Germans Explain Their Names | Easy German 598

What's your name? My name is Janusz. And what's your name? My name is Kari. And what's your name? Write it in the comments. We're going to ask people what their names are. Let's go! What's your name? Juli. And what kind of name is that? Where does it come from? Does it come from a month? No, it's an abbreviation. What's your name? My name is Alina. And where does the name come from? I think it's from French. What's your name? I'm Sophie. Mona. Dennis. Hi, I'm Tristan. I'm Lili. Lili? Lili, yes. Karsten. Karsten is a well-known German name, isn't it? Yes, definitely a Nordic name. My name is Annika. Annika. Is Annika a popular name in Germany? I would say so. Relatively popular in the 90s. Not so popular now. What's your name? Pina. Pina? Yes. How nice. Where does this name come from? I think from Italy, but I'm not sure. And the Pina, that's not an abbreviation? It's an abbreviation of Josephina. I'm Josephina. And what's your name? I'm Katharina. My name is Chris. And what does Chris mean? That's the guardian angel of the driver. My name is Mimai. And tell me something about your name. First slowly. Mimai. Where does this name come from? My father is Vietnamese, my mother is German, and those are actually two Vietnamese names, and my parents put them together. Mimai. Yes. It's beautiful, isn't it? Yes. And what's your name? Ben. And Ben sounds a bit American. But you're German, aren't you? Almost, yes. And what does almost mean? I'm still French. What's your name? My name is Nika. Nika? Yes, exactly. And you're from Russia, I've heard. Is Nika a Russian name? Nika is originally a Greek name, What's your name? Melina. And what's your name? My name is Sandra. And what does Melina mean? Where does this name come from? To be honest, I haven't really looked it up, but I think something Greek. I'm not quite sure. And Deniz, where does this name come from? It actually comes from Turkish. From Turkish, and what does it mean? Ocean, so sea. Ocean, wow. And does the name Anika have any meaning? Where does it come from? What's the etymology of the name? I think the name comes from Swedish and means something like God's grace. But I don't think I'm 100% sure. Something we all need, God's grace. I think Katharina means the Great or the Pure, but I'm not sure. So you've never really looked it up. What does my name actually mean? The one given by God. Josefina? Yes? Yes. Wow. And what did your parents think when they gave you this name? I was supposed to be a boy and be called Julian. Ah. And how do you know that? Did they tell you? Exactly. And weren't you a bit angry? No. Okay. You said it even better. Yes. I'm a woman. Why did your parents call you Sophie? Actually, I was supposed to be called Lea. That's a nice name, too. It's a nice name, too. But my dad read the book Sophie's World shortly before his birth and that's how they came up with Sophie. They called me after a dancer called Pina Bausch. I don't know if you know her. I don't know her, but she sounds very nice. Why did your parents call you Chris? They thought the name was nice. It's a short name because I have a second name and then it has to be as short as possible. What's your second name? Matthias. My parents are... My mother is British and my father is Spanish. Wow. And why do you speak such great German? I was born and raised in Germany. Lily is quite common in England. I think it's one of the oldest flowers. I think roses and lilies are the first flowers. If I'm not mistaken. At least that's what they told me. It was my parents' inspiration. What did your parents think when they called you Ben? Because my family is from France and Germany and also from America we needed a name that... that fits everywhere. Exactly, that you can pronounce. My mother always liked the name Mai. That's why she wanted it to be something with Mai. And my father wanted it to have a mime in it because my older sister's name is Mina. So that it fits together. They wanted a name that goes both in German and in Turkish. But are your parents Turkish? My father yes, my mother not. How nice. And do you speak Turkish? Yes. Turkish? Yes. Learning German through conversations. Step by step. You can do that if you watch these videos. But the next step would be to speak for yourself. And if you're looking for a partner for that, why don't you try working with a personal tutor or a tutor? italki is our partner and has a huge platform with offers. There are over 600 people there who offer their help, namely to learn German. You can book a trial lesson and look for someone you like to work with. This person can then give you individual feedback and support you on your way to learning German. Try it out. You'll even get a special gift with our link, because after your first hour at italki, you'll get $10 italki credits. Would you like another name? No, not