GERMAN NAMES That Sound Funny To Americans

[@yjk5737]

Wolfgang is a badass name in English. Like Mowgli, raised by a gang of wolves.

[@chrisrudolf9839]

The really funny thing is that Wolfgang does actually have a badass origin. It is an old North-Germanic name that is consists of the parts "Wolf", which means wolve, and gang, which can mean journey but also (in this context) Waffengang = battle, clash of arms. So the name basically means "he who goes into battle with (the spirit of) the wolve", a poetic description of a brave and ferocious fighter.

[@MichaEl-rh1kv]

Like Chris Rudolf said, Wolfgang is the leading/attacking warrior, and Gangolf is exact the same (the parts of the name are only interchanged), while Gandolf is the wolve with the wand, the battle sorcerer.

[@yjk5737]

@@MichaEl-rh1kv Every great army needs a battle sorcerer.

[@vulvegang]

@@chrisrudolf9839 after reading this, i feel really powerful

[@samjensen392]

“Waltraut” just made me think of a singing fish plaque

[@daleburrell6273]

..."Billy Bass"(?)

[@kingbeauregard]

The best wall trout: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnnGmaCNqNeZi9E

[@daleburrell6273]

...there used to be a brand of men's hair cream called: "WILDROOT"-!!

[@Wurby]

@@kingbeauregard After 12 years I still laugh my ass off at that video 😂

[@loopshackr]

@@daleburrell6273 Still available thru Amazon (though they don't call it Wildroot Cream Oil anymore).

[@johnthomas2485]

Hehe saw a meme today "Germany is warning Citizens to stock up of sausage and cheese. They are calling it a Würst Käse scenario." Ba dump bump

[@helenasaez9372]

Why did I laugh so much on this xD

[@TechieTard]

LOL! I know, I'm not very mature.....nice to meat yu.

[@kumanon9466]

It's Wurst, you English speaking Ba dump bump! :)

[@daleburrell6273]

...the Germans have no sense of humor-!!

[@daleburrell6273]

snucker-snucker-snucker!!

[@bericborte2788]

I love your videos. These videos helped me to decide to learn German. They really helped me learn German two years ago. Thank you so much for all the great content.

[@JesseKuiper]

If you have never heard of the name Wolfgang something has been missing in your education. #mozart

[@daleburrell6273]

...and let's not forget Major "Wolfgang Hochstetter" from "Hogan's Heroes"(!)

[@ChrisPage68]

@@daleburrell6273 "Veeeeerrry interesting!"

[@daleburrell6273]

...and wasn't Eddie Munster's middle name "Wolfgang"(?)

[@segka8536]

Wolfgang Sebastian Bach

[@daleburrell6273]

@@segka8536 JOHANN Sebastian Bach!!!

[@ronaldsilton613]

Elke Sommers was a German actress that quite a few Americans knew about. Helmut is my middle name and also my uncle's name.

[@jeromemckenna7102]

I was going to mention that.

[@NicolaW72]

Two German chancellors carried the given name Helmut.

[@Hessenball]

Yes but do you know who Dunkelmut Is

[@llenin6767]

Often pronounced like "Elky", however.

[@xonxt]

Trixie: Jörg is a funny name **laughs in slingshot**

[@KelikakuCoutin]

I got that one.

[@daleburrell6273]

@@KelikakuCoutin ...I must have missed something-!!

[@kingbeauregard]

@@daleburrell6273 Let me show you its features: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i5mYiGOAdpKdpZI

[@daleburrell6273]

@@kingbeauregard ...that's a new one on ME-!!!

[@ormsucher]

My name is Jörg. Let me show you its features.

[@poleag]

Helmut is the one I find funniest, because it sounds like helmet. Imagine if someone's name was Hut.

[@nobodysgirl7972]

Then Friedhelm might be even better. I always imagine a peaceful (fried like in friedlich) helmet

[@vincem3748]

Helmut was the name of the first computer I ever had. I used to give computers German names for some reason, lol 🖥️

[@hoathanatos6179]

@@nobodysgirl7972 Well in ancient times many Germanic names often were made of two components that together may not make sense; however, each component would represent desired qualities of a child. Like the Old Norse Hrafnkettil lit. Ravenhelmet meant that the person was wise/intelligent (Raven) and a Warrior (Helmet), or a wise warrior. Friedhelm would then mean a warrior that strives for peace.

