German baby names

[pbgirl 1]

My friend recently moved to Germany and was telling me that if you have a baby in Germany that you have to give it a German name. What?? Is this true or is she misinformed? And something about having to show it was a boy's name vs. a girl's name. I was totally surpised and caught off guard on hearing this.

So just curious, is this true? You really have to find an authentic German name for a newborn?

[Ban Hammer 12,840]

My friend recently moved to Germany and was telling me that if you have a baby in Germany that you have to give it a German name. What?? Is this true or is she misinformed? And something about having to show it was a boy's name vs. a girl's name. I was totally surpised and caught off guard on hearing this.

So just curious, is this true? You really have to find an authentic German name for a newborn?

true - last time i was there (till march 2002) you had to pick an "approved" name (this of course assumes your friend falls under german laws and is not there as part of a sofa).

Edited September 27, 2006 by charlesandnessa

[almaty 19]

what? they don"t have enough Franz

[rclouse 0]

I want to name my baby "Apfel".

[Alex+R 0]

I want to name my baby "Apfel".

:lol:

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

My friend recently moved to Germany and was telling me that if you have a baby in Germany that you have to give it a German name. What?? Is this true or is she misinformed? And something about having to show it was a boy's name vs. a girl's name. I was totally surpised and caught off guard on hearing this.

So just curious, is this true? You really have to find an authentic German name for a newborn?

true - last time i was there (till march 2002) you had to pick an "approved" name (this of course assumes your friend falls under german laws and is not there as part of a sofa).

What's a sofa? I assume you're not talking about furniture.

[Fischkoepfin 1]

No, it's not true. You have to give the child a personal name and you can't name it after a thing or give it a last name as a first name, unless it is a name that is common within the family. The registration office has a list to make sure that your name is a personal name somewhere in the world. So, "Apfel" would not be a possible name, since it is the name for a thing, but any first names work just fine.

This is a weird law and difficult to explain, but I hope this helps anyway.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

The registration office has a list to make sure that your name is a personal name somewhere in the world.

What is the interest of the state in having an office to oversee something like this?

[Fischkoepfin 1]

The registration office has a list to make sure that your name is a personal name somewhere in the world.

What is the interest of the state in having an office to oversee something like this?

Germany has a law mandating that anyone living in the country must be registered at the local town hall. One reason is for voting purposes another to have access to social and other services. Kids need to be registered at birth or shortly thereafter (you have like two months) to ensure that the parents get money for the child (the government supports families through a supplement) and later to make sure the kid goes to school and the like. The name thing itself is some remnant from the old days, but one reason is that names have to be gender specific to avoid confusion later on.

It seems weird, but it really isn't. Laws concerning the use of personal data are extremely strict and extend to the government itself.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Germany has a law mandating that anyone living in the country must be registered at the local town hall. One reason is for voting purposes another to have access to social and other services. Kids need to be registered at birth or shortly thereafter (you have like two months) to ensure that the parents get money for the child (the government supports families through a supplement) and later to make sure the kid goes to school and the like. The name thing itself is some remnant from the old days, but one reason is that names have to be gender specific to avoid confusion later on.

It seems weird, but it really isn't. Laws concerning the use of personal data are extremely strict and extend to the government itself.

I get the rationale until you reach the point about gender confusion. I've seen photos of the Berlin love parade. LOL.

[Fischkoepfin 1]

Germany has a law mandating that anyone living in the country must be registered at the local town hall. One reason is for voting purposes another to have access to social and other services. Kids need to be registered at birth or shortly thereafter (you have like two months) to ensure that the parents get money for the child (the government supports families through a supplement) and later to make sure the kid goes to school and the like. The name thing itself is some remnant from the old days, but one reason is that names have to be gender specific to avoid confusion later on.

It seems weird, but it really isn't. Laws concerning the use of personal data are extremely strict and extend to the government itself.

I get the rationale until you reach the point about gender confusion. I've seen photos of the Berlin love parade. LOL.

Yeah, I know. But maybe if you look at it from the love parade perspective, you'll understand why Germany wants gender specific names. How could you tell otherwise?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

But maybe if you look at it from the love parade perspective, you'll understand why Germany wants gender specific names. How could you tell otherwise?

Do you remember the scene from Crocodile Dundee where Mic is in a NYC bar?

Edited September 28, 2006 by Gupt

[Fischkoepfin 1]

But maybe if you look at it from the love parade perspective, you'll understand why Germany wants gender specific names. How could you tell otherwise?

Do you remember the scene from Crocodile Dundee where Mic is in a NYC bar?

No I don't. What happened?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

But maybe if you look at it from the love parade perspective, you'll understand why Germany wants gender specific names. How could you tell otherwise?

Do you remember the scene from Crocodile Dundee where Mic is in a NYC bar?

No I don't. What happened?

Mic thought a he was a she. He grabbed his balls to verify.

[Fischkoepfin 1]

But maybe if you look at it from the love parade perspective, you'll understand why Germany wants gender specific names. How could you tell otherwise?

Do you remember the scene from Crocodile Dundee where Mic is in a NYC bar?

No I don't. What happened?

Mic thought a he was a she. He grabbed his balls to verify.

Yup, that's a weird occurrence and the only safe way to tell, but it seems impractical for a government.