really. And if yes, then? My partner's name is Kiki and that's my second name. And I think that's pretty nice, so Kiki. But is Kiki a shortening of a name? Kirsten. Oh, Kirsten. I don't think that's as nice as Kiki. Yes, Kiki is really nice. I think, for example, the old German name Fanny is nice. What? Fran? Fanny. Fanny? Yes. I think it's pretty nice. It's also a relatively old female name, but I think it's nice. That's a good question. Johanna or something? Johanna. Something like that. And you? James. James is nice. It's very English, isn't it? Yes, James is English, yes. As a child I always wanted to be called Kimberly. Where does that name come from? Isn't that from a Disney movie? Maybe. Some kind of fairy tale name. I later had a girlfriend who was called Kimberly, and I thought that was really cool. I actually think Emilia is nice, but I'm quite satisfied with my name. It could be worse, yes. I actually don't know what other first name I would choose, but if I had to choose one, maybe something that isn't so common, or a university name or something, I like more. I always think it's a shame when you know people, and you go to school together, and there are three people in the same class, which is fine, but I think it's nice when you have your own thing, because it's your own name. I know that I should have been called Vanessa. Ah, Vanessa. But the cat from the house was called Vanessa, and then my dad said, my daughter isn't called like the cat from the house. That's so interesting. My son is called Manuel, but I wanted him to be called Emanuel, like Emanuel Kant. But his mother said, he can't have a name like that, so she called him Manuel. But you get so used to names, I can't even imagine what he could have been called differently. Did you have a nickname when you were young? I always liked to hear Tristi, from my parents, my uncle and my dad. I like the name Tristi now. My friends call me Trissi, and I had one in the kindergarten, she always called me Trischi, like Berliner. Trischi, come here. I had classmates in the 8th and 7th grade, they always called me Sunny Baby. Sunny Baby. I didn't like that, but looking back, it's funny. I think Melinski, or Meli. Where did this Melinski come from? I think from my Polish ex-boyfriend. He works a lot with Ski, and I thought he was funny. My last name is Hamerski. Sounds like a nickname if you want. Did you have a nickname as a teenager? No, Lili is so short and short, that it always stayed with Lili. Sometimes Lils, if my friends want to be funny, but that's not a nickname. Where I was was a bit obvious. I grew up in Munich, I was called Juli, Jule. Jule, yes, that's nice. Then I lived in England for a long time, I was called Juju. And here in Berlin, I imagined myself as Juli, because it was easy. Is there a way to reduce the name? It's called like that, they called it Kashi. Kashi. But my niece called me Kaken. Kaken? Kaken. She couldn't pronounce it right. I have one nickname, Mimo, but I'm called by most people with my full name. There are rarely people who call me Mimo. I have a girlfriend who likes to call me Mimi, but I don't like that. Mimi. Mimi is beautiful. My mom calls me Nikusitschka. Nikusitschka. I think that's really nice. I also like to be called by my father's name. In Russian there is also a father's name. My full name would be Nika Viktorovna. Very nice. Nika, the victorious Nika. Yes, that's how I wanted to be called. I worked as a teacher in Russia, and that's how you call a teacher with a father's name. I like it with a father's name. I would be called Janusz Konradowicz. Janusz Konradowicz. Konrad is my name. Tim Frankowicz. Try to remember any story that has to do with you having problems or having advantages or there was a misunderstanding or anything with your name. Ah, yes, you can see that I'm black. And when I pronounce my full name, I don't want to say my last name, but many people think that I'm just a classic German white person and are often surprised when they see me. Sandra. Exactly, with Sandra they are often surprised. I once had a story where a neighbor rang the doorbell and she didn't know me yet and just saw my last name on the doorbell sign and told me that she didn't expect an exotic person. I have a big circle of friends who are Turkish and your name is Ben in Turkish. I always felt like I was addressed as Ben, but I was never meant to be. Ben, yes, yes. Is that your name too? I always thought it was Ben. Ben is me. Ben or me. That's why I always wondered what it would be like if I introduced myself with my name. Ben, what's your name? Yes, exactly, so to speak. Now it's your turn. We look forward to your comments. Write down what your name is and where this name comes from. I look forward to all the stories. And I'm looking forward to the next video again. 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