[@hoathanatos6179]

Like Ludwig is Lud (fame) and Wig (war) so one who is famous for their military exploits, and Hartmut as was said before is Hart (hard/strong) and Mut (courage) so one who is strong and courageous.

[@talideon]

"Isolde" is an interesting one: that's ultimately of Irish original (where it also gets spelled "Iseult"), and gained popularity from the story of Tristan and Isolde.

[@anonb4632]

There's still a town near Dublin called Chapelizod after her.

[@deecyp64]

See it’s not weird to call your daughter Danaerys people have done this since forever

[@PropertyOfK]

I would assume people were taught that story, we did it in school, here in Poland when talking about arthurian legends.

[@DanDownunda8888]

Tristan and Iseult, alternatively known as Tristan and Isolde, is a chivalric romance retold in numerous variations since the 12th century. The story is a tragedy about the adulterous love between the Cornish, not Irish, knight Tristan (Tristram, etc.)

[@anonb4632]

@@DanDownunda8888 Isolde/Yseult was Irish. Tristan was Cornish. His name is probably related to the Pictish name "Drostan", but the current form has been influenced by the French "triste" (sad). Tristram was a different person I think.

[@Bernadoguy1]

Als waschechter Wolfgang hatte ich sehr viel Spaß und über eine Folge 2 oder sogar 3 würde ich mich sehr freuen. Und natürlich: Daumen Hoch.

[@howardpope3932]

Also ich sehe ehrlich gesagt an diesem Namen überhaupt nichts Problematisches. Außer vielleicht, dass Wölfe gefährlich und furchteinflössen sein können. Aber der Name klingt ja nicht anstößig. Und am Gang eines Wolfes ist doch nichts Lächerliches oder so. Also, ich würde unter dem Namen nicht leiden. Die einzigen wirklich problematischen männlichen Vornamen sind für mich Axel (in Schweden und in deutschsprachigen Ländern), Dick, Willy (in englischsprachigen Ländern) und (in englischsprachigen Ländern) John (weil das auch ein Wort für "Klo" ist, außerdem heißen in diesen Ländern viel zu viele Leute so, da weiß man ja gar nicht, wer gemeint ist.) und Randy (weil "randy" ja "geil" bedeutet).

[@howardpope3932]

Ach ja, und "Johannes" finde ich auch problematisch, wegen der Nase eines Mannes. Außerdem finde ich den Namen überhaupt nicht schön.

[@baomickuso]

Hella, I assume your brother must be........ Hello?

[@DontTrustTheRabbit]

lol

[@daleburrell6273]

"...what's in a name?" - Shakespeare

[@maro8885]

Shakespeare sounds like Shake beer😅

[@dickymmahendra]

In my side german is such beautiful language. I'm still learning German, I keep trying, memorizing the words, and sounding like a real German eventhough it's pretty hard to me.

[@kaitan4160]

German was once called the language of poets and thinkers .... before a different Event overshadowed everything German ....

[@tulpenbambus]

Na dann, viel Spaß dabei!

[@hanniballecter2513]

@@kaitan4160 that event effected me very personally, yet I still love German culture

[@bloodeasy4295]

Do you know what "servus" means in german? :) The translater didnt know it XD

[@grazzer1673]

@@kaitan4160 German is about as conducive to poetry as gasoline is to breathing. Who on earth told you that German was once called the language of poets? Have you ever tried listening to German lyrics in a song? 99% of the time it's a complete disaster, with very few exceptions, like: 99 Luftballons, Major Tom and DA DA DA. 100% of my German friends cannot stand listening to songs sung in German - and they are freaking Germans!

[@darthcalanil5333]

Wolfgang Mozart be like a ganstar on the violin 🤣

[@Bladingmom]

People always had a hard time pronouncing my name while I was growing up, and now people have a hard time pronouncing my sons' names, Rutger and Torbjörn. I couldn't make it easy for them, could I?

[@mememoments2779]

Torbjörn is awesome!

[@vincentmartinez8241]

I love this adorable hilarious channel. Keep up the awesome job Trixie!

[@Cortesevasive]

too many tities to be adorable

[@hankeng6375]

Wolfgang is known in America because of Chef Wolfgang Puck. When I think of strange German names, I think of Jan and Mieke -- because of the movie Eurotrip.

