WW2 German Name Generator

Period-accurate German names for the 1930s and 1940s

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Generate German names that fit the Second World War era: men's and women's full names common for people born between 1890 and 1925, double-barrelled first names, aristocratic von surnames, and soldiers, sailors and airmen with authentic Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine ranks for fiction, wargames and historical roleplay.

About WW2 German names

A German name that sounds right for the Second World War belongs to someone born roughly between 1890 and 1925, so the first names are the ones that were fashionable then, not today: Heinrich, Wilhelm, Karl, Ernst, Otto, Walter, Kurt, Werner, Helmut and Günther for men, Hildegard, Gertrud, Ilse, Irmgard, Elfriede, Erika, Ursula and Ingeborg for women. Double names like Karl-Heinz, Hans-Joachim and Heinz-Dieter peaked with boys born in the 1920s and 1930s and mark a character as young in 1944. Older men and officers often carried heavier names such as Friedrich, Ludwig, Theodor, Gottfried and Eberhard.

Surnames follow the usual German pattern of trades (Sattler, Seiler, Böttcher), places and landscapes (Lindenberg, Steinbach, Westermann) and patronymics (Hinrichs, Lorenzen), with regional flavor: Bavarian and Austrian Huber, Pichler and Aigner, northern Ohlsen and Lüthje, Silesian and Prussian Kowalski and Radtke. Noble von surnames were still common in the officer corps and cavalry. Ranks matter for soldiers: Gefreiter, Unteroffizier, Feldwebel and Leutnant for the army, Maat and Bootsmann for the navy, Flieger and Bordfunker for aircrew.

The combinations are invented and we tried to avoid real historical figures, though nobody has checked them against military records. They suit novels, Hearts of Iron and Hell Let Loose characters, tabletop wargaming and living-history impressions.

How to choose WW2 German names

  • Match the first name to the character's age: Hans-Jürgen or Karl-Heinz for a 19-year-old conscript, Otto or Wilhelm for a 45-year-old reservist, Theodor or Eberhard for a colonel.
  • Use rank only when the setting needs it, and use the right service: Wehrmacht army ranks (Feldwebel, Hauptmann), Luftwaffe flying ranks (Flieger, Bordfunker) and Kriegsmarine ranks (Maat, Bootsmann, Kapitänleutnant) were different.
  • Keep the umlauts and ß where they belong (Brückner, Krämer, Gräfe); if your game or document cannot display them, write ue, ae, oe and ss rather than dropping the letters.
  • Women's names of the era are a distinct set: Anneliese, Waltraud, Liselotte, Hannelore and Edith read as 1940s, while Lena, Mia or Lea would be anachronistic.
  • Check any invented full name against history before publishing; many short combinations belong to real generals, pilots or politicians, and readers will notice.

Frequently asked questions

What were the most common German first names during WW2?

For men born 1900 to 1925 the commonest were Hans, Karl, Heinz, Werner, Kurt, Walter, Günther, Helmut, Gerhard and Horst. For women: Gertrud, Ilse, Ursula, Hildegard, Ingeborg, Erika, Irmgard, Margarete, Ruth and Helga.

How do I write a German soldier's name with rank?

Rank comes first, then the full name: Feldwebel Hermann Eckardt, Oberleutnant Konrad Frisch. The common army enlisted ranks were Schütze or Grenadier, Gefreiter, Obergefreiter, Unteroffizier and Feldwebel; officers ran Leutnant, Oberleutnant, Hauptmann, Major, Oberstleutnant and Oberst.

Are these names of real WW2 German soldiers?

Not on purpose. The combinations are invented from period-typical first names and surnames, and we tried to avoid well-known historical figures, but nobody has checked them against military or civil records, common names belong to many real people, and some von surnames are real noble families. Search a name before using it for anything public.

Can I use these for German civilians and women in a WW2 story?

Yes. The list includes civilian men's names and a large set of women's names typical of the 1930s and 1940s. For a nurse or signals auxiliary, add the period title yourself, such as Schwester or Nachrichtenhelferin.

