Names of Germany
overview of the names of Germany in different languages
There are numerous widely varying names of Germany in different languages, more so than for any other European nation. For example:
the German language endonym is Deutschland, from the Old High German diutisc, meaning "of the people";
the French exonym is Allemagne, from the name of the Alamanni tribe;
in Italian it is Germania, from the Latin Germania, although the German people are called tedeschi, which is cognate with German Deutsch;
in Polish it is Niemcy, from the Proto-Slavic *němьcь, meaning speechless, since German is not mutually intelligible with Slavic languages;
in Finnish it is Saksa, from the name of the Saxon tribe;
in Lithuanian it is Vokietija, of unclear origin, but possibly from Proto-Balto-Slavic *vākyā-, meaning “those who speak loud, shout (unintelligibly)”.
Often language lags behind the changing society and names tend to retain references to first encounters: the Finnish first and foremost met the Saxons while the French faced the Alamanni. Comparable tendencies appear elsewhere, e.g. in names for Russia.
Each of the names for Germany has been adapted into other languages all over the world. After an overview of variants this article presents etymological and geographic context for the forms and their worldwide usage as well as names used in bureaucracy.
List of area names
In general, the names for Germany can be arranged in six main groups according to their origin:
From Old High German diutisc or similar
From the Latin Germania
From the name of the Alamanni tribe
From the name of the Saxon tribe
From the Proto-Slavic *němьcь
From the name of Prussia
Unclear origin
Other forms
Medieval Greek: Frángoi, frangikós (for Germans, German) – after the Franks.
Medieval Hebrew: אַשְׁכְּנַז (Ashkenaz), from biblical Ashkenaz, son of Japheth and grandson of Noah, thought to be the ancestor of the Germans.
Lower Sorbian: bawory or bawery (in older or dialectal use) – from the name of Bavaria.
“Names of Germany” enters the record as overview of the names of Germany in different languages. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Names, Germany and overview can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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