[@51tomtomtom]

neither Jan nor Mieke are german names , both are short forms !Jan comes from Johannes which comes from hebrew Yehochanan, Mieke is dutch from Marieke which comes from Maria which comes from hebrew /aramaic Maryam/Miriyam

[@jensgoerke3819]

When I was an intern in England I always had to explain how to pronounce my name - like the Japanese coin with an "S" tacked on.

[@daleburrell6273]

You were off by only one letter...the phrase is: "TACKED on"...or you could have said: "tucked IN"-!!

[@jensgoerke3819]

@@daleburrell6273 That was a brain fart - I had thought of tacked on, but typed tucked on. Typo corrected, but those sometimes happen since my last stroke. Thanks for spotting it!

[@daleburrell6273]

@@jensgoerke3819 ..."nobody's PERFECT"!!

[@EyMannMachHin]

Honestly I never am worried about the Jens part, since my (German) highschool days friends always called me JJ (English pronunciation!). It's the 2nd part of my first name that gives English speakers a creep ;)

[@fariesz6786]

@@EyMannMachHin i can see the conversation you're having "your name is.. ew?" "no, it's oo-vuh" "oof!"

[@ZER0ZER0SE7EN]

I think of the name Isolde from the famous Richard Wagner work "Tristan and Isolde". Like what Trixie said not all of these names were originally German. The story of Tristan and Isolde was set in Britain. The name Trixie makes me think of a cartoon rabbit selling kids" breakfast cereal!

[@anonb4632]

They are both Celtic names. Isolde was Irish (Yseult) and Tristan was Cornish (Drostan). Wagner wrongly refers to Tristan as living in England. The old Cornish, at least in Tristan's day, wouldn't have considered Cornwall to be English.

[@daleburrell6273]

...there's a newspaper comic strip in the U.S.: "Hi and Lois"- one of the characters is a baby girl named "Trixi".

[@51tomtomtom]

non in Britain, but Ireland !

[@blatherskite9601]

Mercedes is a girl's name...

[@LeifNelandDk]

The car is named after the girl.

[@anonb4632]

@@LeifNelandDk I know. It still sounds funny since the car is better known. I think Mercedes is originally a Spanish name. Porsche is originally a girl's name too (Portia in English).

[@daleburrell6273]

...YOU BETCHER LIFESAVERS!!

[@chrisrudolf9839]

@@anonb4632 Porsche derives from the company owner's surname, I'm not sure that this is actually related to the English name Portia. I definitely never heard Porsche used as a German first name.

[@Markle2k]

There is a fairly well known (Academy Award winner) American actress named Mercedes Ruehl. As with Elke, and Wolfgang, Americans are pretty familiar with it. And, if you paid attention in English literature class, Isolde (of Tristan and... fame).

[@Robwolf28]

In Old English Jorg would be Eorg see Jorthen is Eorthan there was no J in Old English and see like Asbjornr would be spelled Osbeorn. The modern English J sounds like a G sound instead of a Y sound. See in Old Norse the letter for g is the same for, k, though the name Jorgen would be Eorgen. Well seeing Jarl is spelled Earl in English also.

[@timmmahhhh]

There was an actress named Elke Sommer, and in German American pronunciation people pronounced it ELK-ee.

[@51tomtomtom]

american actress ??????

[@timmmahhhh]

@@51tomtomtom ah I see she was in fact German. I knew nothing about her just that she was on American game show in the 70's, Match Game I think. I stand corrected, thank you.

[@chiefenumclaw7960]

This was excellent. Love your sense of humor, you always make me smile.

[@STUBENTELEVISION]

Kai-Uwe & Karl-Heinz are the funniest German names. 🤪

[@mountainhobo]

To soccer fans that second name is rather easy (Bayern -- I will leave the rest to the reader).

[@daleburrell6273]

...that's bad- because Germans have no sense of humor!!

[@michaelburke750]

mountainhobo Rummenigge Rummenigge Heu Heu Heu!

[@daleburrell6273]

@@michaelburke750 ...you're clear as MUD-!!!

[@daleburrell6273]

@@mountainhobo ...that's over MY head-!!!

[@gustavmeyrink_2.0]

Well Elke Sommer appeared in a number of British and US movies. The pronounce it 'Elkie'. Isolde is fairly well known in Britain. It goes back to the story of Tristan & Isolde which is part of the Arthurian legends describing the love affair between Tristan and an Irish princess but the original spelling is Iseult.

[@kalulu1675]

Yes, my family also had a dog named Elke who was a border collie. We called her "Elkie" even though we knew it was different from German pronunciation.