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All 500 WW2 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: 28 names

  • Adalbert Lenz
  • Adalbert Nolte
  • Adelheid Bruns
  • Agnes Steinbrecher
  • Albert Kuhlemann
  • Albert Neuhaus
  • Albert Zöllner
  • Albrecht von Hallberg
  • Alfred Kunkel
  • Alfred Pietsch
  • Alfred Wohlgemuth
  • Alois Brandhuber
  • Alois Strobl
  • Anna Matthes
  • Anneliese Geiger
  • Annemarie Roloff
  • Anton Maurer
  • Anton Rieser
  • Anton Sattler
  • Antonie Gerlach
  • Arnold Glaser
  • Arnold Sieg
  • Arnold von Wedelstedt
  • Arnold Wittke
  • August Pfeil
  • August Reimers
  • August Westermann
  • Auguste Kellermann

B: 19 names

  • Babette Rummel
  • Benno Ewert
  • Benno Ruppert
  • Bernhard Kötter
  • Bernhard Ruhl
  • Bernhard Zeidler
  • Berta Haubner
  • Bertold Gessner
  • Bertold Sachse
  • Bootsmann Hermann Karstens
  • Bordfunker Kurt Heidelmann
  • Bordschütze Erwin Plattner
  • Botho von Knesebeck
  • Brigitte Mangold
  • Bruno Pfannenstiel
  • Bruno Rogge
  • Bruno Schwenke
  • Burkhard Niemeyer
  • Burkhard Sievers

C: 7 names

  • Cäcilie Heidenreich
  • Charlotte Engelmann
  • Christa Dürr
  • Christian Ahrens
  • Christian Benz
  • Clemens Harnack
  • Clemens Olbrich

D: 6 names

  • Detlef Gronau
  • Detlef Kühne
  • Dieter Kranz
  • Dieter Stüwe
  • Dieter Wenk
  • Dorothea Wenzel

E: 38 names

  • Eberhard Kieling
  • Eberhard Mayerhofer
  • Eberhard Welsch
  • Edith Feuerstein
  • Egon Kuhlmann
  • Egon Schlüter
  • Egon Trapp
  • Ekkehard Wolters
  • Elfriede Nagel
  • Elisabeth Kern
  • Elly Bornemann
  • Else Wittenberg
  • Emil Kiesel
  • Emil Rathgeber
  • Emil Schuldt
  • Emma Riedl
  • Emmi Rathje
  • Erhard Bittner
  • Erhard Kaiser
  • Erhard Ramsauer
  • Erich Grunwald
  • Erich Sandmann
  • Erich Wölfel
  • Erika Bertram
  • Erna Schieferdecker
  • Ernst Rudloff
  • Ernst Schaarschmidt
  • Ernst Vogelsang
  • Ernst-August Rohwedder
  • Ernst-Wilhelm Fricke
  • Erwin Habermann
  • Erwin Heidkamp
  • Erwin Kaltenbach
  • Eugen Kammerer
  • Eugen Pfister
  • Ewald Buchholz
  • Ewald Mittelstädt
  • Ewald Rudat

F: 29 names

  • Fahnenjunker Ulrich Dallmann
  • Fallschirmjäger Heinrich Ostwald
  • Feldwebel Hermann Eckardt
  • Feldwebel Otto Lindauer
  • Ferdinand Greiner
  • Ferdinand Lutz
  • Ferdinand Rupp
  • Flieger Rolf Tannert
  • Florian Reichelt
  • Florian Tschirner
  • Franz Hüttner
  • Franz Kirchgessner
  • Franz Xaver Huber
  • Franz-Josef Schober
  • Franziska Thiele
  • Freiherr Konrad von Stetten
  • Frieda Hollmann
  • Friederike Hamann
  • Friedhelm Ortmann
  • Friedhelm Stoffregen
  • Friedrich Ahlers
  • Friedrich Lindenthal
  • Friedrich Wegmann
  • Friedrich-Wilhelm Rode
  • Fritz Ebersbach
  • Fritz Holzapfel
  • Fritz Klinkhammer
  • Funker Siegfried Loos
  • Funkmaat Fritz Uhlenbrock

