Why are there so MANY Different names for Germany?

Allemania, Niemcy, Vokietija, Tedesco, Tyskland, Germany, Deutschland…. Why are there so many different names for Germany? And these aren’t just names that are a translation of the word Deutschland; they are very different words with different etymologies (starting place of a word). Even the word Deutschland is relatively recent. The answer has a lot to do with Germany’s location. Sitting smack in the middle of Europe, Germany ends up being the crossroads for many groups throughout history. The borders changed repeatedly, expanding, getting pushed back, and then expanding again. Additionally, the tribes that occupied the land a few thousand years ago all had different names.

So, why do the people of Finland call Deutschland Saksa? Let me explain:

(note- I will use the names Germany and Deutschland to keep things simple.)

Why are there SO MANY different names for Germany?

This week I learned two new words.

Exonym– “outside name”, a name used by foreigners for a place
Endonym– “inside name”, or a name that people give to their place

Technically, Germany / Deutschland didn’t exist before 1871, when the States came together to form the first German Empire. This isn’t very clear, so let me explain. Before this, the states were princedoms or bishoprics under the Holy Roman Empire. Instead of identifying Germany as a specific PLACE with set borders, Germany referred to German-speaking people all over central Europe. People identified as Hanseatic league members, Hessians, Prussians, Bavarians, or members of another principality. (This helps explain why the Hessian mercenaries who fought with the British during the American Revolution were called Hessian and not German. Does that make sense?) To add to the confusion, one of the many titles for the Holy Roman Emperor was “King of Germany,” most likely a name leftover from the Romans who referred to the people as Germanii.

Before the Holy Roman Empire, various Tribes occupied the land, and THAT explains many of the names for Germany. The exonym, a name people use, tends to be related to the relationship that the other people had with Germany. The names aren’t translations; they are specific names given to the place by other people. Confused? Think of it this way. To many people, I’m Karen. In Germany, I’m often called Karin.  To my kids, I’m “mom.” To my neighbor, I’m the lady with the brown and white doggie. To the man at the bank, I’m Ms. L. Does that make sense? Same person, me, just different relationships, and therefore, different names. But in the case of countries, they stick and, after a few years,  become the permanent label.

For an example of simple translated names, look no further than the United States, which translates directly from German to the Vereinigte Staaten.

Old Tribes leave Modern Names

The name Germany dates back to Julius Caesar, who in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico, a write up of the Gallic wars 58-50BCE, labeled the four different tribes encountered along the north-east of as Germanus.  In 98 AD, Tacitus set the name in stone when he published his famous work De origine et situ Germanorum, aka. On the Origin and Situation of the Germans. (Tacitus did all of us a favor with his ethnographic work because it gives us a close look at our early ancestors. Everything from laws to diet.) How did the Romans come up with the name Germani? They learned it from the Gauls (the people living in what is now modern day France). The original meaning? Most likely “men of the Forest” or (my personal favorite) “neighbor.”

(I can just see it: the Romans point at the tribes on the other side of the Limes and ask…” who are those guys?” and the Gauls answer, “Our neighbors.”…Romans, “ok, we will call them Germani/neighbor then.” A similar linguistic goof comes up in England where the River Avon means River River. The people obviously never referred to themselves as Germanii. Why would they call themselves “neighbors”? I imagine they wondered who the Romans were talking about.)

Interestingly, the people of Gaul used a different name. Along the southern border that divided Gaul from modern Germany (the Alsace and Switzerland) lived a tribe known as the Allemani. To this day, the French call it Deutschland Allemagne. Spain and Portugal use the very similar Alemania. In a twist of fate, the Franks, a Germanic tribe, ended up in the land that became modern France. By the 600s, they had been absorbed by the Romans, and their name changed to France. The Ancient Greeks even called Germans Frángoi in reference to the Franks. Interestingly, England used Allemagne until the 1520s, then they Anglicized the name to Germany and later sent that name to the New World.

The Saxon tribe passed their name to the north, which explains why Finland and Estonia still call Germany Saksa and Saksamaa. (I wonder now if they called the pre-1066 dwellers of England Saksa as well.)

Quick aside: Speaking of northern German tribes, the Teutons got their name from the Romans, who lumped them in with the rest of the German tribes after the Cimbrian War in 2 BCE. Historical evidence suggests they weren’t part of the German tribes; they had just lived there for a while. (Some believe they were Celts, but since Celts didn’t leave written information, we need a time machine to work this out). The word Teutonic comes from the proto-Indo-European meaning “people” or “tribe.” Sometime around the 9th century, a monk used the word to describe the Germanic Language, and it stuck. Today, many associate Teutonic with Germany, but that, as they say, is another story.

Origins of other Names for Germany

Still, not all name origins are traceable to tribes, my favorite names are apparently the result of misunderstandings….

The proto-Slavic name Nemetes, meaning meaning “silent ones” or “hard to understand”, turns up in a few places.  In the East, Poland still uses the name Niemcy, “not understandable” a name they got from the early Slavic tribes who bumped against the Germanii. While the Czech Republic calls Germany, Německo.

Interestingly, the Silesians, who for a while were PART of Germany, called the land, Ńymcy.  Another meaning for the word is “those who don’t speak like us”… (making me wonder if their first encounter was with someone using a strong Bamberg dialekt) But Silesians also used the word Prusacy, which would refer to Prussians. Seems they were open to change. (And now, Silesia is part of Poland).

Lithuanians refer to Germans as Vokietija, possibly from the word Volk? meaning “people”?

The Native North American tribes use the concept of adopting names based on attributes, so Germany received the name  Béésh Bich’ahii Bikéyah which roughly translates to “Metal Cap-wearer Land”. And the Plains Cree clearly dealt with the same issues that the Slavs did when they named Germans mâyakwêsinâhk, meaning “Speakers of a strange Language”.
Interestingly, the ASL (American Sign Language) sign for Germany is similar to the Navajo..>

Where Did Deutschland Come From

All these names for Germany leave us with an obvious question: What about Deutschland? Where and when did that name appear?

Around the 8th century, people in the area started referring to their language as duits disk. In old High German, the word diutisk (or diutisc) means “of or pertaining to the people or the tribe”. They called themselves the “Diutisk,” which, when you modernize it a bit, comes out sounding like “Deutsch,” so Deutsch means “people or tribe,” and Land means, well, land. Put it all together, and you end up with “people of the land, ” Which, in my opinion, might be the most perfectly German descriptive name.

Fortunately, a few other countries picked up on that. In the low countries, Belgium and the Netherlands, they still use Duitsland. Deutschland twists a bit in Sweden and Denmark and comes out Tyskland.

For a complete list of the many, MANY names for Germany, check the Wikipedia page here

Germany Today

In 1871, Otto von Bismarck united the many German-speaking principalities, free cities, duchies, and bishoprics under one umbrella to form one German Empire / Deutsches Reich. Over the next 150 years, the borders expanded to include overseas colonies, then shrunk again due to War. The Second World War and its aftermath changed the borders dramatically again. Finally, in 1990, East and West Germany reunited to form the country’s current borders.

Call it Germany, call it Niemcy, or even call it Allemagne. In Germany, they call their country Deutschland.