[@peterkoller3761]

I used to travel the UK with a girl named Sigrid. She always got dazzled looks when she introduced herself "My name is Sigrid". those Brits probably wondered why the heck she didn´t want to tell her name?

[@theblackbear211]

I laughed when you tried to imagine what a "Wall Trout" might be - because we do have fishermen who have their "prize winning" catches mounted on plaques on the wall. If I google "Wall mounted trout" there are lots of pictures. LOL

[@scottfw7169]

Speaking of Rainhard, here in our state Missouri, "High-intensity precipitation characterizes all regions of Missouri. The town of Holt in northwestern Missouri holds the world record for a high-intensity rain, having received 12 inches within a 42-minute period on June 22, 1947." Source: Climate of Missouri, Wayne L. Decker, Professor Emeritus, University of Missouri

[@scottfw7169]

Haven't had people struggle with my name, but, have had them struggle with name of one of my cats, Grumman, who was named after the aircraft company known for their Navy fighters, their flying boat aircraft, the Apollo lunar module, and a series of aluminum canoes. Most frequent mispronunciation is "Grew-man".

[@LythaWausW]

My husband's name is Joerg and he has trouble in America when he introduces himself, without any visual clues Americans inevitably think he's saying the word "yuk." "What? Your name is yuk? Really? Yuk?" Names we giggle about in our house: Judith (You did?) and Edith (Ate it?). The older people are, the cooler their names sound.

[@PortCharmers]

This reminds of the time when I did a fish-ecology research project, and rather than going the unimaginative route and referring to them as Fish 1 through to Fish 3, I named them Gertraud, Waltraud and Edeltraud.

[@hoathanatos6179]

Well Traud means strength so the names could be translated as something like strong spear/warrior the strong slain/fallen in combat, and the strong noble.

[@scottfw7169]

First thing Hella brings to my mind are Revell Germany model kit instructions where hellblau paint is called for. Right after that is Hellenic & Hellas for Greek & Greece.

[@friedrichwilhelmvonsteuben7952]

I've heard the names Elke and Isolde in the US. And they were pronounced correctly. Elke was a girl from Wisconsin and Isolde was an English professor's daughter.

[@AlryFireBlade]

Wolfgang ist ja bereits im deutschen eigentlich seltsam, wenn man ihn auseinandern nimmt. Wolf gang, der gang eines Wolfes :D Oh stimmt das geht auch xD

[@DogWalkerBill]

So, Tristan and Isolde. Famous opera.

[@stevebartley8594]

Your youth is showing - Elke was the first name of a popular actress in the ‘60s and ‘70s - Elke Sommer. It was properly pronounced

[@keithtrotman7610]

Luv your channel Trixie! You're definitely a trip!

[@Cadfael007]

When you drive the Autobahn A40 towards the Netherlands, you will find a sign (Abfahrt) saying "Wankum". By the way - it's a wonderful small town.

[@ogrejehosephatt37]

"Waltraut" makes me think of a creature that's half trout and half walrus.

[@sergeantgin4523]

Die rote Perrücke hat mich fertig gemacht. Danke für den guten start in den Tag ^^

[@monamona9171]

I like ancient German names like Gertrude, Elfrida, Valburge, etc.

[@SaoGage]

Don't forget Slagathor.

[@barbarasunday3514]

My father's name was Hans, which seems pretty easy, but over here in the US people were always caling him "Hands" or "Hunts" and our family name was Kroschke which people sometimes called "Crotch-key" Think of the two together..."Hands Crotch-key," Glad he had a sense of humor!

[@HalfEye79]

I have heard something, somebody told me: He was on a cruise-liner with a friend and the person, they talked with (official) struggled with the name of the friend and guessed "Joken". (His name was "Jochen".)

[@Cassxowary]

Half Eye nickname rather but anyway

[@HalfEye79]

@@Cassxowary Jochen is a real name in Germany.

[@rolfpitsch5002]

My last name Pitsch Americans have trouble pronouncing because of the "s". If I speak it they naturally spell it " PItch". I was born in Mageburg, Deutschland during WWII. My middle name is " Siegfried" which was my father's first name. You may also know where Wolmirstedt is. It is the town lived in before going to Hamburg. When people see my middle initial "S", they want to know what it stands for. I tell them it stands for the line that the Battle of the Bulge was fought around!

[@Cassxowary]

Rolf Pitsch Rolf ist toll auch!

