[Topic renamed by the host, Ivan Ž.]
Why do so many of these songs give the girls names ending with "-marie"?
German songs and the name Marie
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Field Marshal Mung Beans
- Member
- Posts: 32
- Joined: 27 Mar 2011, 03:35
Just guessing: The alphabet has the vowels "a,e,i,o,u", a name ending on "a" is always female ("Maria" the only exception), "o,u" is male. For a rime on 'i" there are not so many choices needing a female name if somebody don't like Bavarian or Austrian short versions of names (Toni,Vroni,Moni for Anton,Veronika,Monika etc.).
It is as ManfredV stated. In the time around WWI, it was very common to baptize girls compound names of the form "...marie".
Especially members of the large group of German Roman Catholics (dominating the Southern parts of Germany) were loving such names since - on one hand - they are derived from "Maria" worshipped by them, and - on the other hand - provide a distinction instead of simply call all of the girls "Maria". The popularity of such names also spread over the Northern regions including the Protestant Prussia.
As a result, these names were very common among the group of marriageable young women in the 1930s when the lyrics for many of the soldier's songs were written.
So the songwriters of that era had to deal with such names being present as a matter of fact - and I am sure they were lucky that these names "automatically" rhyme with "Kompanie", "Landpartie", etc.
Especially members of the large group of German Roman Catholics (dominating the Southern parts of Germany) were loving such names since - on one hand - they are derived from "Maria" worshipped by them, and - on the other hand - provide a distinction instead of simply call all of the girls "Maria". The popularity of such names also spread over the Northern regions including the Protestant Prussia.
As a result, these names were very common among the group of marriageable young women in the 1930s when the lyrics for many of the soldier's songs were written.
So the songwriters of that era had to deal with such names being present as a matter of fact - and I am sure they were lucky that these names "automatically" rhyme with "Kompanie", "Landpartie", etc.
When pestilent fairy stories are made state religion,
never trust any statement not provable by pure logic and natural sciences.
never trust any statement not provable by pure logic and natural sciences.