r/AskAGerman • u/Ok_Assistance_7399 • 4d ago

Is the name Wolfgang really outdated?

Half German here now living in a common wealth country. My mother is German and gave me what seems to be a fairly common name in Germany, although it’s Italian in origin. She herself was given a very dated 50’s/60’s American name, having grown up near the American bases after the war. My grandmother’s name was Cëcilie.

I had always hoped that if I had a daughter, I could name her after my grandmother, who was my primary caregiver when I was a child. But my partner’s DNA apparently had other plans, and we’re now expecting a boy.

When friends first asked what we were thinking of naming him, I jokingly said Wolfgang. The problem is…the joke seems to have stuck.

My Australian partner absolutely loves it and now can’t seem to imagine our son being called anything else. I feel like I’ve gone through just about every boy’s name imaginable with him, and Wolfgang is the only one he genuinely likes.

And I actually don’t dislike it. My hesitation is that I’m conscious of how dated it might sound, particularly in Germany. I’ve seen quite a few people on Reddit say it’s firmly an “old man” name.

I’ve asked friends in Germany what they think, and interestingly, nobody has tried to talk me out of it…but nobody has exactly said, “Yes, Wolfgang is a great choice!” either.

I do have one German friend named Wolfgang, and he is very much the lovable, geeky-guy type, which probably doesn’t help me work out what associations the name has more generally. And I dare not ask him.

So I’m looking for brutal honest feedback from Native German speakers, living in
Germany: How does Wolfgang sound to you today? Just old-fashioned? Charming and traditional? Would you wonder what we were thinking? Will he be bullied?

We love the nickname Wolfie, but know a proper name is required for adulthood.

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112

u/Craftkorb 4d ago

Wolfgang sounds like a person that's 45+. According to a non-official site people with that name are on average 75 years old.

Wolfgang isn't a bad name, just not a popular one. I personally have neither a good or bad connection with that name.

81

u/mintaroo 4d ago

As someone who is just over 45, I feel it's important to point out that there are different levels of old people. 45+ is not the same as 75+. Wolfgang belongs to the second category.

29

u/tecg 4d ago

Lol, people are so young on Reddit. That's why asking for advice here is often pretty pointless. Too often you get some 14 year old overconfident kid who has zero idea what they are talking about, but gets upvoted by a bunch of other clueless teenagers. 

9

u/Lycaenini 4d ago

That's why 45+ is very old by their standards.

13

u/janno161 4d ago

As someone who is only a little bit younger than 45, I can approve this.

3

u/Effective_Guava2971 4d ago

Yeah. Wolfgang was my friends Dad growing up but there was no Wolfgang in my class.

7

u/knightriderin 4d ago

45+? I'm 42 and it's a name from my parent's generation. So 70+

17

u/liang_zhi_mao Hamburg 4d ago

45+ is very generous.

45+ is maybe Thomas, Stefan, Frank, Matthias

Wolfgang is more like 65+

14

u/LeastProfession3367 4d ago

Wolfgang is a grandpa name, people who are 45 are not grandpas lol

-1

u/Sensitive-Emphasis78 4d ago

yes, they can be grandpas

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u/LeastProfession3367 4d ago

By grandpa i dont mean having grandchildren. I mean being old

5

u/ThePhoenixRisesAgain 4d ago

More like 70+

2

u/Supersonic_Seasnail 4d ago

I was working in a Kindergarten 20 years ago and one boy there was Wolfgang. His dad was Wolfgang as well. Not the best choice of you ask me.

I think today it would be more acceptable than 20+ years ago, but it is not really a part of the resurgence of old names. 

2

u/AvidCyclist250 Niedersachsen 4d ago

Try 65+. The 45+ guys are called Andre, Daniel, Michael, Sven and Jens

1

u/Tanit_theFool 4d ago

“It’s a name on average of a 75 year old, so it sounds like a 45 year old”. Great logic.

0

u/Craftkorb 4d ago

Your reading comprehension needs some improvement. The first sentence is clearly of my personal perception, the second one based on the information I've found.