus. It is also occasionally used as a second masculine given name. Even if Marie is the most popular general name for baby girls in Germany, it is usually used as a second given name combined with others. For example: Emma Marie or Hannah Marie. The same happens to the other version of the name, Maria is also mainly used as a second name.

Other German baby girl names’ interesting facts

Other first girl names that didn’t get into the top 10 general given girl names in Germany but are the top 10 first given names in Germany are: Lina, Mila, Ella and Klara/Clara. Ella is a highlight because it gained much more popularity when compared to the previous year.
For more detailed information about first names, second names and general popularity for baby girl names in Germany check the lists below And if you are really into this names thing check the website behingthename.com.
Here in Germany there is a trend not to chose names that are popular, so your child has an unique name. I am curious about if a name being in the top 10 is a reason for you to exclude it. Let me know on the comments down below!

Check the video

In this video I resume all this information and you can also hear the German pronunciation for all the TOP 10 German baby girl names.

>>>> Check here tips on how to raise bilingual children <<<<

Statistics for 2018

Ranking and % of use (in brackets the ranking of the previous year):

1. Marie/Mari (1) 2,61%

2. Sophie/Sofie (2) 2,39%

3. Maria (3) 1,67%

4. Sophia/Sofia (4) 1,46%

5. Emilia (5) 1,34%

6. Emma (6) 1,25%

7. Hannah/Hanna (7) 1,20%

8. Mia (9) 1,15%

9. Anna (8) 1,11%

10. Johanna (11) 0,97%

First given name ranking

Ranking and % of use (in brackets the ranking of the previous year) + the main list ranking:

1. Emma (1) 6%

2. Hanna/Hannah (3) 7%

3. Mia (5) 8%

4. Sophia/Sofia (2) 4%

5. Emilia (4) 5%

6. Lina (7) 12%

7. Mila (8) 16%

8. Ella (14) 15%

9. Klara/Clara (9) 14%

10. Anna (6) 9%

11. Lea/Leah (11) 18%

12. Marie (10) 1%

13. Lena (12) 19%

14. Mathilda/Matilda (23) 17%

15. Johanna (17) 10%

Second given name ranking

(Ranking of the previous year placed in brackets) + General ranking + Relationship between the first and second or follow-up given name (FN: SN): If the name Marie was assigned 100 times as a first name, it was also used 251 times as a second given name. If the name Sophia was chosen 100 times as the first name, it was also given 40 times as second given name.

1. Marie (2) 1 1:2,51

2. Sophie/Sofie (1) 2 1:3,43

3. Maria (3) 3 1:3,29

4. Luise/Louise (4) 21 1:1,86

5. Elisabeth (6) 28 1:2,35

6. Sophia/Sofia (5) 4 1:0,40

7. Charlotte (8) 11 1:0,63

8. Katharina/Catharina (7) 32 1:1,82

9. Johanna (9) 10 1:0,54

10. Anna (11) 9 1:0,42

11. Emilia (10) 5 1:0,32

12. Luisa/Louisa (12) 13 1:0,50

13. Victoria/Viktoria (13) 31 1:0,85

14. Josefine/Josephine (14) 40 1:0,99

15. Mathilda/Matilda (15) 17 1:0,33

References

• https://gfds.de/ausfuehrliche-auswertung-vornamen-2018/
• www.behindthename.com