Adolf

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Adolf, also spelled Adolph and sometimes Latinised to Adolphus, is a given name used in German-speaking countries, in Scandinavia, in the Netherlands and to a lesser extent in various Central European countries. The name is derived from the Old High German Athalwolf, a composition of athal, or adal, meaning noble, and wolf; in sequence, making Adolf another compound. Compare Rudolf.

The use of Adolf as a given name has drastically declined following the regime of Nazi Germany^{[citation needed]} and its Führer, Adolf Hitler, and it has since been a widely avoided name for newborn boys due to its negative association with Hitler. It gained very high popularity during the Nazi era, however, and thus can sometimes still be found among now-elderly people who were born during those times. Similarly, the French version, Adolphe — previously a fairly common name in France and also the name of a classical work of French literature — has virtually disappeared, and Adolfo as the Italian version of the name has suffered a similar fate. However, the Spanish Adolfo has not become stigmatised in the same way, and is still in common use in Spanish-speaking countries.

One notable and curious case is that of Indian politician Adolf Lu Hitler Marak, who was born after Adolf Hitler's death, but does not seem to be ideologically connected to Hitler or Nazism in any way.

Adolphus can also appear as a surname, as in John Adolphus, the English historian.

Monarchs and noblemen

• Adolf of Nassau, "King of the Romans" (that is, King of Germany) (1255–1298)
• Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, King of Sweden (1594–1632)
• Gustaf IV Adolf of Sweden, King of Sweden (1778–1837)
• Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden, King of Sweden (1882–1973)
• Adolf Frederick of Sweden, King of Sweden (1710–1771)
• Prince Gustav Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, Prince of Sweden (1906–1947)
• Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (1817–1905)
• Adolf VIII, Duke of southern Jutland (1401–1459)
• Adolf of Altena, Archbishop of Cologne (1157–1220)
• Adolf Friedrich II of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1658–1708)
• Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (1817–1905)
• Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe (1817–1893)
• Adolf II, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe (1883–1936)
• Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippe, regent of Lippe (1859–1917)
• Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, son of George III of the United Kingdom (1774–1850)
• Ernest Augustus William Adolphus George Frederick, Crown Prince of Hanover (1845–1923)
• Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge

People with the given name Adolf or Adolph(e)

