Given Name Abbreviations
Historical records, newspapers, and family documents often use abbreviated given names rather than the full name. Understanding common German given name abbreviations can help you locate records that might otherwise be overlooked.
| Name | Abbreviation |
| Adelheid | Adelh. |
| Adolf | A. |
| Agnes | Ag. |
| Agnes | Agn. |
| Albert | Al. |
| Albert | Alb. |
| Alexander | Alex. |
| Alfred | Alf. |
| Amalie | Am. |
| Andreas | And. |
| Andreas | Andr. |
| Anna | An. |
| Anna | Ann. |
| Anselm | Ans. |
| Anton | Ant. |
| August | Aug. |
| Barbara | Barb. |
| Bernhard | Bernh. |
| Brigitte | Brig. |
| Caroline | Car. |
| Christian | Chr. |
| Christiane | Chris. |
| Christina | Chris. |
| Christoph | Chr. |
| Christoph | Cph. |
| Clara | Cl. |
| Claudia | Claud. |
| Conrad | Con. |
| Cornelia | Corn. |
| Daniel | D. |
| Daniel | Dan. |
| David | Dav. |
| Detlef | Detl. |
| Dieter | Diet. |
| Dorothea | Dor. |
| Dorothea | Doroth. |
| Eberhard | Eberh. |
| Eduard | Ed. |
| Elisabeth | Elis. |
| Elisabeth | Else |
| Emil | Em. |
| Erich | Er. |
| Ernst | E. |
| Ernst | Ern. |
| Eva | E. |
| Eva | Ev. |
| Felix | Fel. |
| Ferdinand | Ferd. |
| Friedrich | Fr. |
| Friedrich | Friedr. |
| Gabriele | Gabr. |
| Georg | G. |
| Georg | Georg. |
| Gerhard | Gerh. |
| Gertrud | Ger. |
| Gertrud | Gertr. |
| Gottfried | Gottf. |
| Günter | Günt. |
| Gustav | Gust. |
| Hanna | Hann. |
| Hans | H. |
| Hedwig | Hedw. |
| Heinrich | Heinr. |
| Helena | Hel. |
| Helene | Hel. |
| Helmut | Helm. |
| Hermann | Herm. |
| Hildegard | Hild. |
| Horst | Horst |
| Hubert | Hub. |
| Ingrid | Ingr. |
| Jakob | Jak. |
| Johann | J. |
| Johanna | Joh. |
| Johannes | Joh. |
| Josef | Jos. |
| Julia | Jul. |
| Julius | Jul. |
| Karin | Kar. |
| Karl | K. |
| Katharina | Kath. |
| Klaus | Kl. |
| Konrad | Konr. |
| Kurt | K. |
| Laura | Laur. |
| Lena | Len. |
| Leo | Leo |
| Leonhard | Leonh. |
| Lisa | Lis. |
| Louise | L. |
| Ludwig | Ludw. |
| Luise | Luis. |
| Magdalena | Magd. |
| Manfred | Manfr. |
| Margareta | Marg. |
| Margarete | Marg. |
| Maria | Mari. |
| Marianne | Mariann. |
| Markus | Mark. |
| Martin | Mart. |
| Martina | Mart. |
| Matthias | Math. |
| Melanie | Mel. |
| Michael | Mich. |
| Monika | Mon. |
| Norbert | Norb. |
| Otto | O. |
| Otto | Ott. |
| Paul | P. |
| Paul | Paul |
| Peter | Pet. |
| Peter | Pt. |
| Philipp | Phil. |
| Reinhard | Reinh. |
| Richard | R. |
| Robert | Rob. |
| Roland | Rol. |
| Rudolf | Rud. |
| Sabine | Sab. |
| Sandra | Sandr. |
| Silvia | Silv. |
| Sonja | Sonj. |
| Sophia | Soph. |
| Stefan | Stef. |
| Stefanie | Stef. |
| Susanne | Sus. |
| Theodor | Th. |
| Theodor | Theo. |
| Theresia | Theres. |
| Thomas | T. |
| Ulrich | Ulr. |
| Ursula | Urs. |
| Werner | Wern. |
| Wilhelm | W. |
| Wilhelm | Wilh. |
| Wolfgang | Wolfg. |
| Zacharias | Zach. |
Given Name Nicknames
Historical records, newspapers, and family documents often use nicknames instead of formal given names. Understanding common German nicknames will help you locate records that might otherwise be overlooked.
| Name | Nickname |
| Alexandra | Alex |
| Andrea | Andi |
| Andreas | Andi |
| Angelika | Geli |
| Anja | Anni |
| Anna | Anni |
| Astrid | Asti |
| Bernd | Berni |
| Brigitte | Gitti |
| Carola | Caro |
| Christian | Chris |
| Christine | Christel |
| Daniel | Dani |
| David | Dave |
| Doris | Dodo |
| Elisabeth | Liese |
| Eva | Evi |
| Felix | Feli |
| Franz | Franzi |
| Franziska | Franzi |
| Friedrich | Fritz |
| Gabriele | Gabi |
| Georg | Schorsch |
| Gustav | Gustl |
| Heidi | Heidi |
| Heinrich | Heini |
| Helga | Helgi |
| Hermann | Hannes |
| Ilse | Ilschen |
| Ingrid | Inge |
| Jakob | Jaki |
| Johanna | Hanna |
| Johannes | Hans |
| Josef | Sepp |
| Karl | Karlchen |
| Katharina | Kati |
| Klaus | Klausi |
| Klemens | Klemme |
| Konrad | Koni |
| Lena | Leni |
| Lisa | Lisi |
| Lorenz | Lollo |
| Ludwig | Lui |
| Manuela | Manu |
| Margarete | Grete |
| Maria | Mitzi |
| Markus | Marki |
| Martin | Marti |
| Matthias | Matze |
| Max | Maxl |
| Michael | Michi |
| Monika | Moni |
| Moritz | Morry |
| Nadja | Nadi |
| Nikolaus | Niklas |
| Otto | Otti |
| Paul | Pauli |
| Peter | Pepi |
| Petra | Petra |
| Philipp | Philipp |
| Renate | Rena |
| Rolf | Rolli |
| Sabine | Bine |
| Simone | Simi |
| Sophie | Sofiechen |
| Stefan | Steffi |
| Stephanie | Steffi |
| Susanne | Susi |
| Tanja | Tanja |
| Theresa | Resi |
| Thomas | Tommi |
| Tobias | Tobi |
| Ulrich | Uli |
| Ursula | Uschi |
| Ute | Ute |
| Verena | Vreni |
| Victoria | Vicky |
| Werner | Werni |
| Wilhelm | Willi |
| Wolfgang | Wolfi |
Learn More with the Genealogy Decoder Ring
Abbreviations and nicknames are only part of the challenge. The Genealogy Decoder Ring Field Guide includes more than 2,000 abbreviations, nicknames, and acronyms to help you recognize name variations, interpret historical records, and improve your genealogy and newspaper searches.
Learn more about the Genealogy Decoder Ring and other Field Guides HERE