Old German Name Generator

Medieval and old-fashioned German names with real roots

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Generate old German names the way they were actually borne: two-part Old High German given names like Adalbert, Kunigunde, Dietrich and Hildegard paired with period surnames, noble 'von' names, medieval bynames and rare standalone names from charters and chronicles.

About Old German names

Old German names are almost all compounds of two meaningful elements, and once you know the pieces the whole tradition opens up. Adal means noble, so Adalbert is 'noble-bright' and Adelheid 'noble-kind'. Hild and gund both mean battle, giving Hildegard, Hildegund, Kunigunde and Brunhild. Frid is peace (Friedrich, Gottfried, Winfried), wolf and bern (bear) supplied fierce names like Wolfram, Wolfhard and Bernhard, and ric means ruler, as in Dietrich ('ruler of the people') and Heinrich ('home ruler'). Names were not chosen for meaning so much as inherited element by element, which is why a family might produce Sigebert, Sigehard and Sieglinde across three generations.

Surnames arrived late, between the 12th and 15th centuries. Ordinary people took a trade (Schmied, Kürschner, Rademacher), a place (Breitenbach, Hohenstein, Lauterbach) or a nickname (Schwarzkopf, Unverzagt, Bleibtreu), while landed families used von plus the name of their castle or manor: Konrad von Hohenburg, Hildegard von Rodenstein. Before surnames, a man was known by a byname, so you will also find forms like Hagen der Rote and Ulrich Starkhand here.

The list mixes Carolingian-era names (Hruodland, Theutberga, Pippin), high-medieval ones and old-fashioned 19th-century favorites like Wilhelmine, Gottlieb and Ottilie, so it works for historical fiction, ancestry-flavored characters and fantasy settings that want a genuinely Germanic sound.

How to choose Old German names

  • Match the era. For anything before about 1100 use a single given name or a byname (Reginbert, Hagen der Rote); surnames like Steinbrecher or Kesselring only make sense from the late Middle Ages onward.
  • Keep the name elements consistent within a family. Medieval parents often repeated one element, so siblings might be Gerhard, Gerlinde and Gerold, or Sigmar, Sieglinde and Siegfried.
  • Use von only for landed nobility, and pair it with a place name rather than a trade: Eberhard von Waldburg works, Eberhard von Schmied does not.
  • Decide on a spelling system and stick to it. Old High German spellings (Hruodland, Uodalrih) and modern ones (Roland, Ulrich) should not sit side by side in the same story unless you are deliberately showing a time gap.
  • For a gentle, vintage feel rather than a medieval one, pick the names that were still in use around 1900: Wilhelmine, Friederike, Gottlieb, Leopold, Hulda and Traugott.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as an old German name?

Usually one of three things: a true Old High German or medieval name built from two Germanic elements (Adalbert, Hildegard, Dietrich), a name that was common in the 18th and 19th centuries but is rare today (Wilhelmine, Gottlieb, Hulda, Traugott), or a medieval noble name with von and a castle (Konrad von Hohenburg). This generator includes all three styles.

Did medieval Germans have surnames?

Not until roughly the 12th to 15th centuries, and the nobility adopted them first. Before that, a person was identified by a single given name plus a byname, a father's name or a place. Trade names like Schmied and Kürschner and place names like Breitenbach became hereditary surnames as towns grew and records needed to tell people apart.

What do old German names mean?

Most are compounds: Friedrich is 'peace-ruler', Gertrud 'spear-strength', Konrad 'bold counsel', Mathilde 'mighty in battle', Ludwig 'famous warrior' and Hedwig 'battle-fight'. The meanings mattered less than the prestige of the elements, which were passed down in families.

Are these names good for fantasy characters?

Yes, particularly for dwarves, knights, Holy Roman Empire-flavored kingdoms and any setting with a Germanic or Central European feel. The rarer Old High German forms like Hruodland, Zeizolf and Uodalhilt sound unfamiliar enough to read as fantasy while remaining pronounceable and internally consistent.

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All 500 Old German names

This is the complete list the generator above draws its random batches from, sorted A to Z and grouped by first letter.

Plain text, one name per line.

