Early modern naming was governed by religious, cultural, and political trends. In Germany, forenames of Christian connotation (especially after New Testament figures and saints) generally prevailed at the beginning of the period. Unlike in Romance Europe, the forename Maria was avoided in the German-speaking lands until the 16th century out of religious discretion, only then becoming widespread in both confessions. At first, the Reformation changed little. The inventory of New Testament and saints’…