girl's name
Germaine
zher-MEN
- Origin French
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 8
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 221,341
Ireland
#581
1986 births
Germaine is a girl's name meaning of Germany, or a brother — the Latin word behind it is the source of both germane and the German name for the country's people. It charts in one market.
- Germaine is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 1902, when 8,340 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade in France.
- Germaine started out as a girls' name and is now given almost entirely to boys.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Germaine over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2023, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 78,955 |
| 1910s | 53,805 |
| 1920s | 46,955 |
| 1930s | 20,715 |
| 1940s | 6,900 |
| 1950s | 2,700 |
| 1960s | 700 |
| 1970s | 140 |
| 1980s | 65 |
| 1990s | 30 |
| 2000s | 20 |
| 2010s | 20 |
| 2020s (to 2023) | 15 |
What Germaine means
Germaine means a German, or a brother. The Latin germanus covers both a sibling of the same parents and, separately, the people the Romans called Germani.
Where Germaine comes from
Germaine is the French feminine of Germain, from the Latin germanus — which meant a full brother, one of the same parents, and gives the English germane, meaning closely related and so relevant. The Romans also used Germani for the peoples east of the Rhine, and whether that is the same word is unsettled. Saint Germaine Cousin, a disabled shepherdess in sixteenth-century Toulouse who was treated cruelly by her family and canonised in 1867, gave the feminine its French currency. Germaine Greer's The Female Eunuch appeared in 1970.
Germaine in use
Germaine peaked in France in 1902, when 8,340 babies were registered — the earliest peak of any name in this group — and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 10310th in the United States on 13 births, across 221,341 lifetime births. France, which holds nearly all of its history, no longer registers it in numbers at all.
How popular is Germaine?
In 2023, Germaine was given to 5 babies in France. It is a rare choice.
Where Germaine is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Germaine
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Germaine also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Germaine over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Germaine in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Germaine
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Germaine — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Germaine
What does the name Germaine mean?
A German, or a brother — the Latin germanus covers both senses.
Is germane the same word?
Yes — germane means closely related, from the sense of a full sibling.
Is Jermaine related?
Yes, an English respelling of the same French name.
How popular is Germaine?
10310th in the United States — France no longer registers it in numbers.
Is Germaine a girl's or a boy's name?
Germaine is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Germaine?
Germaine has 2 syllables.
Is Germaine a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Germaine currently ranks #10,310 in France. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.
Was Germaine originally a boys' or girls' name?
Germaine was given mostly to girls in the earliest US birth records and is now given almost entirely to boys.