A: 45 names

  • Adalbero von Hohenwart
  • Adalbert Falkenrath
  • Adalger
  • Adalhard Rosskopf
  • Adalwin
  • Adela Sonnleitner
  • Adelgund Rosenberger
  • Adelgunde Pfingsten
  • Adelheid von Lichtenau
  • Adelheid Wegener
  • Adelinde Hirschauer
  • Adelmar Kronenberger
  • Agathe Holzschuher
  • Agilolf
  • Agnes von Weinsberg
  • Aistulf
  • Alarich Brenneisen
  • Alberada Fink
  • Albrecht Hagedorn
  • Albrecht von Greifenklau
  • Aldegund Winkelmann
  • Almut Kesselschläger

A, continued

  • Alwin Steinbrecher
  • Alwine Schaffrath
  • Amalberga Ruppert
  • Amalgar
  • Amalgard Teufel
  • Amalie Hochheimer
  • Amalrich Vonderheide
  • Annegret Wüstenfeld
  • Anneliese Kortner
  • Anselm Reichenbach
  • Ansfrid
  • Ansgar Wolkenstein
  • Apollonia Reinwald
  • Arbeo
  • Arbogast Steinmetz
  • Aribo Schattenfroh
  • Arnfried Kesselhut
  • Arnold Kesselring
  • Arnulf Brandstetter
  • Arnulf von Isenburg
  • Audomar
  • Auguste Sieverding
  • Ava Rüdiger

B: 29 names

  • Baldegund Frommknecht
  • Baldemar Eisenbeiss
  • Balduin Morgenstern
  • Barbara Hölderlin
  • Benedikta Kammerlander
  • Benno Hirschfeld
  • Berahtram
  • Berengar Lichtenfels
  • Bernhard Wolfskehl
  • Bernward
  • Berta Laudenbach
  • Bertha Mittelstädt
  • Berthilde Ammann
  • Berthold Auerbach
  • Berthold von Greifenau
  • Bertolf Hainzl
  • Bertrada Kümmel
  • Bertram Lichtenberg
  • Bodo Pfefferkorn
  • Boso
  • Botho Wernicke
  • Brigitta Feuchtmayr
  • Brunhild Hecht
  • Brunhild von Eckartsberga
  • Brunhilde Oelschläger
  • Bruno Achenbach
  • Burchard Eylert
  • Burgunde Ehrlich
  • Burkhard Eisenhauer

C: 6 names

  • Cäcilie Bergmann
  • Christiane Wolkenhauer
  • Clemens Sattler
  • Crescentia Grünbichler
  • Cundpald
  • Cuno Riedesel

D: 13 names

  • Dagobert Halbritter
  • Dankwart Hohenstein
  • Degenhard Lauterbach
  • Detlef Ohnesorge
  • Diemut von Erbach
  • Dietburg Stoltze
  • Diethelm Kuhlmann
  • Dietlind Aumüller
  • Dietmar Schellenberg
  • Dietrich Kaltenbrunner
  • Dietrich von Falkenhayn
  • Dietwald Mergenthaler
  • Dorothea Eisenlohr

E: 37 names

  • Eberhard Rosenthal
  • Eberhard von Waldburg
  • Eberwin von Seckendorff
  • Eckbert Zwicknagel
  • Eckhard Vogelsang
  • Edeltraud Rieckhoff
  • Egbert Dannenberg
  • Egilbert Wassermann
  • Eilhart Rabenau
  • Eilika Mannsfeld
  • Ekkehard Wendelstein
  • Elfriede Lindau
  • Elisabeth Pfeiffer
  • Elisabeth von Kronberg
  • Elsbeth Wolfersdorf
  • Emerentia Scheublein
  • Emma Steinhöfel
  • Emmerich Stoltenberg
  • Engelbert Grünewald
  • Engelbert von Scharfenberg
  • Engelburg Waldschmidt
  • Engelhard Ruckteschell
  • Engelram Kuchenbecker
  • Engeltrud Hasselmann
  • Erhard Zollinger
  • Erkenbald Pfisterer
  • Erlinde Kiesewetter
  • Erlwin Pfaundler
  • Ermanaric
  • Ermelinde Pauli
  • Ermengard Kahlenberg
  • Ermentrude Wessling
  • Erminold Schadewald
  • Ethelinde Ritterhaus
  • Euphemia Moosbrugger
  • Evermod
  • Ewald Bischoff