[@yigao8829]

I’m a Chinese guy,When I was studying in Spain about 2 years ago, I was watching this channel to learn German , I was planning to study in Germany but I didn’t.. after two years I’m staying in China , One day I got up and opened this channel it recalls my old memories, oh I was listening this channel before i sleep 😀I hope everyone is being good in the world and I’m look forward to seeing your new video ms rabbit 🤠加油

[@momanslm6289]

I tell people my name and too often I am called Dave... my name is not even close to Dave. So either I don't know how to say my name or I am trying too hard causing people to misunderstand.

[@SteveLarsenStuff]

In my high school German Textbook in the 90s ("Wir, die Jugend"), it had the name Wiebke in it as a girl's name. My German teacher said there was ALWAYS one kid in his German I classes that would ask, "What's a 'Wiebke?'" after unsuccessfully trying to find it in the dictionary. Good times!

[@hoathanatos6179]

Wiebke is a Low German name that is a diminutive from of the name Wigborg(a) lit. War Helper.

[@51tomtomtom]

Wiebke is north-german/dutch form of Wigberta etc. Wigburg

[@scottfw7169]

Ah, I'd been pronouncing Elke as Ell-key; a pronunciation which may or may not have been influenced by my Mom's name being Ellie.

[@bobfognozzle]

Ein monat hast gepasst...und wo ist Frau Trixie?

[@malataur]

Hi Trixi! It's been a few months. Hope you're well. Bye for now!

[@markseare9274]

I have an German ancestor named Adelgunda Dietzel. She's my great-great-great grandma.

[@MrHodoAstartes]

Now THAT is an oldschool name. Probably named after the Catholic saint who founded the abbey of Maubeuge in the 7th century.

[@eagle1de227]

Die Gundi! Süüß!

[@hoathanatos6179]

Adelgunda would mean noble battle and sounds very archaic.

[@shanetrevyllian2950]

Apparently the English form of Elke is Elkie, which I guess explains why Elkie Chong from CLC is so named, but then again, I also went to scouts with an English girl named Elke, so I don't know for sure. If you ask me, both names sound very unique to me, as a British person, but maybe they're popular in other English-speaking countries. Also, I didn't make the elk connection, until you said it, and now I'm trying so hard to unhear, but I just can't...

[@curtite]

I have had dogs but my father's dog Dieter (Diettrich von Herz) was my favorite dog, so loyal and.... I ordered a dieter sandwich in a restaurant. Everyone was confused how a pronounced this except for a Baltic beauty she corrected me. I was so embarrassed with with the whole table laughing

[@Midnight.Creepypastas]

3:17 There is a book series written by the German Wolfgang Hohlbein called „Wolf-Gäng“ („Gäng“ is pronounced as the English „gang“). I guess he was making fun of his own name when he wrote that.^^ There even is a movie.

[@acefox1]

I have a friend from high school named Elke and she pronounced it as “El-Key.” I think it has to do with the actress Elke Sommer as the Hollywood pronunciation of her name is “El-Key.” Great videos! You are awesome 👏

[@erictaylor5462]

When I was in high school a West German flew his Cessna to Moscow and landed in Red Square. His name was Mathian Rust. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathias_Rust

[@krissp8712]

Reinhardt? Don't worry my friends, I will be your shield!

[@cixelsyd40]

I have a German friend named Knut

[@firemaximus17]

Trixie, I named my new car after you as it's german! Love you and your videos!

[@bobfognozzle]

Trixie...U OK??

[@CaptainBakerJason]

Fun Trixi. In my experience, in America most often Elke was pronounced as El-Key far more than other ways. This was probably due to that being the common Americanized pronunciation for Elke that included some celebrity singers & actresses in the ‘60s. Definitely you could succeed with a sequel! Although I’m curious about how German speakers might pronounce Latin American or Asian names to n ways that might be funny to the ears of English speakers too?! 👍🏻💪🏻

[@nobodysgirl7972]

I was quite astonished eben you put Wolfgang in the granddad section for my dad ist called Wolfgang, but then I remerred he will turn 60 this year, so granddad age. Just forgot how old he is and how "old" I am. Thanks for reminding me 😉

[@timschulze4162]

I also thought exactly the same! For me Wolfgang is not that old but actually all Wolfgangs I know are old enough to be granddads😅

[@blatherskite9601]

I knew a Bent-Aksel once... and work with a Hans-Willi.

