As far as names are concerned, there are two schools of thought. One refers to a man with the melodious name Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and assumes that the name, as his Faust said, is "smoke and mirrors".
The modern version of this name interpretation, which has also been reflected in the journalistic commentary not to make name jokes ("Sepp Müller can't help it"), comes from Franz Xaver Kroetz. If we remember correctly – unfortunately we are not only bad with names, but also with quotations – he wrote about the Germans in his Nicaragua diary: Everyone can write their names here, but people no longer know who they are.
Is there an emperor in the little one?
The motto of the other school of thought is: Nomen est omen. Accordingly, the name that parents give their children shapes their lives. The children become who they are or should be by name, or the parents intuitively anticipate who is in the little ones, an emperor like Karl or at least a baron like Karl-Theodor.
The name therefore has something magical, especially when it is pronounced. You can read about this in Dörte Hansen's "Zur See". There is a hermit who, when someone suddenly calls him by name, is completely off his socks. Parents and lovers also say the name of the child or partner whenever they want to put something incantatory in their voice. Sung with Destiny's Child: Ain't callin' me baby, better say my name.
There is much to suggest that the second school of thought is right. For example, that the guy with the pithy name Faust is a washcloth. But above all, the current empiricism. This applies to first and last names. Just think of Konstantin von Notz, a member of the Bundestag. Or to the Berlin CDU, which wanted to know the first names of the Berlin New Year's Eve riots. Or to Olaf Scholz. If his name was even slightly different, such as Olaf de Scholz, he would probably never have become a Scholzomat, probably not even chancellor, but pop singer or "Zeit" editor-in-chief.
The Greens want to allow "meshing"
It is difficult to understand why man, who is no longer willing to accept anything (supposedly or actually) natural, should accept his name as a judgment of God. Changing the name is much easier than, for example, changing the gender. A little accent on the i – and you are no longer the little boy who was always confused by the teacher with the three other Martins in the class, but a man whose Spanish ancestors once sailed around the world. A small "middle initial" – and you stand in a row with Clemens J. Setz, Fritz J. Raddatz and Joachim C. Fest.
In this respect, it is only logical that the Federal Minister of Justice, whose first name is reminiscent of parents who wanted to satisfy their longing for Italy, now also wants to liberalize the right to a name. It is high time to enable married couples to express their bond through a common double name, said Marco Buschmann, who will probably not be allowed to wear his own surname for much longer because he is not quite politically correct. In any case, some already speak of a Lex Strack-Zimmermann, optionally also Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger or Stark-Watzinger.
The Greens, as always, want to go further, especially since their mastermind is likely to be unhappy that his last name is reminiscent of a famous ex-Playmate – Janine Habeck. They want to allow "meshing", i.e. the merging of the names of married couples. This is where a report in the magazine "Spiegel" about a former director of adult films comes into play. In truth, says this expert, very few people would practice sexual intercourse. Here we say: If the fusion is no longer to succeed in the physical sense, then at least in the name, and in the name of all of us.