F: 17 names

  • Falko Weisshaupt
  • Farold Kellermann
  • Felicitas Wunderlich
  • Ferdinand Oberholzer
  • Folcwin
  • Folkmar Breitenbach
  • Folkward Hirtzberger
  • Frideburg Unruh
  • Fridugis
  • Frieda Ackermann
  • Friedebert Zirngibl
  • Friederike Hollerbach
  • Friedhelm Kirchhoff
  • Friedrich Tannhäuser
  • Friedrich von Wartenfels
  • Frowin Lampertheim
  • Fulrad

G: 43 names

  • Gandolf Unverzagt
  • Gaubald Meusburger
  • Gebhard Klingenberg
  • Gebhard von Wolfsölden
  • Gela Rohrbacher
  • Genoveva Stolzenfels
  • Gepa Wohlfahrt
  • Gerbald Ottenthal
  • Gerberga Nonnenmacher
  • Gerbert
  • Gerhard Ostermann
  • Gerlinde Sassenberg
  • Gerlinde von Staufeneck
  • Germund Lautenschläger
  • Gernot Hasselbach
  • Gerold Feuerstein
  • Gerswind Altmann
  • Gertrud von Helfenstein
  • Gertrud Wölfel
  • Gerwin Ostheimer
  • Gisbert Rademacher

G, continued

  • Gisela Hornung
  • Gisela von Ravensberg
  • Giselher Wetterau
  • Gisla Kornblum
  • Gislebert
  • Godehard Wachsmuth
  • Godeleva Heuschkel
  • Gotebold Schreyvogel
  • Gotelinde Mertensacker
  • Gottfried Ebersbach
  • Gottfried von Steinach
  • Gotthard Seidenfaden
  • Gottlieb Frohwein
  • Gottliebe Ransmayr
  • Gottschalk Niederhoff
  • Gozbert Einauge
  • Gudrun Rosenzweig
  • Gumbert Hinterseer
  • Gundekar Pfannenstiel
  • Gunthar Eggenberger
  • Günther Aschenbrenner
  • Guntram Heidenreich

H: 56 names

  • Hadeloga Bremser
  • Hadubrand Rittmeister
  • Hadwig Eichendorff
  • Hadwin Reinbold
  • Hagen der Rote
  • Hagen Schwarzkopf
  • Harald Puchheimer
  • Hartmann Trautwein
  • Hartmut Sternberg
  • Hartrad Fleischhauer
  • Hartwig Eichhorn
  • Hathui Lindenthal
  • Hathumar Wildgruber
  • Hazecha Vollrath
  • Hedwig Nölting
  • Hedwig von Lauffen
  • Heidenreich Kalb
  • Heilwig Bornträger
  • Heimo Landauer
  • Heinrich der Schwarze
  • Heinrich Stolzenberg
  • Heinrich von Rabenstein
  • Helene Traunsteiner
  • Helferich Neunhöffer
  • Helmbrecht Kürschner
  • Helmerich Wengenroth
  • Helmold Ravensburger
  • Helmtrud Reinecke

H, continued

  • Hemma Fröhlich
  • Herbert Goldschmidt
  • Heribert Uhlenhaut
  • Herlinde Maiwald
  • Hermann Thalberg
  • Hermann von Tannroda
  • Hermenfried Kettenacker
  • Hermine Achleitner
  • Herrad Landsberg
  • Herrand Ziegenhagen
  • Hildburg Kesselheim
  • Hildebrand Schwerdtfeger
  • Hildegard Ottenbacher
  • Hildegard von Rodenstein
  • Hildeger Mosbacher
  • Hildegund Pfleiderer
  • Hildrun Krautheim
  • Hilmar Fassbinder
  • Hiltibold Kronawitter
  • Hiltrud Schönborn
  • Hiltrud von Werdenberg
  • Hruodland
  • Hruodperht
  • Hubert Glockner
  • Hugo Dieffenbach
  • Hulda Brinkmann
  • Humbert Waldvogel
  • Hunold Zeisberger

I: 15 names

  • Ida Kleinschmidt
  • Imma Gräfenberg
  • Immo Fürstenau
  • Ingeborg Falkenhagen
  • Ingo Hammerschmidt
  • Ingobert Lenzinger
  • Irmburg Dietz
  • Irmela Schwertfeger
  • Irmfried Salzmann
  • Irmgard Falkenberg
  • Irmgard von Ebersberg
  • Irmhild Reinders
  • Irmtraud Kühnemann
  • Isfried Lampl
  • Isolde Wilhelmi

