WW2 German Name Generator

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 (Schneider, Wagner, Kaufmann), places and landscapes (Lindenberg, Steinbach, Westermann) and patronymics (Hinrichs, Petersen), 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 names here avoid real historical figures and are suitable for novels, Hearts of Iron and Hell Let Loose characters, tabletop wargaming and living-history impressions.