German word

Namenstag

Pronunciation

IPA/ˈnaːmənˌstaːk/

Meaning

  • masculine nounname day

Example

Am Namenstag bekommt sie viele Blumen.

On her name day, she gets lots of flowers.

Illustration for Namenstag (name day)

More examples

Viele Freunde gratulierten ihm zum Namenstag.

Many friends congratulated him on his name day.

Core concept

A first name on the calendar links its bearers to a day of greetings, flowers, and remembrance of the corresponding saint.

Common phrases

  • seinen Namenstag feiern

    celebrate his name day

  • jemandem zum Namenstag gratulieren

    congratulate someone on their name day

  • zum Namenstag ein Geschenk geben

    give a gift for a name day

Similar words

Geburtstag: The yearly celebration of the day on which someone was born.
Glückwunsch: Words or a short message expressing congratulations.
Feier: An event held to celebrate a special occasion.
Schutzpatron: A saint believed to protect a particular place, group, or profession.

Definition in German

Ein Tag, an dem der eigene Vorname gefeiert wird, meist am Gedenktag des zum Namen gehörenden Heiligen.

Word origin

Namenstag consists of the inherited German nouns Name and Tag and names a celebration based on the day assigned to a matching saint.

Usage tips

  • Namenstag is masculine, so standard forms include der Namenstag, am Namenstag, and zum Namenstag.

Other meanings

  • saint's daynoun

Related words

  • Namenstagsfeiername-day celebrationnoun
  • Namenstagsgrußname-day greetingnoun
  • Namenstagswunschname-day wishnoun

Word lists with this word