[@GeorgeWulfers_88]

This was super entertaining. Thank you! :)

[@DogWalkerBill]

I thought 'Rainhard' was more commonly spelled 'Reinhardt.' (Especially about 75 or 100 years ago.) WOW! That red wig and your blue eyes are FANTASTIC together! (Try wearing it for what's his name.)

[@nicholascauton9648]

To be fair, wolves are pretty much gangsters in the wild with their pack mentality. They see their dinner, they're gonna jump on their prey using strength in numbers. And yes, I do mean "jump" in both the literal and metaphorical sense simultaneously.

[@vulvegang]

when i saw the title of the video, i immediately knew my name would be on the list

[@Ivy3h]

All the people living in my grandparents’ village seem to have very “German” names. There’s Dörte, Birge, Wiebke, Imke, Marin, Petra, Helga, Jens, Jörgen, Jakob, Willi... and a guy everyone calls Schnecke (snail) and idek his real name

[@51tomtomtom]

not just, they're very North-German , unusual in other areas......besides out of "fashion"

[@Ivy3h]

@@51tomtomtom yup, it is in northern Germany and these are all older people

[@gabosampallosaez5296]

Guten Morgeeen! I felt confused for a moment bc today's obviously not Sunday! haha 🤪❤

[@Ozzy_2014]

Follow Trixie on Instagram and you won't be.

[@richardholmquist7316]

Ever since lockdown Trixi's forgetting the days of the week...)

[@frerichs191]

My great grand father came to the US from Germany in the early 1900’s. His name was Gerhard Frerichs, although Germans would pronounce it GARE-HEART, I assume he took a much more American pronunciation because of the world wars and went by Garrett.

[@snow2268]

Oh that's interesting. I saw many Americanised German names. For example König -> Koanish.

[@chrisrudolf9839]

Many Americans of German origin either americanised their names by renaming themselves to the English equivalents of their names or by changing the spelling (especially the spelling of their surnames) to something that would be easy to pronounce in English and would sound similar to the German pronunciation of their original name, for example the name Snyder (from German Schneider = Taylor) or Flysher (from German Fleischer = Butcher)

[@chrisrudolf9839]

Another fun one is the north German name Veit (or Veith), which is pronounced exactly like fight. There is a moderator on the German radio station SWR1 named Veit Berthold who makes a running joke out of this by playing a game in his weekly 80ties show in which listeners have to guess songs that contain "his name" only by listening to the snippet that contains the word fight (and a few seconds more if no one gets it in the first round).

[@randyherbrechtsmeier4796]

My Boss is a Englishman He Always Embarrassed when He Says My First Name. Randy?!!!!

[@pierreabbat6157]

"Reign hard" makes me think of Rehoboam. "Qaṭani `avah mimatteney avi." When you said Isolde, I thought of Tristan.

[@catulusinferni8612]

No wonder, because it should be named Tristand and Isolde and Isolde and Isolde and it wasn't even finnished... Maybe he would have met some more Isoldes in the end.

[@beluch2768]

Hi Trixi. I think this was your last video, back in July. I hope you are doing well under the circumstances. Alle haben es schwer, mit dieser Seuche umzugehen. Hoffentlich bist du davon nicht niedergeschlagen und wirst in der Zukunft deinen Witz, deine Kreativitaet und deine Schoenheit mit uns wieder teilen. Du bist super, Trixi. Alles Gute!!!

[@Mrbrbusby]

There was an Austrian film released on US in 2010 called das WeiB Band (the white ribbon). The film was about a gang of children raising hell in a small Northern German town circa 1914. All of the children had weird German names.

[@Cassxowary]

Mrbrbusby .busby it’s a beautiful film too!

[@DogWalkerBill]

Is 'Hella' derived from the Norse goddess of the dead (and north) 'Hel'?

[@hoathanatos6179]

No. Hella means bright or shining/beautiful one.

[@kathyoneill4011]

I remember an American co-worker puzzling herself about the German name Helmut. She said: "Why would anyone like to be called a helmet???" Funny

[@nashthebaker9338]

I've had numerous people pronounce my last name as "Span Bower."

[@gustavmeyrink_2.0]

2:30 I'd assume most would think of the English singer Elkie Brooks. And then there was of course an english post-punk band called The Wolfgang Press.

[@gustavmeyrink_2.0]

And of course for those of an elder persuasion there is Elke Sommer who had a spread in Playboy a couple of months before I was born!

