Germaine
/dʒɜːrˈmeɪn/noun
A French given name and surname, originally meaning “from Germany” or “German.”
Did you know?Germaine comes from the Latin *Germanus*, which in this naming sense meant “German” or “from Germany,” and it ultimately fed a whole family of European names and surnames tied to ethnicity and origin.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Rome
Latin
Germanus
“German; of Germanic origin”
Late Latin
Latin
Germanus
“Used as an ethnic identifier for people from Germania”
Old French
French
Germaine
“A female given name and surname derived from the ethnic term”
Middle English
English
germain / germayne
“Variant spellings influenced by French forms”
Modern English
English
Germaine
“A given name or surname”