J: 4 names

  • Johanna Eberstaller
  • Judith Rothenbücher
  • Jutta Hohensee
  • Jutta von Lindenfels

K: 17 names

  • Karlmann Prantl
  • Kaspar Wintermantel
  • Katharina Vollmoeller
  • Klothilde Rothermel
  • Konrad Altenburg
  • Konrad von Hohenburg
  • Konradin Altvater
  • Kriemhild Bleicher
  • Kriemhild von Bechtolsheim
  • Kunibert Sauerbrey
  • Kunigund Hartlaub
  • Kunigunde Marxhausen
  • Kunigunde von Eschenbach
  • Kuno Blankenfeld
  • Kuno von Sonnenberg
  • Kunz Eisenreich
  • Kunza Schönleben

L: 25 names

  • Lambert Siebenhaar
  • Lamprecht Saalfeld
  • Landolf Wiesenthal
  • Leonhard Habermann
  • Leonore Eisenhut
  • Leopold Mühlhausen
  • Leopoldine Vosskühler
  • Leutfried Wendeborn
  • Leuthold Sandhofer
  • Liebgard Ottersbach
  • Lioba Rauhut
  • Liudolf Gerstenberg
  • Liutbert Ehrenreich
  • Liutgard von Hohenrain
  • Liutgard Wimmer
  • Lothar Engelhardt
  • Lucretia Mangelsdorf
  • Ludbert Aichinger
  • Ludger Teschemacher
  • Ludolf von Brauneck
  • Ludolf Zumwinkel
  • Ludwig Baumgartner
  • Luise Tegtmeier
  • Luitfried Mausbach
  • Luitpold Schönfeld

M: 19 names

  • Magdalena Kirschbaum
  • Magnus Stauffacher
  • Manfred Wiedemann
  • Mangold Obermoser
  • Margarethe Aufhauser
  • Markward von Teck
  • Marold Aschauer
  • Marquard Tiefenbach
  • Mathilda Sollfrank
  • Mathilde Stracke
  • Mathilde von Tannenfels
  • Mechthild Seefried
  • Mechthild von Schwarzburg
  • Meginfrid Ohnefurcht
  • Meginhard Loibl
  • Meinhard Rothenburg
  • Meinolf Kirchweger
  • Meinrad Holtzapfel
  • Merigard Kupferschmied

N: 6 names

  • Nanthar Gschwendtner
  • Nithard Ulmenstein
  • Norbert Lindemann
  • Notbert Gebauer
  • Notburga Stadlober
  • Notker Mannheimer

O: 21 names

  • Oda Lüdemann
  • Odalinde Schwenninger
  • Odalric Wolfgramm
  • Odila Brettschneider
  • Odo Finkenstein
  • Odomar Lindwurm
  • Orthild Eilenberger
  • Ortlieb Hadersdorfer
  • Ortrud Kesselmann
  • Ortrud von Hainburg
  • Ortwin Biermann
  • Osbert Kranich
  • Oskar Wachtmeister
  • Oswald Dornbusch
  • Otfried Kreutzer
  • Othmar Buchholz
  • Ottegebe Blumenthal
  • Ottilie Neubert
  • Otto von Grünenberg
  • Otto Weidenfeller
  • Otward Bleibtreu

P: 5 names

  • Pankraz Hellwig
  • Philippine Erlenmeyer
  • Pippin Hauenstein
  • Plektrud Bergstraesser
  • Poppo von Hirschberg

R: 35 names

  • Radegund Zinsmeister
  • Radulf Amsel
  • Ragnald Zeller
  • Raimund Ellenberger
  • Rainald Hahnemann
  • Ramwold Eisvogel
  • Randolf Erlenbach
  • Ratbod Ammerlahn
  • Regina Weißgerber
  • Reginbert Steinhauser
  • Reglinde Ostwald
  • Reimar Berghof
  • Reinbold Hasenöhrl
  • Reinfried Goldammer
  • Reinhard Hasenclever
  • Reinhild von Blankenburg
  • Reinhild Wohlgemuth
  • Reinhold Freytag
  • Rembert Winterhalter
  • Richard Hellmundt
  • Richardis Ganzhorn
  • Richenza von Wolfhagen
  • Richlind Knoblauch
  • Richwin Haberkorn
  • Rodbert Nußbaumer
  • Rosina Lindenschmit
  • Roswitha Pellengahr
  • Rotger Steinfurth
  • Rotrud Fiedler
  • Rudger Kaltenbach
  • Rüdiger Degenhardt
  • Rudolf von Waldeck
  • Rumold Waldhauser
  • Ruotgard Schiffmann
  • Ruprecht Kohlhaas

