# What does Ratzinger mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 19, 2005, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130 "2005-04-19T21:06:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130/1 "2005-04-19T21:06:01Z")
What does the German name mean in English? ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130/2 "2005-04-19T21:11:38Z")
> [@jimmmy](#): > > What does the German name mean in English? It’s the traditional German name given a small, iced, rat-filled pastry cake. Usually sold in threes, with a picture of Pigpen on the packaging. Okay, seriously, not sure, but maybe “Advisor”? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130/3 "2005-04-19T21:15:35Z")
At a glance I would say it means “Man from the town of Ratzingen”. I don’t know if such a town exists, but typically one adds _-er_ to mean a (male) citizen of a town. If the town name ends in _-en_, that syllable is usually dropped before adding the _-er_. ---
**Author:** ![Rusalka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecd19e/32.png) [@Rusalka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rusalka)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130/4 "2005-04-19T22:46:41Z")
The name has about as much of a meaning in german as it does in english. Like many english names it’s probably the name of a town or the bastardization of something. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130/5 "2005-04-19T23:07:32Z")
There is a town in Lower Bavaria called Ratzing. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130/6 "2005-04-19T23:13:21Z")
You know that bunch of kids that used to go “M-I-C-see you real soon!”? They were Rat-singers! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130/7 "2005-04-20T00:03:10Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > There is a town in Lower Bavaria called Ratzing. AFAIK, Benedict XVI is Bavarian. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130/8 "2005-04-20T00:06:31Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > It’s the traditional German name given a small, iced, rat-filled pastry cake. Usually sold in threes, with a picture of Pigpen on the packaging. _“Ich bin ein Ratzinger!”_ ---
**Author:** ![Eurograff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Eurograff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eurograff)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130/9 "2005-04-20T00:14:07Z")
Ratz-Ingwer would mean something like “rat ginger” but that doesn’t sound very likely origin… On the other hand, there’s at least one place called Ratzing not too far from Marktl am Inn where he was born. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130/10 "2005-04-20T04:13:18Z")
Apparently he is now to be commonly known as Papa Ratzi 😃 ---
**Author:** ![EvilGhandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@EvilGhandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilGhandi)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2005, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130/11 "2005-04-20T08:47:54Z")
I dunno, but this morning I actually groaned. The kid asked if a rap singer was now pope. I started to explain, but somewhere between common sense and idiocy, This came out. Go popey it’s your birthday. Really and I pray to the almighty that I am the only idiot to post that. ---
**Author:** ![sharktacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@sharktacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sharktacos)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130/12 "2010-09-19T07:04:20Z")
> [@jimmmy](#): > > What does the German name mean in English? Most German names refer to occupations. The word “Rat” in German means either “counsel” either in terms of advice (a verb) or of a body of government (a noun). So a Rathaus is the governmental building in the city center. The term Zinger is I believe a variant of the German “Sänger” meaning “singer”. So a Ratzinger would presumably be the town crier. All that is just an educated guess. One would need to trace the etymological development to be sure. Also keep in mind that last names in German mean as little as they do in English. Native speakers do not often think about what a person’s name means literally. So for a German his name is just some name. Far more significant is the name he chose for himself: Benedict (“good speaker” in Latin). It is interesting that these two names (Rat-zinger and Bene-dict) do seem to have related meanings tho. ---
**Author:** ![sharktacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@sharktacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sharktacos)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130/13 "2010-09-19T07:22:27Z")
Another possibility is that it simply means (as someone said above) “a person from the city of Ratzing.” In that case Ratzing could be a variant spelling of Ratsing so that the word would break up as Rats-ing rather than Rat-sing meaning “place of counsel” as the name of town. Rats (counsel) + ing (a place name suffix similar to “ville”). A bit less meaningful, but more likely I think. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130/14 "2010-09-19T07:28:33Z")
> [@sharktacos](#): > > > [@jimmmy](#): > > > > What does the German name mean in English? > > Most German names refer to occupations. The word “Rat” in German means either “counsel” either in terms of advice (a verb) or of a body of government (a noun). So a Rathaus is the governmental building in the city center. The term Zinger is I believe a variant of the German “Sänger” meaning “singer”. So a Ratzinger would presumably be the town crier. All that is just an educated guess. One would need to trace the etymological development to be sure. > > Also keep in mind that last names in German mean as little as they do in English. Native speakers do not often think about what a person’s name means literally. So for a German his name is just some name. **Far more significant is the name he chose for himself** : Benedict (“good speaker” in Latin). It is interesting that these two names (Rat-zinger and Bene-dict) do seem to have related meanings tho. Help me out here. I thought Germans had “Birth name” + “Surname” just like the English and most of the western cultures. Are you saying there is some American Indian type secret name a Geman gets to choose for himself? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130/15 "2010-09-19T07:35:56Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Help me out here. I thought Germans had “Birth name” + “Surname” just like the English and most of the western cultures. Are you saying there is some American Indian type secret name a Geman gets to choose for himself? Popes get to choose a new name for themselves when they’re elected. Ratzinger’s “real” first name is Joseph. ETA : although I have it on good authority that his \*real \*real first name is “Darth” ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130/16 "2010-09-19T10:33:09Z")
It’s a nickname, given to him in the days he was a Nazi AA gunner. At the end of WW" the Germans were running low on ammo, so loaded their 88s with live rats. _Rat-zing_ ---
**Author:** ![rayman5321](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@rayman5321](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayman5321)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130/17 "2010-09-19T11:08:59Z")
> [@jimmmy](#): > > What does the German name mean in English? It means an"Old German Fart" who’s unhappy because he’s never been laid. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130/18 "2010-09-19T16:22:02Z")
> [@rayman5321](#): > > It means an"Old German Fart" who’s unhappy because he’s never been laid. [Moderator Note] Let’s refrain from religious jabs in GQ. No warning issued. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130/19 "2010-09-19T16:29:02Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > ETA : although I have it on good authority that his \*real \*real first name is “Darth” Party on, Darth! ---
**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-ratzinger-mean/300130/20 "2010-09-19T17:52:55Z")
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