Adolf

Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in German-speaking countries, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and to a lesser extent in various Central European countries. Adolphus can also appear as a surname, as in John Adolphus, the English historian. The name is a compound derived from the Old High German Athalwolf, a composition of athal, or adal, meaning "noble", and wolf. The name is cognate to the Anglo-Saxon name Æthelwulf (also Eadulf or Eadwulf). The name can also be derived from the ancient Germanic elements "Wald" meaning "power", "brightness" and wolf.

Adolf
PronunciationGerman pronunciation: [ˈaːdɔlf]
GenderMale
Language(s)German, French, Italian, Spanish, Welsh, Portuguese
Origin
MeaningNoble wolf, wolf power or bright wolf
Other names
Variant form(s)Adi (nickname), Addie (nickname), Alf (short), Alfie (nickname), Adolff, Adolph, Adolphe, Ādolfs, Adolphus, Adolfo, Aatu, Dolfy (nickname), Dolphy (nickname), Adalwolf, Waldwolf

Popularity and usage

During the 19th and early 20th century, Adolf was a popular name for baby boys in German-speaking countries and to a lesser extent also in French-speaking countries (spelled there as Adolphe). Due to negative associations with Adolf Hitler, it has declined in popularity as a given name for males since the end of World War II.[1] It remains common among men born before 1945. Adolf Dassler, the founder of Adidas, used his nickname, 'Adi', in his professional life and for the name of his company.[2] Similarly, the French version, Adolphe—previously a fairly common name in France and the name of a classic French novel—has virtually disappeared, along with Italian Adolfo.

However, the Spanish and Portuguese version, Adolfo, has not become stigmatised in the same way. It is still in common use in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries across the world.[3]

Monarchs and noblemen

Saints
  • Saint Adulf, early medieval Anglo-Saxon saint
  • St. Adolphus, 9th century Spanish martyr
  • St. Adolf of Osnabrück, 13th century German martyr
  • St. Adolphus Ludigo-Mkasa, 19th century Ugandan martyr

People with the given name in any variant

Adolf

Adolfas

Adolfo

Adolph
  • Adolph Achille Gereau, Virgin Islands civil servant, founder V.I. Republicans (1893–1994)
  • Adolph Althoff, German Circus owner (1913–1998)
  • Adolph Baller, Jewish Austrian-American pianist (1909–1994)
  • Adolph Caesar, American actor (1933–1986)
  • Adolph Coors, American businessman and founder of Coors Brewery (1847–1929)
  • Adolph Deutsch, British-American composer, conductor and arranger (1897–1980)
  • Adolph Fischer, German labor union activist (1858–1887)
  • Adolph Goldschmidt, German-Jewish art historian (1863–1944)
  • Adolph Green, Jewish-American lyricist and playwright (1914–2002)
  • Adolph Hallis, South African pianist, composer and teacher (1896–1987)
  • Adolph Heinrich Joseph Sutro mayor of San Francisco (1830–1898)
  • Adolph Jacobs, American guitar player (1939–2014)
  • Adolph Joffe, Russian-Jewish diplomat (1883–1927)
  • Adolph Johannes Brand, South African pianist and composer (1934–)
  • Adolph Kolping, German priest (1813–1865)
  • Adolph Kukulowicz, Canadian ice-hockey player (1933-2008)
  • Adolf Malan, former South African rugby union footballer. (1961–)
  • Adolph Malan, South African flying ace in WW2 (1910–1963)
  • Adolph Marx, birth name of American comic actor Harpo Marx (1888–1961)
  • Adolph Mongo, American political strategist and commentator (1954–)
  • Adolph Müller (Founder of Varta), (1852–1928)
  • Adolph Ochs, American newspaper publisher (1858–1935)
  • Adolph L. Reed, Jr., professor of political science and writer (1947–)
  • Adolph Rupp, American college basketball coach (1901–1977)
  • Adolph "Dolph" Schayes, American basketball player (1928–2015)
  • Adolph G. Schwenk, American Marine general (1922–2004)
  • Adolph Tidemand, Norwegian classical-romantic painter (1814–1876)
  • Adolph von Carlowitz, German army commander during the First World War (1858–1928)
  • Adolph P. Yushkevich, Russian mathematician (1906–1993)
  • Adolph Zukor, Hungarian-Jewish American film mogul and founder of Paramount Pictures (1873–1976)
  • Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff Sr., American typesetter whose actual name starts with "Adolph" (1914–1997)

Adolphe
  • Adolphe Adam, French composer and music critic (1803–1856)
  • Adolphe Alexandre Chaillet, Inventor of the Centennial Light (1867– 1914)
  • Adolphe Crémieux, French-Jewish lawyer and statesman (1796–1880)
  • Adolphe Goldschmidt, German-Jewish co-inheritor of the Goldschmidt family bank (1838–1918)
  • Adolphe Guillaumat, French Army general during World War I (1863-1940)
  • Adolphe Max, Belgian politician and mayor of Brussels (1869–1939)
  • Adolphe Menjou, American actor and anti-Communist activist (1890–1963)
  • Adolphe Nourrit, French opera singer (1802–1839)
  • Adolphe Sax, Belgian musician and inventor of the saxophone (1814–1894)
  • Adolphe Thiers, French Prime Minister, President, and historian (1797–1877)
  • Adolphe Léon Willette, French painter and architect of the Moulin Rouge (1857–1926)

Adolphus

People with the surname Adolf or Adolphus

Fictional characters

See also

References
  1. "Name Adolf statistics and meaning / Vorname Adolf * Statistik und Bedeutung". Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  2. "History". Archived from the original on 2015-02-08. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
  3. "Adolfo - Baby Boy Name Meaning and Origin | Oh Baby! Names". www.ohbabynames.com. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
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