S: 19 names

  • Sabina Kettenbach
  • Sebald Pirckheimer
  • Selbold Ritzenhoff
  • Siegbert Wagenknecht
  • Siegfried Brunner
  • Siegfried von Ardeck
  • Sieghard Bachmeier
  • Sieglinde Hartlieb
  • Siegmund Schirmer
  • Sigehard Lilienthal
  • Sigewin Kastenmüller
  • Sigmar Ruhland
  • Sigrun Oberdorfer
  • Sindolf Vierling
  • Sophia Wolfslast
  • Sturmi Rennhofer
  • Swanaburg Eckert
  • Swanhild Rabe
  • Swidbert Löwenherz

T: 20 names

  • Tassilo Neuhaus
  • Teutbert Ammerbacher
  • Thankmar Sonntag
  • Theobald Pfeffer
  • Theodard Schwarzenbeck
  • Theodelinde Wichmann
  • Theodora von Reifenberg
  • Theophanu Kastenholz
  • Therese Obergfell
  • Theresia Hollstein
  • Theudo Klopfer
  • Theutberga
  • Thiemo Nagelschmidt
  • Thietburg Hohmann
  • Thietmar Meinhardt
  • Thusnelda Vogler
  • Tilo Nordhausen
  • Traugott Zimmermann
  • Trutmar Fellgiebel
  • Trutwin Faulhaber

U: 12 names

  • Udalrich Kienzle
  • Ulfried Eberlein
  • Ulrich Eisenfaust
  • Ulrich Starkhand
  • Ulrich von Liebenau
  • Uodalhilt
  • Uodalrih
  • Uota Grimmelshausen
  • Ursula Rabenalt
  • Uta Brandenburg
  • Ute Eisenmenger
  • Uto Grabenhorst

V: 5 names

  • Veit Holzwarth
  • Veronika Sternfeld
  • Volker Weinzierl
  • Volkmar Reinholz
  • Volkwin Gotthelf

W: 49 names

  • Walbert Rosenmüller
  • Walburga Hinterberger
  • Walburga von Dürnstein
  • Waldemar Tannenberg
  • Waldo Pfaffenberger
  • Walpurga Neckermann
  • Walram Schlosser
  • Walther Ebner
  • Walther Langbein
  • Waltraud Schimmelpfennig
  • Wandalbert Scheidemann
  • Warin Hufnagel
  • Welf Rauschenberg
  • Wendelgard Rautenberg
  • Wenzel Kranzbühler
  • Werner Adlersflügel
  • Wernher Dornkamp
  • Wiburg Eichhof
  • Wichard Rottmann
  • Widukind Staufenberg
  • Wieland Feuerbach
  • Wigand Strobel
  • Wigbold Uttenreuther
  • Wigburg Siebenthal

W, continued

  • Wilbrand Ilsemann
  • Wilfried Ohlendorf
  • Wilhelm Achterberg
  • Wilhelmine Gutbrod
  • Wilko Birnbaum
  • Willibald Kempf
  • Willibirg Dorfmeister
  • Wiltrud Osterhage
  • Wiltrud von Bodman
  • Winfried Hochstetter
  • Wiprecht Grotewohl
  • Wisgard Fichtner
  • Wittmar Kaltenleitner
  • Wolfbert Hagenmüller
  • Wolfgang Kaltenegger
  • Wolfger Brandhuber
  • Wolfhard Reusch
  • Wolfhart von Ringelstein
  • Wolfhelm Sturmfels
  • Wolfhild Ebersberger
  • Wolfrada Neureuther
  • Wolfram Eschenbacher
  • Wolfram von Aschhausen
  • Wulfhild Stürmer
  • Wunibald Lindhorst

Z: 2 names

  • Zeizolf
  • Zeno Trautmannsdorf