Cupronickel (also known as copper-nickel) is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. Aside from the terms cupronickel and copper-nickel, several other terms have been used to describe the material: the tradenames Alpaka or Alpacca (registered trademark), Argentan Minargent, and the French term, Cuivre blanc, are still registered; cupronickel is also occasionally referred to as "hotel silver," plata alemana (Spanish for "German silver"), "German silver," and "Chinese silver".