German Girl Names

German girls' names often combine a gentle sound with a strong history. Many are short forms of longer names that became names in their own right. Lena began as a short form of longer names, Greta is a German short form of an older name meaning pearl, and Elsa is a German short form of Elisabeth. Heidi comes from a diminutive of an old Germanic name and became famous around the world through the classic children's novel set in the Swiss Alps.

Lorelei is tied to a steep rock on the Rhine, where legend says a siren lured sailors with her singing. Lorelai is a modern spelling made familiar by television. Johanna and Elisabeth are classic German forms of widely used names, and Annalise combines two popular German names into one. Karla and Carla are feminine forms of a German name meaning a free man, and Katrina is a form of an ancient name used widely in northern Europe.

German names can look very familiar in English but may be pronounced differently in German, especially with vowels and the letter j. Decide whether you want the German or English pronunciation, and choose a spelling that makes your preference clear. Short German names such as Mina, Lisa and Halle tend to be easy to say in any language, which can be helpful if your family speaks more than one.