Proposal: Germany Name Field Guidelines [closed]

Question

The Germany Project has drafted Name Field Guidelines and we'd like the community's input. 

We propose that these guidelines should be added to WikiTree's Name Field Guidelines under the Special Naming Conventions heading, along with the guidelines of other projects (i.e.: EuroAristo, Netherlands, Czech, etc.). 

Germany's guidelines closely follow WikiTree guidelines, but we've added some detail and examples to answer some frequently asked questions. The draft guidelines are set out on this free space page: HERE.

Some highlights:

• Proper first name -  It is common in Germany to have several given (first) names.
• Middle names are generally not used (with some exceptions).
• We've attached a separate page for  German Medieval/Aristo profiles, which will be expanded eventually after we have more discussion with the EuroAristo and Medieval Projects.

These guidelines are meant to provide information and clarification. We will not request the addition of any dbe's to enforce their use and these guidelines will not require any technical changes.

Any thoughts? I've posted an answer for "yes" and one for "no" that you can upvote or comment on, or if you have questions you can post another answer below.

Comments

The German (and other) naming style of multiple forenames being used interchangeably frequently carried over for up to several generations post emigration / immigration.  

So, just because a German family has lived outside Germany for a couple of generations, it should not be assumed that they suddenly have a "first name" and a "middle name" because they were born in, say, the United States, or Australia, etc.

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(I'm Australian, not of German descent (although I have German relatives) and I recently checked my own birth certificate, as well as those of my children, and other family members, and it is quite clear to me that on those official Australian documents issued by New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland, and Victoria, that we all have a name, and a last name.  There is nothing on any of the official documents to say any of us has a "middle name".)

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The guidelines don't state that use of multiple first names stop if a family leaves Germany ...

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No, but too many people assume they do.

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Glad to learn there are guidelines on German names. I'll have to go fix quite a few to move the "middle" names to "first" but I think that's appropriate. My Sachsen-Anhalt ancestors seem to have generally gone by one or more of the middles, but not always.

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Thanks for your work on this, Traci and the Germany Project.

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As this proposal has been widely supported, I'd like to finalize it now and will be contact info@

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I agree that this be formalised and attached to the WikiTree Help page. Well done Traci, Dieter and who-ever else has contributed!

Answer 1

Yes, I think the Germany Name Field Guidelines should be attached to the WikiTree Help page for Name Fields.  Please upvote this answer if you agree, and add any comments below if you have them.

Comments

If adopted, errors and data doctor suggestions will need to be fixed or changed.

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An excellent clarification of German naming conventions.

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It's simply brilliant!

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Thank you, Traci and all who worked with you on this. It looks great!

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Very well done, Traci and team!  I find that it is clearly explained for someone unfamiliar with German naming practices.  Thank you!

(edited to correct typo)

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I am American and my mother was 100% German. Our family was not aware of the German naming rules used and it is confusing. Her grandfather was Franz Joseph (born in Germany) but we only knew his first name was Joseph. My aunt Marie (born in Minnesota) only learned her first name was Gertrude when she applied to get married. I have found many German ancestor baptismal records written "M. Theresa", "M. Elizabeth", and when they marry I find Theresa or Elizabeth. Should their first name be M Theresa or assume Maria Theresa? It is nice to have guidance in written form.

Answer 2

No, I think the Germany Name Field Guidelines should NOT be attached to the WikiTree Help page for Name Fields. Please upvote this answer if you agree, and add any comments below if you have them.

Answer 3

Great work on the naming conventions.  I have been entering second and third given names in the middle name field because I did not know it was possible to enter more than one name in the “First Name field” on Wikitree. From now on, I will override the settings so I can enter multiple first names. This issue is not specific to people of German descent.  I think the Wikitree  field name  “Middle Name” is confusing and contributing  to the problem. In Australia, we gave up using the phrase “middle name” in favor of the moniker “Given name (s)” decades ago, primarily because many cultures have multiple “first names”, but also to address translation issues etc.  I would prefer to enter all given  names into  a single field with separate fields for preferred given name and religious names (if any), for all profiles I manage.

Answer 4

This is very clear and helpful.

Answer 5

I respectfully disagreed with the opinion that there are multiple first names,  but on translation, I agree with the opinion. As all my great grandparents lived in multiple states in Germany, it has been my experience to observe that the second, and sometimes the third, name is used for and by the individual. "Middle name," translated, is "zweiter Vorname," a term new to me.

Comments

Multiple first name is German law.

You are right, we have zweiter, dritter, vierter or more Vornamen. And the call name is the name you choose.

Answer 6

My preference would be to use the names in the order they appear on the Taufregister, if present, or some other source document. The draft guidelines provide for "Preferred First Name," and so listing one of the middle names there would be appropriate.

I also disagree with the opinion that "middle names are not commonly used in Germany". Nearly all my research from 17th through 20th century German Kirchenbücher demonstrate that in most cases, there exist one or more names between the Vorname and the Nachname.

Comments

Thanks for your comments David!  Please keep in mind that these guidelines are specifically for WikiTree name data fields. For more info on German names in general and historically, see this page: German Names  (this page is also attached to the Name Field Guidelines).

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We don't have middle names in Germany (with one exception); we have one or more first names and everybody can decide which of the first names he uses as call name. And he can change that. And that could be the first, second, third or ... first name.

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I'm not going to argue about the Naming Guidelines, but you can only have one first name.  That's what first name means.

You can have many given names, and the Naming Guidelines can state that because of cultural reasons all the given names will go into the 'Proper First Name' field, because the other field for given names, 'Middle Name' is not known in Germany.  So I think that second paragraph under the Proper First Name heading should say in a couple of places "All given names" not "All first names"

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That is a problem with the english language. In Germany we have "Vornamen" und "Rufnamen".

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Thanks for that advice John! I've changed the guidelines to read given name instead of first name.

Answer 7

Would it be worth also mentioning the usage of German Umlauts (ä, ö, ü, ß) in the LNAB? I have seen several profiles where the LNAB uses replacements for German Umlauts, even though it can be clearly proven that in original handwritten records the Umlaut was used. Probably some WikiTree contributors try to adapt to the american-english spelling. But I'd propose to encourage people using the correct local spelling, including Umlauts, especially in the LNAB field.

Comments

That's a good point.

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Excellent suggestion Jochen! I edited the guidelines to add this point.

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@Jochen. I am an English speaking Australian with some German ancestors. I strongly support using Last Name At Birth with umlauts. If you search for ancestors in German record systems it is quite likely that you will not find the surname Mueller, it needs to be Müller.