G: 35 names

  • Gebhard Mommsen
  • Gebhard Wulff
  • Gebirgsjäger Alois Pichler
  • Gefreiter Heinz Schomburg
  • Gefreiter Werner Kaminski
  • Georg Böhmer
  • Georg Feldhaus
  • Georg Pallasch
  • Georg von Kalckstein
  • Gerd Hagemann
  • Gerd Hinrichs
  • Gerd Wille
  • Gerda Lübke
  • Gerhard Brenneke
  • Gerhard Lüders
  • Gerhard Mielke
  • Gerhard Stolze
  • Gerlinde Oster
  • Gertrud Moll
  • Gisela Oehler
  • Gottfried Haferkamp
  • Gottfried Schumann
  • Gottfried Seiler
  • Gottlieb Mayer
  • Gottlieb Sturm
  • Graf Friedrich zu Eulenfeld
  • Grenadier Rudolf Hecht
  • Grete Hinz
  • Gretel Rausch
  • Günther Lorenzen
  • Günther Priebe
  • Günther Sprengel
  • Gustav Hartung
  • Gustav Lüdemann
  • Gustav Rosenow

H: 59 names

  • Hanna Bockelmann
  • Hannelore Schütte
  • Hannes Ziemer
  • Hans Bollmann
  • Hans Liebermann
  • Hans Reinholt
  • Hans-Dieter Lück
  • Hans-Georg Fellner
  • Hans-Joachim Berndt
  • Hans-Jürgen Oppermann
  • Hans-Peter Kleinert
  • Hans-Ulrich Tietz
  • Harald Pape
  • Harald Stock
  • Harald Wiechmann
  • Hartmut Lieske
  • Hartmut Vollrath
  • Hasso von Wietersheim
  • Hauptfeldwebel Karl Stamm
  • Hauptmann Ernst von Harnier
  • Hauptmann Joachim Lembcke
  • Hauptmann Ludwig Eggebrecht
  • Hedwig Scholz
  • Heiner Böse
  • Heinrich Amsel
  • Heinrich Baumgartner
  • Heinrich Obermaier
  • Heinrich von Plessen
  • Heinz Dombrowski

H, continued

  • Heinz Domke
  • Heinz Tölle
  • Heinz-Dieter Lohse
  • Heinz-Günter Brack
  • Helene Kastner
  • Helga Kowalski
  • Hellmuth Dittrich
  • Helmut Gräfe
  • Helmut Kaschube
  • Helmut Peitsch
  • Helmuth Böttcher
  • Henriette Daum
  • Herbert Meinhardt
  • Herbert Ollenhauer
  • Herbert Zobel
  • Hermann Düsterhöft
  • Hermann Kühnel
  • Hermann Tegtmeier
  • Herta Pollmann
  • Hertha Ludewig
  • Hilde Wasmuth
  • Hildegard Reusch
  • Hinrich Ohlsen
  • Horst Bürger
  • Horst Kalisch
  • Horst Wendland
  • Horst-Günther Ullmann
  • Hubert Elsner
  • Hubert Gloede
  • Hubert Schenk

I: 11 names

  • Ida Schnabel
  • Ilse Vogt
  • Ilsemarie Voss
  • Inge Hartwig
  • Ingeborg Krämer
  • Ingo Brandes
  • Ingo Pasche
  • Ingrid Rasch
  • Irene Mühlbauer
  • Irma Teichert
  • Irmgard Seybold

J: 23 names

  • Jäger Anton Haselbacher
  • Jakob Fleischmann
  • Jakob Kern
  • Jakob Steinmetz
  • Joachim Nebel
  • Joachim Prange
  • Joachim Radtke
  • Jobst Freiling
  • Jochen Lüthje
  • Johann Fürst
  • Johann Rieger
  • Johann Ruf
  • Johanna Pieper
  • Johannes Rüdiger
  • Johannes Schmid
  • Johannes Wurm
  • Josef Dengler
  • Josef Rainer
  • Josef Wieland
  • Josefine Weil
  • Jürgen Hellwig
  • Jürgen Scheel
  • Jürgen Stoltenberg