[@lazyperfectionist1]

This theme is _kind of_ explored in the movie _Little Man Tate._ It's a character-driven story about a kid named Fred Tate, named by a woman who deliberately named him "Frederick," just because it struck her as a name that everyone knew, but no one in his generation had. It was a grown _man's_ name. Goodness. It's been so long since I've seen it.

[@gantmj]

Whenever a name ends in "berg" it sounds funny to us, we hear it as "Jew".

[@juanfran579]

Berg and jew have nothing in common phonetically. Strange.

[@jhdix6731]

My US colleagues always had a hard time pronouncing my first name (Jens). But it didn't sound as funny to them as the name of a turkish colleague, which was Ufuk....

[@TechieTard]

I met a guy named Haribald, I thought he was Hella harry. He rolled with the Wolfgang, Isolde them a motorcycle once. Ba dum pish...Is this thing on, I'll be here all week.

[@peterkoller3761]

a fellow student´s last name was (probably still is) Wanker. when he told me that he intended to spend a year in the USA in order to improve his English, I just did not have the heart to tell him. but I am sure he found out pretty soon once he got there.

[@Cassxowary]

peter koller you could’ve saved him the trouble... also, because of everything else obviously wrong with your country...

[@peterkoller3761]

@@Cassxowaryso what do you think is wrong with Austria?

[@hime1248]

Had to think of a german place called 'Wolfskull' which is supposed to be pronounced ' Wolfs Kull' but english pronunciation makes it sound much more badass hehe

[@UnfilteredMedic]

Fun fact: Almost every culture has had an alcoholic beverage at some point and many names and labels arose from getting drunk.

[@LPneptun]

My little contribution: „Kai“ like in „k thx bye“ xD

[@pachidermo]

The restaurant I used to waiter at, there was a group of German speakers who'd come every Tuesday evening, drink prodigious amounts of beer and speak German, kind of as a way of practicing and keeping their skills alive. The head of the group was named Wolfgang. We referred to them as The Wolf Gang. We obviously were a very mature, very witty team of waiters and waitresses.

[@bloodeasy4295]

Das Bier wird uns in die Wiege gelegt 😁

[@stellalpina]

As I worked in Germany I had a colleague named Anka, which is pronounced exactly like the Italian word for "haunch", I thought it was so weird for a name...! 🙃

[@Rathnite]

My mother was born in Germany, and her first name is Gerlinde. Americans usually say "Geraldine".

[@51tomtomtom]

Ger means in all germanic languages Speer, lind = friendly

[@TrangleC]

I might have mentioned it before in a comment to another video, but luckily I'm a forgettable guy. I have a Serbo-Croatian middle-name which amuses English speakers too: Duschan I don't speak the language, but I was told it means "Soul" or "Spirit" or something like that and has nothing to do with hygiene utensils or character traits. hehe

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

My sister had a bf, who's surname is Poland... He ain't Polish. Knew a girl in our YA group (shoulda asked her out) who's maiden name was Holland, and she wasn't Dutch.

[@JLSPFOC]

lol.. my mom has a cousin named Traute.. my mom's name is Ute.. we live in Canada and everyone just calls her OOO-TEE.. haha..

[@allenho2778]

Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner.

[@treyokelly3520]

Hit me with that Wall Trout merch right now

[@NikiPendragon]

The son of my sister has a bike from the company Puky. But my sister removed the label cos her Canadian friend thought it had something to do with the word to puke 😂

[@bbj82662]

I started watching your videos a few weeks ago and continue to watch them every day. Do you have a theater background?

[@kiiroshidori4296]

My maternal uncle is named Jörg, my paternal aunt is called Elke. Other great names in my family include: Willhelm, Rosmarie, Jürgen Reinhard, Helmut, Dagmar and Heike. Dagmar and Heike are female names for anyone who’s confused.

[@karabearcomics]

I say a good one is Hedwig. In English, it can sound like "head wig", which could make somebody respond, "Yes, a wig does generally go on the head."

[@Fritz357]

idk y, but i always found the name Heidi funny. Also words like poodle and stewie.

[@51tomtomtom]

Heidi is not a name, it is a short form of old-germanic "Hedwig"

[@Fritz357]

@@51tomtomtom oh i didn't know that

[@mickboss886]

Den Wolf als Sticker wehre richtig geil

[@markseare9274]

Your Elke letter made me laugh. I can't find it, but I think I already made a comment on this video. I have a gr...gr...gr...gr...great grandma named Adelgunda. I love that name!