Names of Germany

Germany has a long history before 1871, having different tribes and states. There are many names of Germany in different languages, more than any other European nation. For example, in the German language, the country is known as  from the Old High German , in Spanish as  and in French as  from the name of the Alamanni tribe, in Italian as  from the Latin , in Polish as  from the Protoslavic nemets, and in Finnish and Estonian as  and  respectively from the name of the Saxon tribe.

 Names from Alemanni 

The name Allemagne came from the Germanic Alemanni tribe, who lived in Alemannia (today's Alsace, parts of Baden-Württemberg and Switzerland).

In English, the name "Almain" or "Alman" was used for Germany until the 16th century. The word German was first used in 1520 as an alternative word, it then becoming a replacement word.

Names from Germania

The name Germany came from the Latin Germania in the 3rd century BC, it was word describing fertile land for farming behind the limes. The Gauls called the people who crossed east of the Rhine Germani but the original Germanic tribes did not call themselves that.

Julius Caesar was the first to use Germanus in writing when describing people in north-eastern Gaul in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico: he records the four northern Belgic tribes: Condrusi, Eburones, Caeraesi and Paemani. 

References

Category:History of Germany