# Need a Female German Name for my Car: Suggestions? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 22, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849 "2012-12-22T17:16:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849/1 "2012-12-22T17:16:00Z")
Can you help me name my car? I have a well-kept classic, a 1963 Porsche 356 Cabriolet (convertible) - [like this picture](http://porschebahn.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/1963-356b-roadster-12.jpg). She runs great and is very reliable. The 356 was the precursor to the [Porsche 911](http://www.google.com/search?q=Porsche+911&hl=en&client=safari&tbo=d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=1eXVULTjNsbO2QWBjYGIBw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=644). Next year she turns 50! I want to name her; can you help? Requirements - the name must be: [ol] [li]German[/li][li]Female[/li][li]Sexy, ideally - she’s a sexy car (to me anyway; beauty is in the eye, right?)[/li][li]Brief, short - it has to roll off the tongue, and long names like Fräulein Helgasteffanie won’t cut it[/li][li]If the name can bring to memory a sexy, voluptuous TV or movie or literary character, or public figure, that’s better[/li][/ol] [Fräulein Hilda](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bob_Crane_Sigrid_Valdis_Hogans_Heroes_1969.JPG) from the TV show _Hogan’s Heroes_ fits the image for me but the name might be too long. Marlene (pronounced “Marlena”), as in [Marlene Dietrich](http://www.doctormacro.com/Images/Dietrich,%20Marlene/Annex/Annex%20-%20Dietrich,%20Marlene%20(Rancho%20Notorious)_03.jpg) - well, that might work but it doesn’t quite grab me yet. Can you help? Thanks! e7t ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849/2 "2012-12-22T17:30:45Z")
Giselle. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849/3 "2012-12-22T17:32:27Z")
I’m just going mostly on the sounds of the names (Hilda and Marlene sound a bit “hard” to my ears): Elise (pronounced with a schwa at the end; it also has the Beethoven connection via “Für Elise.”) Isolde Silke ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849/4 "2012-12-22T17:33:44Z")
Petra. When I was stationed in Germany you couldn’t swing a dead katze without hitting a girl named Petra. And all the others were named Sabine. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849/5 "2012-12-22T17:33:52Z")
Valda. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849/6 "2012-12-22T17:34:15Z")
Blondi. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849/7 "2012-12-22T17:34:52Z")
Else/Ilse Leisel ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849/8 "2012-12-22T17:38:29Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Leisel I think any name referring to the von Trapp family children is a bit icky. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849/9 "2012-12-22T17:42:30Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I think any name referring to the von Trapp family children is a bit icky. I guess. I know other Liesel’s so that’s not my first thought. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849/10 "2012-12-22T17:42:33Z")
Eva ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849/11 "2012-12-22T17:43:08Z")
Brunhilde. Or you could call your car “geil”. Pronounced “guy-al” but say it quickly, in one syllable. “Geil” is a German word with lots of slang meanings: sexy, horny, hot, lustful, way cool - you get the idea. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849/12 "2012-12-22T17:44:45Z")
Greta. She’s gorgeous! ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849/13 "2012-12-22T17:44:56Z")
Uschi ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849/14 "2012-12-22T17:51:39Z")
How about just Hilda, if you like that name? There’s Ursula, like original Bond girl Ursula Andress. (Who was admittedly Swiss, not German.) In German the name is pronounced more like “oar-su-la” than “er-su-la”. ---
**Author:** ![SerafinaPekala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SerafinaPekala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SerafinaPekala)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849/15 "2012-12-22T18:13:45Z")
Mercedes! ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849/16 "2012-12-22T18:14:16Z")
BTW, if it didn’t absolutely have to be a female name: Otto is a popular German male name and your car’s full name would thus be: Otto das Auto. Sounds quite royal and gentrified to me…consider Otto your chauffeur. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849/17 "2012-12-22T18:40:07Z")
Schottzie (“shot zee”). It means “sweetheart” in German. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849/18 "2012-12-22T18:51:11Z")
Elke ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849/19 "2012-12-22T18:51:16Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Else/Ilse I like “Ilse,” too. For me, a lot of the names like Petra, Ursula, Ulrike, Brunhilde, sound a bit masculine to me, for some reason. I don’t know if it’s the “r” in there or what. Although, I’ll give you a German name with an “r” that I do really like: Katarina. And you got the Witt connection, too. Actually, now that I think about it, that’s going to be my vote. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2012, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849/20 "2012-12-22T19:26:08Z")
Heidi? ~VOW [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-a-female-german-name-for-my-car-suggestions/644849.md?page=2)