Why Do We Call Germany Deutschland?

An Examination of the Words

The old Louis Armstrong lyric "You say tomato and I say tomăto" finds a similar disconnect in how people the world over refer to Germany. But why do English speakers refer to Germany as Deutschland? It all goes back to the history of Germany and its ties to the Holy Roman Empire, the Rhine River, and the Slavs. 

Just like with words, names evolve over time. Germany, for example, was identified as Germany by its inhabitants long before the country was united and began to call itself Deutschland. The geographic central location of Germany in western Europe means that it has historically shared borders with different national and ethnic groups, and many languages use the name of the first Germanic tribe that was located in the area.

The History of Germany or Deutschland

For centuries, Germany's names have been known by a variety of many different names. From ancient times through the present day, people have referred to the nation now known as Germany as Deutschland, meaning “the people’s land.” Many countries have a name that they call themselves (known as an endonym), but are called different names by other countries (known as an exonym). The same applies to Germany. To name just a few of the many names or endonyms for Germany: in the Scandinavian languages, Germany is known as Tyskland, in Polish as Niemcy, in Portuguese as Alemanha, in Italian as Germania, in French as Allemagne, in Dutch as Duitsland, and in Spanish as Alemania. Not to be forgotten, the exonym the Germans use is Deutschland. In the Middle Ages, the term "Deutschland" was still used to distinguish German-speaking areas of Europe from other areas of Europe. The phrase did not, however, necessarily relate to a single nation-state because Germany did not come into being as a distinct political entity until the 19th century.

With time, the name "Deutschland" started to be connected to a unique political and cultural identity, distinct from surrounding areas. The Latin-based languages used by the Romans and their successors, who once dominated most of the region, were quite different from the Old High German language, which was one reason for this.

The meaning of "Deutschland" continued to change over the ensuing centuries. The term "Germany" developed to mean more than just a linguistic and cultural identity when the German states started to unite in the 19th century. Germany had come to be associated with the nation we currently know by the time the German Empire was established in 1871.

The term "Deutschland" now includes the Federal Republic of Germany, the German language, and the German people. Despite numerous changes throughout the years, the word has remained a potent representation of German identity and culture.

The history of Germany begins with the Roman Empire, which conquered much of modern-day Germany during the first century BC. In the years that followed, the Germanic tribes who lived throughout the region began to unify under the banner of a Holy Roman Empire that stretched from modern-day France to the Baltic Sea. As the centuries passed, the Germanic peoples began to refer to themselves as “Deutsch” or “people of the land.” The Rhine River also played a role in the name of Germany. During the Middle Ages, the river was the border between the Germanic and the Slavic regions. As Germanic princes and kings began to unify the region, they started to identify themselves as “Deutscher” or “from the land of the Rhine.” This is where the modern term “Deutschland” was born. Finally, the relationship between the Germanic and Slavic peoples also played a role in the name of Germany. During the Middle Ages, the two groups interacted and intermingled, creating a cultural mashup that can still be seen today in central Europe. It’s likely that the term “Deutschland” was used to refer to the common culture that emerged between the two peoples. The name was anglicized by the English when they made a small adjustment to the ending of Germany to get Germany. Then there were the Alemanni, a southern Germanic tribe that lived in the geographic area of Switzerland and the Alsace, from which the French, Spanish, and Portuguese came to name the land Allemagne, Alemana, and Alemanha.

Legends of Germany Collectible German Beer Stein with Metal Lid

The Word "Deutschland" and How It Evolved Over Time

 The German language we know today is actually a combination of Germanic and Slavic, which is why it is often referred to as a “Germanic” language. This is because of the proto-Germanic tribes that lived in the area before the Roman Empire. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Franks, Burgundians, and other Germanic tribes migrated into the area and replaced the Roman language with their own.

An example of this is that the Romans named the land north of the Danube and east of the Rhine "Germania," which has its roots in the first Germanic tribe they heard about from the nearby Gauls. The root of the name is from the Gauls, who called the tribe across the river the Germani, which might have meant "men of the forest" or possibly "neighbor." The Old High German word "diutisc," meaning "belonging to the people" or "popular," served as the basis for the English phrase "Germany." Those who spoke Old High German, the language that preceded modern German, were first referred to by this word in the eighth century. The term "Germany" at that time referred to the realm of the East Frankish kingdom, which comprised a large portion of what is now Germany as well as portions of Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. 

Cultural Implications Of The Names