K: 28 names

  • Kanonier Bruno Ehrenberg
  • Kapitänleutnant Ernst Bredow
  • Karin Sprenger
  • Karl Gutbrod
  • Karl Obermeier
  • Karl Schreck
  • Karl-Friedrich Obst
  • Karl-Heinz Wessling
  • Karl-Otto Jürgens
  • Kaspar Lederer
  • Kaspar Ottenbacher
  • Katharina Holtz
  • Käthe Brandner
  • Klara Fassbender
  • Klaus Eichhorn
  • Klaus Ohm
  • Klaus Rombach
  • Klaus-Dieter Nowak
  • Klaus-Peter Heuer
  • Konrad Essig
  • Konrad Weiler
  • Konrad Zwick
  • Kradmelder Willi Degenhardt
  • Kunibert Haag
  • Kurt Falkenrath
  • Kurt Waschke
  • Kurt Weichert
  • Kurt-Heinz Maschke

L: 29 names

  • Leitender Ingenieur Otto Pruss
  • Leni Schaaf
  • Leonhard Graber
  • Leopold Gaertner
  • Leopold Wagenknecht
  • Leopold Zirkel
  • Leutnant Eberhard von Roedern
  • Leutnant Günther Adelmann
  • Leutnant Horst Weidemann
  • Leutnant Joachim von Wangenheim
  • Lieselotte Timm
  • Lina Ehrlich
  • Lisbeth Gerke
  • Liselotte Kurz
  • Lore Fichtner
  • Lorenz Hauke
  • Lorenz Heller
  • Lorenz Kremer
  • Lothar Funke
  • Lothar Wiesner
  • Lothar Zabel
  • Lotte Reinartz
  • Ludwig Achterberg
  • Ludwig Ammersbach
  • Ludwig Stumpf
  • Ludwig von Schönfeldt
  • Luise Mertens
  • Lutz Wendler
  • Luzie Trautmann

M: 27 names

  • Magdalena Vetter
  • Major Dietrich von Arnstedt
  • Major Friedrich Stengel
  • Major Gerhard Rothkirch
  • Major Wolf von Randow
  • Manfred Löffler
  • Manfred Rickert
  • Manfred Uhlig
  • Marga Liebig
  • Margarete Bleibtreu
  • Margot Kolbe
  • Marianne Gottwald
  • Marlene Suhr
  • Martha Zeuner
  • Maschinengefreiter Hans Kolbeck
  • Mathilde Klotz
  • Matrose Karl Blohm
  • Matthias Scheidt
  • Matthias Seeger
  • Matthias Wörner
  • Max Oberländer
  • Max Schellhorn
  • Max Thalheim
  • Mechthild Ruhland
  • Meinhard Sprick
  • Meta Brinkmann
  • Minna Lehmkuhl

N: 4 names

  • Norbert Faust
  • Norbert Hampel
  • Norbert Stracke
  • Notker Baumann

O: 25 names

  • Oberfähnrich Reinhard Schwarting
  • Oberfeldwebel Paul Grünewald
  • Oberfeldwebel Wilhelm Thönes
  • Obergefreiter Kurt Steinbach
  • Obergefreiter Walter Pohlmann
  • Oberleutnant Dietrich Sasse
  • Oberleutnant Hans von Bentheim
  • Oberleutnant Konrad Frisch
  • Oberleutnant zur See Wolfgang Heyden
  • Obermaat Walter Siegmund
  • Oberst Eberhard Vieth
  • Oberst Friedrich von Stralenheim
  • Oberstleutnant Hans Waldhelm
  • Olga Brehm
  • Ortwin Hesse
  • Oskar Lindner
  • Oskar Vogler
  • Oskar Wüst
  • Ottilie Grimm
  • Ottmar Hecker
  • Ottmar Wilke
  • Otto Brückner
  • Otto Sprenger
  • Otto Wilhelmi
  • Ottokar von Mellin

P: 9 names

  • Panzerschütze Alfred Boldt
  • Paul Biermann
  • Paul Rehm
  • Paul Steger
  • Paula Schwarzkopf
  • Peter Boehm
  • Peter Gottschalk
  • Peter Herrmann
  • Pionier Ewald Matern

