Difference between a Changeling and a Doppelganger?

A changeling is a faery child that is put in place of a real baby that's been stolen into the faery realm. The Mother is usually unable to recognize it at first but eventually realizes this is not her child, and by that time, it's too late as the real baby has spent too much time with the fae and is lost.



A doppelganger is an "evil twin" and to my knowledge is always adult. They can cause havoc pretending to be someone and basically stealing their identity.Difference between a Changeling and a Doppelganger?
A changeling usually refers to a baby that's been switched. Some magical baby or fairy baby takes the place of the human baby. It doesn't involve shapeshifting.



A Doppelganger is a kind of shapeshifter. It copies the form of another person. 'Doppel' means 'double'.
changelings can only copy features and can only change into something in their size category while dopplegangers can mimic anythingDifference between a Changeling and a Doppelganger?
a changelling refers to a shape shifter and a doppelganger is a german term, it is said that if you see another unrelated person that looks the same as you do you will die within 3 days of seeing this person, they also can have the same name as you do.Difference between a Changeling and a Doppelganger?
A changeling is a faerie creature that has either been created for or made to look like the human child it's going to replace. In some myths, the baby is eaten or kept in servitude, in others it becomes a faerie creature its self.



A doppelganger can be either a person who looks exactly like you (scientifically plausable) or a creature that looks like you and comes to kill you and steal your life. The latter is the most popularly used definition in today's socienty
A doppleganger is a German-origin myth that involved a "monster" that could look and act like others, likely a superstitious cause for multiple personality disorders.



Changelings were more of a celtic tradition and included a faerie exchanging their own child for that of a human child. Thus, the faerie would grow as a human child and, depending on the story, the human child would either live among the faeries or would be eaten (not all faerie tales were pleasant). This is likely a superstitious reasoning for postpartum depression in mothers.



Both have been used and evolved in mythology and in general storytelling and are the basis for many stories (Changeling is even the name of a movie based ona true story but not having anything to do with the changelings of mythology and folk lore).