Germen 'Von' usage
- Thread starter joycem10
- Start date
Verbose
Deity
I thought he did that to spite his insanely left-wing hippie parents?mrtn said:
joycem10
Deity
Doc Tsiolkovski said:like your name is Hitler (in which case it *must* be changed)
Is that legit or a joke? Did the German goverment really force those with the last name "Hitler" to change thier family name?
Reno
The Studio Ghibli Fanatic
joycem10 said:
No, but if you are a German (or a part German, i seriously doubt that you would want to have Hitler as your first or last name
)And the German usage of "Von" has decreased a lot from the times of the Kaizer, and that's in part a good thing. Too bad though that we (Germans) don't have a king/kaizer anymore. (in name only like the british) But what's past is past.
one thing you should note:
there are no aristocratic titles anymore in Germany, contrary to what was posted earlier.
But, the von has become part of the last name.
So many people chose to cut it, while others kept it. That's why there are so few vons today. I know a girl named Manstein - her grandparents chose,a fter the war, to drop the von.... otherwise her last name would be 'von Manstein'. The same, btw, is true of the Herzog (Duke) etc. There's this guy who has the last name 'Herzog von Württemberg-Hohenzollern'.
there are no aristocratic titles anymore in Germany, contrary to what was posted earlier.
But, the von has become part of the last name.
So many people chose to cut it, while others kept it. That's why there are so few vons today. I know a girl named Manstein - her grandparents chose,a fter the war, to drop the von.... otherwise her last name would be 'von Manstein'. The same, btw, is true of the Herzog (Duke) etc. There's this guy who has the last name 'Herzog von Württemberg-Hohenzollern'.
Reno
The Studio Ghibli Fanatic
Do you think that i don't know that?
Doc Tsiolkovski
Deity
Yes, should have been more clear - there is no 'aristocracy' in Germany anymore. Still, you cannot choose such a title as part of your new name. If at all you manage to convince the authorities to allow a name-change. You do a need a psychological reference that you suffer from your current one...
The name 'Hitler': It is frequently spread around that the name 'Hitler' is not allowed in Germany. AFAIK, at least the US authorities after the war 'persuaded' all Germans with that name to better change it. And Hitler's family for example did it (his brother lifed in Hamburg until ~1950). Hitler's sister in Austria kept the name, btw. She was a pretty simple mind, and talked pretty nicely about her brother until she died...
Today, some Hitlers do life in Germany. You won't find them in telephone books, of course. Still, you won't be allowed to change your name into 'Hitler'.
The name 'Hitler': It is frequently spread around that the name 'Hitler' is not allowed in Germany. AFAIK, at least the US authorities after the war 'persuaded' all Germans with that name to better change it. And Hitler's family for example did it (his brother lifed in Hamburg until ~1950). Hitler's sister in Austria kept the name, btw. She was a pretty simple mind, and talked pretty nicely about her brother until she died...
Today, some Hitlers do life in Germany. You won't find them in telephone books, of course. Still, you won't be allowed to change your name into 'Hitler'.
The Last Conformist
Irresistibly Attractive
I always found 'zu' nicer than 'von'.
Of course, nothing beats 'von und zu'.
Of course, nothing beats 'von und zu'.
Mario Feldberg
Emperor
I've always wanted a "von X" style surname.. I like the idea of being an aristocrat very much...
One of my past girlfriends was "a von" sadly we didn't marry
Some English lord tried to marry my mother but she rejected him. At least I could have been a "Sir"
Screw the unwashed masses!
One of my past girlfriends was "a von" sadly we didn't marry
Some English lord tried to marry my mother but she rejected him. At least I could have been a "Sir"
Screw the unwashed masses!
Masquerouge
Deity
To broaden the view on aristocratic particles, the German von can be matched by the French de, like in de Gaulle (you don't capitalize a de)
The tricky part is that some aristocratic names have no de, and a lot of names with a de are not aristocratic...
in France there is still an aristocracy, but it has no meaning outside belonging to a certain kind of elite. The current pretender to the French throne should monarchy come back
is the Comte de Paris.
and in the Netherlands and Belgium, you get a lot of 'van XXXX' names, like mine, but this has no aristocratic bearing whatsoever. Unless you want to show off and impress poorly educated girls, of course
Just look at any dutch football team and you'll get an idea of how popular van XXXXX is
EDIT : let's take the Euro 2004 team for instance :
1 Edwin VAN DER SAR GK
2 Michael REIZIGER DF
3 Jaap STAM DF
4 Wilfred BOUMA DF
5 Giovanni VAN BRONCKHORST DF
6 Phillip COCU MD
7 Andy VAN DER MEYDE FW
8 Edgar DAVIDS MD
9 Patrick KLUIVERT FW
10 Ruud VAN NISTELROOIJ FW
11 Rafael VAN DER VAART MD
12 Roy MAKAAY FW
13 Sander WESTERVELD GK
14 Wesley SNEIJDER MD
15 Frank DE BOER DF
16 Marc OVERMARS FW
17 Pierre VAN HOOIJDONK FW
18 John HEITINGA DF
19 Arjen ROBBEN FW
20 Clarence SEEDORF MD
21 Paul BOSVELT MD
22 Boudewijn ZENDEN MD
23 Ronald WATERREUS GK
The tricky part is that some aristocratic names have no de, and a lot of names with a de are not aristocratic...
in France there is still an aristocracy, but it has no meaning outside belonging to a certain kind of elite. The current pretender to the French throne should monarchy come back
is the Comte de Paris.and in the Netherlands and Belgium, you get a lot of 'van XXXX' names, like mine, but this has no aristocratic bearing whatsoever. Unless you want to show off and impress poorly educated girls, of course
Just look at any dutch football team and you'll get an idea of how popular van XXXXX is
EDIT : let's take the Euro 2004 team for instance :
1 Edwin VAN DER SAR GK
2 Michael REIZIGER DF
3 Jaap STAM DF
4 Wilfred BOUMA DF
5 Giovanni VAN BRONCKHORST DF
6 Phillip COCU MD
7 Andy VAN DER MEYDE FW
8 Edgar DAVIDS MD
9 Patrick KLUIVERT FW
10 Ruud VAN NISTELROOIJ FW
11 Rafael VAN DER VAART MD
12 Roy MAKAAY FW
13 Sander WESTERVELD GK
14 Wesley SNEIJDER MD
15 Frank DE BOER DF
16 Marc OVERMARS FW
17 Pierre VAN HOOIJDONK FW
18 John HEITINGA DF
19 Arjen ROBBEN FW
20 Clarence SEEDORF MD
21 Paul BOSVELT MD
22 Boudewijn ZENDEN MD
23 Ronald WATERREUS GK