R: 39 names

  • Raimund Kroll
  • Rainald Schenkel
  • Rainer Brommer
  • Rainer Bülow
  • Rainer Falk
  • Reinhard Bösch
  • Reinhard Hopp
  • Reinhard Pflüger
  • Reinhold Drechsler
  • Reinhold Jäger
  • Reinhold Keck
  • Renate Jahnke
  • Richard Grothe
  • Richard Kleemann
  • Richard Kuntze
  • Richtschütze Lothar Brauer
  • Rita Kunkel
  • Rittmeister Kurt von Lützelburg
  • Robert Anschütz
  • Robert Heilmann
  • Robert Kessel
  • Roderich Wiegand
  • Roland Blaschke
  • Roland Kiesewetter
  • Roland Schütz
  • Rolf Dannenberg
  • Rolf Eckstein
  • Rolf Hausmann
  • Rolf-Dieter Abendroth
  • Rosemarie Lindhorst
  • Roswitha Pilz
  • Rüdiger von Kleist-Retzow
  • Rudolf Eisele
  • Rudolf Pankow
  • Rudolf Teske
  • Rupert Ebner
  • Rupert Fink
  • Rupert Veit
  • Ruth Sauerland

S: 19 names

  • Sanitäter Gustav Freyer
  • Sanitätsgefreiter Herbert Schaal
  • Schütze Emil Kratzer
  • Sebastian Aigner
  • Sebastian Kirchhof
  • Selma Keppler
  • Siegfried Bender
  • Siegfried Lauterbach
  • Siegfried Peukert
  • Sieglinde Haack
  • Siegmund Adler
  • Siegmund Reiter
  • Siegmund Ruhe
  • Sigurd Lindenberg
  • Sophie Wehner
  • Stabsfeldwebel Josef Riedmüller
  • Stefan Krauss
  • Stefan Lehnert
  • Stefan Weinrich

T: 7 names

  • Thea Oelschläger
  • Theodor Gaede
  • Theodor Kessner
  • Theodor Pfaff
  • Therese Ammann
  • Traugott Heise
  • Trude Winkelmann

U: 10 names

  • Udo Pietzsch
  • Ulf Harder
  • Ulla Stübe
  • Ulrich Frieling
  • Ulrich Mangelsdorf
  • Ulrich Sandvoss
  • Unteroffizier Erich Bramkamp
  • Unteroffizier Fritz Reinecke
  • Unteroffizier Heinrich Moser
  • Ursula Tiedemann

V: 11 names

  • Valentin Barth
  • Valentin Gerstner
  • Valentin Hochstetter
  • Veit Oberhofer
  • Vera Dietz
  • Viktor Bestle
  • Viktor Gabler
  • Viktor Lampe
  • Vinzenz Kapfer
  • Volker Heinemann
  • Volker Tesch

W: 35 names

  • Walburga Hopf
  • Waldemar Kropp
  • Waldemar Schirmer
  • Waldemar Uhl
  • Wally Heyde
  • Walter Heimbach
  • Walter Steinhauer
  • Walter Tannenberg
  • Walther Henning
  • Waltraud Kirsch
  • Wendelin Schurr
  • Wendelin Straub
  • Werner Fahrenholz
  • Werner Hasselbach
  • Werner Ritschel
  • Wigbert Rost
  • Wilfried Augustin
  • Wilfried Grabowski
  • Wilfried Specht
  • Wilhelm Kessler
  • Wilhelm Rosenthal
  • Wilhelm von Bredow
  • Wilhelmine Dorn
  • Willi Bornhöft
  • Willi Marquardt
  • Willi Sonntag
  • Winfried Scheffler
  • Wolf-Dietrich Hennecke
  • Wolfgang Gebhardt
  • Wolfgang Merten
  • Wolfgang Selke
  • Wolfhart Ebeling
  • Wolfram Nickel
  • Wolfram Ruppel
  • Wolfram Siebert

X: 2 names

  • Xaver Bachmeier
  • Xaver Egger