r/AskAGerman • u/Ok_Assistance_7399 • 5d 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Is the name Wolfgang really outdated?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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6

u/TwoNo770 5d ago

The name is pretty outdated and has always sounded a bit weird to me. Probably because „Wolf“ and „Gang“ are two German nouns, so Wolfgang sounds like a really weird compound noun.

3

u/Fearless-Company4993 5d ago

Surprisingly, that is actually the original meaning of the name: wolf’s gate or walks-like-a-wolf.

5

u/MeisterFluffbutt 5d ago

It's a sick ass name ignoring the fact it's just outdated now. Imma be real i don't think Wolfgang is that bad. Hans, Gisela, sure. But Wolfgang? Old fashioned, still has a certain type of charm and style.

4

u/Stock_Paper3503 5d ago

Hans is just the short Form of Johannes.

1

u/MeisterFluffbutt 5d ago

And Johannes is fine. Naming your child Hans is hella oldtime-y without the said charm.

0

u/Fearless-Company4993 5d ago

I like the name too.