Danube name meaning "strong, swift" (akin to Sanskrit "iṣiras" "swift"). In Latin, the Danube was variously known as ' or as '. The Dacian/Thracian name was "Donaris" for the upper Danube and "Istros" for the lower Danube. The Thraco-Phrygian name was "Matoas", "the bringer of luck". The Latin name is masculine, as are all its Slavic names, except Slovenian, (the name of the Rhine is also masculine in Latin, most of the Slavic languages, as well as in German). The German "Donau" (Early Modern German "Donaw, Tonaw", Middle High German "Tuonowe") is feminine, as it has been re-interpreted as containing the
German name language, but most of the time not in very formal or written language. In some dialects (such as those spoken in the Western Palatinate, the Saarland and parts of the Rhineland), the article used with women's and girls' names is not the feminine, but the neuter article. This is because the German word for "girl", "Mädchen", is a neuter noun, due to the diminutive suffix "-chen". German name Personal names in German-speaking Europe consist of one or several given names ("Vorname", plural "Vornamen") and a surname ("Nachname, Familienname"). The "Vorname" is usually gender-specific. A name is usually cited in the