• Adolf Albin, Romanian chess player (1848–1920)
• Adolf Anderssen, German chess player (1818–1879)
• Adolf Appellöf, Swedish zoologist (1857–1921)
• Adolph Baller, Jewish Austrian-American pianist
• Adolf Bastian, German anthropologist (1826–1905)
• Adolf Born, Czech artist and filmmaker (1930–)
• Adolf Brand, German journalist (1874–1945)
• Adolf von Baeyer, German chemist (1835–1917)
• Adolf Busch, German violinist and composer (1891–1952)
• Adolphus Busch, American businessman and co-founder of Anheuser-Busch (1839–1913)
• Adolf Butenandt, German biochemist (1903–1995)
• Adolf Cluss, German-American architect (1825–1905)
• Adolf Daens, Belgian theologian (1839–1907)
• Adolf Dassler, German entrepreneur and founder of Adidas (1900–1978)
• Adolf Deucher, Swiss politician (1831–1912)
• Adolf Dymsza, Polish comedy actor (1900–1975)
• Adolf Ehrnrooth, Finnish general (1905–2004)
• Adolf Eichmann, German war criminal and organizer of the Holocaust (1906–1962)
• Adolf Etolin, Finnish explorer (1799–1876)
• Adolf Eugen Fick, German inventor (1829–1901)
• Adolph Fischer, German labor union activist (1858–1887)
• Adolf Abraham Halevi Fraenkel, German-Israeli mathematician (1891–1965)
• Adolf Galland, German fighter pilot (1912–1996)
• Adolf Glassbrenner, German humourist (1810–1876)
• Adolf Grunbaum, philosopher of science (1923–)
• Adolf von Harnack, German theologian (1851–1930)
• Adolf Hempt, founder of the Pasteur Institute in Novi Sad, Serbia (1874–1943)
• Adolf Bernhard Christoph Hilgenfeld, German theologian (1823–1907)
• Adolf Hedin, Swedish newspaper publisher and politician (1834–1905)
• Adolf von Henselt, German composer (1814–1889)
• Adolf Hitler, Austrian politician, chancellor, dictator (1889–1945)
• Adolf Hütter, Austrian footballer (1970–)
• Adolf Hurwitz, German mathematician (1859–1919)
• Adolf Kneser, German mathematician (1862–1930)
• Adolph Kolping, German priest (1813–1865)
• Adolf Lande, drug-control official
• Adolf Lindenbaum, Polish mathematician (1904–1941)
• Adolf Loos, Austrian architect (1870–1933)
• Adolf Lu Hitler Marak, Indian politician (born 1948)
• Adolph Marx, the original given name of the comedian Harpo Marx (he changed his name due to personal dislike to "Arthur" in 1911)
• Adolphe Menjou, American actor and anti-Communist activist (1890–1963)
• Adolf Meyer (psychiatrist), Swiss-American psychiatrist (1866–1950)
• Adolf Meyer (architect), German architect (1881–1929)
• Adolphus Warburton Moore(A. W. Moore), British civil servant and mountaineer (1841–1887)
• Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, Finnish-Swedish explorer (1832–1901)
• Adolf Noreen, Swedish linguist (1854–1925)
• Adolf Oberländer, German characturist (1845–1923)
• Adolph Ochs, American newspaper publisher (1858–1935)
• Adolf Ogi, Swiss politician (1942–)
• Adolf Overweg, German scientist (1822–1852)
• Adolf Pilar von Pilchau, Baltic German politician (1851–1925)
• Adolf Rudnicki, Polish-Jewish author
• Adolf Reinach, German phenomenologist (1883–1917)
• Adolph Rupp, American college basketball coach (1901–1977)
• Adolphe Sax, Belgian musician and inventor of the Saxophone (1814–1894)
• Adolf Friedrich von Schack, German poet (1815–1894)
• Adolf Schärf, President of Austria (1890–1965)
• Adolf Schlagintweit, German explorer (1829–1857)
• Adolf Schmal, Austrian fencer (1872–1919)
• Adolf Schreyer, German painter (1828–1899)
• Adolf von Sonnenthal, Austrian actor (1834–1909)
• Adolf Stieler, German cartographer (1775–1836)
• Adolf Stoecker, German theologian (1835–1909)
• Adolphus Jean Sweet, American Actor (1920 -1985)
• Adolph Heinrich Joseph Sutro mayor of San Francisco (1830–1898)
• Adolphe Thiers French Prime Minister, President, and historian (1797–1877)
• Adolf Tolkachev, Soviet engineer and CIA spy (1927–1986)
• Adolf "Dado" Topić, Croatian singer (1949–)
• Adolf Wilbrandt, German novelist (1837–1911)
• Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus, German chemist (1876–1959)
• Adolf Wölfli, Swiss artist (1864–1930)
• Adolf Ziegler, German painter and politician (1892–1959)

People with the surname Adolphus

• John Adolphus, English historian (1768-1845)
• John Leycester Adolphus, English lawyer, jurist and author (1795–1862)

Fictional Characters

• Adolf Adler, a fictitious soldier from Germany (1893-1918)
• Adolphus Cusins, fictional character in "Major Barbara" by George Bernard Shaw
• Dolph, a character on The Simpsons.
• Dolph, bully on the animated TV show Alfred Jodocus Kwak
• Adolf Kamil & Adolf Kaufmann, title characters of the manga Adolf by Osamu Tezuka.

See also

• Ataulf
• Adolf Lu Hitler Marak

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