Greta, Gretchen and Walpurga have been ruled out.
What are some traditional (if not anachronistic) female Germany/Austrian type names?
Anna? Rosa? Ilsa? Those are pan-Euopean.
Liesl is pretty.
Helga, Hilda, Heidi.
I’ve always liked Beate. And my husband’s cousin’s name is Ulla. Renate is nice too.
Traudl
Hildegund.
Here’s a link of popular German names from 1700 to 1900.
But more specifically, what period are you looking for? From my own family I can offer
Ursula, Clementine, Katharina, Gabriele, Cornelia, Anna, Celina.
Double names automatically sound very German, like Ann-Kathrin, Anneliese, Anna-Maria, etc.
If you want to go all-out Nibelungen you have Kriemhild, Brünhild, Kunigunde, Swanhild. I just discovered on the Wikipedia page my new favourite, but I am unclear about the gender - Blödelin! It is basically Doofus in German, and it even has an Umlaut.
edit: Too bad, Blödelin is the brother of Attila. Still a great Name.
Geli (GAY-lee, diminutive of Angela)
Brigitte (Brig-IT-ta)
Lore (pronounced like “Laura”)
Klara (KLAR-ah)
Charlotte (Shar-LOT-ta)
I was wrong. Greta is gaining steam.
Marzipan briefly charged ahead, but there’s no “cute” nicknames for Marzipan. Marz? Marzi? Mazy?
Greta was off the table. But that little activist brought Greta back in.
Greta is pretty cute.
For what it’s worth, no registry office in Germany would allow you to name your kid Marzipan.
I don’t have statistics, but generally Bavarian/Austrian names are not very different to those in the rest of the German speaking world, but for their diminutive versions. Some examples (though these diminutives are often also used outside of Bavaria/Austria):
Traudl (from Waltraud)
Liesel (Lieselotte)
Gretel (Margarete)
Gustl (Augusta)
ETA: the diminutives of those names in Northern Germany are more likely to be formed with -chen, so:
Traudchen
Lieschen
Gretchen
doesn’t work for Gustchen, I’ve never heard that variant
Here’s a list of the most popular names for girls and boys in Austria in 2018. Enjoy.
https://newmom.at/baby/die-beliebtesten-vornamen-in-oesterreich.html
While not all of the names here would be considered traditional names per se (Emily, Mila, Linda, Leonie…), there are plenty that are quite common and wouldn’t have been out of place two or three generations ago:
Anna, Sophie/Sophia, Marie/Maria, Johanna, Katharina, Elisabeth, and so on.
One thing to keep in mind is that that the Bavarian/Austrian area of the German-speaking world is traditionally Roman Catholic. Which means, first names had to be related to a Catholic saint, or the christening wouldn’t go through. So if you wanna be really traditional, stick to Catholic saints.
An example: I have two friends who were christened about 40 years ago, and whose parents had to pick a second name to go with their preferred choice, because it wasn’t holy enough. Hence “Erika Jasmin” (Jasmin is a flower, not a saint), and “Birgit Magdalena” (there is not Saint Birgit because it’s a nordic name).
When I was stationed in Germany in the early 90s half the girls were named Sabine. The other half were named Petra.
Alright, it’s not a kid. It’s a teeny, tiny, itty, bitty white mini schnauzer. Like extra-mini. She fits in a hat.
I wasn’t expecting a new puppy so I haven’t even been contemplating a name.
Previous pet names have been: Doug, the doberman (best dog name there is. “Beware of Doug.”)
Dora the Destroyer (cat)
A.J. Crazyface, (cat).
Since she’s a little German, it seems appropriate. But we are struggling to settle on anything. Great input so far, some of these are on the short-list.
I once knew a German family who had a dog named Schatzi, a term of endearment equal to “Treasure” or “Beloved.”
There is a Saint Brigit, patron saint of Ireland and a Saint Bridget of Sweden, patron saint of Europe; both are called Brigida in Latin. I expect Birgit could have passed as the German version (if it doesn’t even actually happen to be), if any of the people in attendance had thought about them.
I have a Bavarian friend named Gerda.
Ok, though it’s not a human female name, but a typical dog name (unisex, especially for small dogs), I propose “Lumpi”.
If you don’t like Schatzi, how about “Schultzie”? Has a kitschey ring to it…