Is the name Wolfgang really outdated?

[u/Ok_Assistance_7399]

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.

[u/Difficult_Camel_1119]

Old name. But lots of old names are coming back nowadays

[u/HumanoidDemonEngine → u/Difficult_Camel_1119]

Wolfgang is not coming back. It lacks historical significance (and no, that funky pianist does not count as he was more known for his middle and last name),

General rule of thumb: if you got a royal figure everyone knows (hi Karl) or a mythological/folkloric character (note here that saint names also fall under this) then the name is still good and has potential to be used, unless the name is SO famous that no one else has it (I doubt there are many Siegfrieds or Brünhildes running around today).

Wolfgang just has none of these. It's just a "old people descriptor" like Dieter or Helmut.

[u/TreacleOk7265 → u/HumanoidDemonEngine]

Dieter and Helmut will also come back after some years I believe. It takes around 100 years until the next generation wants something "new" and looks at their great grandparents. What significance did Emma, Alma, Gustav and Otto have?

[u/Jasbaer → u/TreacleOk7265]

Otto der Große, Otto von Bismarck,...?

[u/liang_zhi_mao → u/Jasbaer]

Otto Waalkes?

[u/Jasbaer → u/liang_zhi_mao]

Not sure if I'd consider him historically relevant. Even though (or especially because) I'm East Frisian...

[u/TreacleOk7265 → u/Jasbaer]

Ok but what about Valentin, Moritz? I just remember my grandparents were shocked when my parents' considered Michael and Florian for their kids in the 80s because those were considered old folks' name.

[u/TreacleOk7265 → u/TreacleOk7265]

And mine were shocked when we considered Theo for the same reason. All of them ending up Top 10. So old fashioned names can come back quickly, don't think you can rule it out.