New Post
Search
Help
ArchivesThe rise and fall of Dieter—what happened?
Dieter did not appear on any lists of top boy names until 1932. That year, it not only premiered on Germany’s rankings, it was the 18th most popular boy name of the year. It would remain in the top 20 until 1957, peaking at #3 in 1940. After 1957, it never made the charts again.
Why?
Was there some (in)famous person who brought a negative connotation to the name? Was there a character in a novel or movie which made the name seem unsuitable? Did it simply fall out of fashion as quickly and dramatically as it had risen in popularity? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Why?
Was there some (in)famous person who brought a negative connotation to the name? Was there a character in a novel or movie which made the name seem unsuitable? Did it simply fall out of fashion as quickly and dramatically as it had risen in popularity? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
3
Replies
It's the normal popularity cycle. Names go in and out of fashion. Most names are only in the top 20 for 20-30 years and then fall again. This site only has the top 20 but it was probably in the top 100 for a while after that.
Dieter is quite unfashionable in Germany now and it has become a bit of a joke name. Maybe because of Dieter Bohlen, but not sure. It is just seen as THE ultimate unfashionable name, maybe sort of like Bertha or Beulah in the US.
Will it come back into style? Maybe. Erna was a bit of a joke name for a while but is getting more common.
Dieter is quite unfashionable in Germany now and it has become a bit of a joke name. Maybe because of Dieter Bohlen, but not sure. It is just seen as THE ultimate unfashionable name, maybe sort of like Bertha or Beulah in the US.
Will it come back into style? Maybe. Erna was a bit of a joke name for a while but is getting more common.
5
I didn’t know that. Thanks for the insights. I can only think of one Dieter and he’s very old but I loved the name so much I’d name a child after him despite not being German. My brother also named his puppy Dieter. I suppose in the US it’s thought of as a cute name.
1
Living in Germany, I am not aware of any namesake poisoning the name Dieter, it is just that Dieter sounds old right now and parents prefer names that are either fresh and new or that old that there aren't any living relatives with that name still around. The name Dieter shares its fate with other names of the same cohort like Wolfgang or Norbert.
2
Great to hear from a German source, thanks!
1
I don't know of any more or less famous person, who could've ended the Dieter-Era at that time.
Dieter is commonly used as a nickname of Dietrich - most Dieters I know are actually called "Dietrich". So you could say, in a sense, Dieter was popular before 1932.
I guess, it just came out of use, because it was associated with old people.
After the war - especially since the 60s - the type of names given to children changed. Names like Heinrich, Dietrich, Friedrich, Gustav ... that had been used for decades, vanished. New names appeared
Maybe the parents wanted to differentiate from their parents - the nazis.
Dieter actually was part of the top-100 until the late 60s, part of the top-200 until the late 70s - the time of the large movment among students:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_German_student_movement
There was a rapid fall of the name around that time. This suits my explanation above.
I can't say for sure, though.
Dieter is commonly used as a nickname of Dietrich - most Dieters I know are actually called "Dietrich". So you could say, in a sense, Dieter was popular before 1932.
I guess, it just came out of use, because it was associated with old people.
After the war - especially since the 60s - the type of names given to children changed. Names like Heinrich, Dietrich, Friedrich, Gustav ... that had been used for decades, vanished. New names appeared
Maybe the parents wanted to differentiate from their parents - the nazis.
Dieter actually was part of the top-100 until the late 60s, part of the top-200 until the late 70s - the time of the large movment among students:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_German_student_movement
There was a rapid fall of the name around that time. This suits my explanation above.
I can't say for sure, though.
2
Thank you for the thorough write up. The only person I know who bears the name Dieter was born in 1940. I like the theory you have for parents wanting to differentiate their child from older generations of Nazis.
Thank you also for sharing that it was part of the top 100 and 200 later. I had the most difficult time finding any census records of baby names in Germany from the 1960s. I found one source that suggested Dieter may have been popular in the 60s but it didn’t give its place on the rankings.
Thank you also for sharing that it was part of the top 100 and 200 later. I had the most difficult time finding any census records of baby names in Germany from the 1960s. I found one source that suggested Dieter may have been popular in the 60s but it didn’t give its place on the rankings.
2
There are no official census records of baby names in Germany at all. There's a german website, that has statistics, which are based on projection: https://www.beliebte-vornamen.de/5159-dieter.htm (you'll be able to read the diagram). This is the best I know for this period.
I can also confirm, what elbowin said, though I think, Dietrich might come back, as many old names are having a revival right now (Dieter probably not, since Dieter Bohlen is still quite popular).
I can also confirm, what elbowin said, though I think, Dietrich might come back, as many old names are having a revival right now (Dieter probably not, since Dieter Bohlen is still quite popular).
1