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Adolf

Name list

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
12 min read
Source updated August 27, 2026
Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo, and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name with German origins.

The name is a compound derived from the Old High German Athalwolf (or Hadulf), a composition of athal, or adal, meaning "noble" (or had(u)-, meaning "battle, combat"), 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 (Waldwulf).

Due to its extremely negative associations with the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, the name has greatly declined in popularity since the end of World War II.

Similar names include Lithuanian Adolfas and Latvian Ādolfs. The female forms Adolphine and Adolpha are far more rare than the male names.

01Popularity and usage

Before the 20th-century, Adolf was a relatively common name for baby boys in German-speaking countries and to a lesser extent also in French-speaking regions of Europe (spelled as Adolphe in France). After Adolf Hitler came to power in Nazi Germany, the name became more fashionable in German-speaking Europe until the early 1940s. However, after the defeat of Germany, and the revelations about the atrocities of the Nazi regime, the negative associations with Hitler meant that the name has declined in use as a given name for males to the extent of statistical irrelevance, though some Germans continue using the name due to family tradition. Adolf Dassler (1900-1978), the founder of Adidas, preferred to use his nickname, 'Adi', in his professional life and for the name of his company.

Similarly, the French version, Adolphe, previously a fairly common name in France and the name of a classic novel by Benjamin Constant, has virtually disappeared, as has the Italian version Adolfo. In Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière’s 2010 play What's in a Name?, and its 2012 film adaptation, a couple pranks their dinner guests by announcing that they will name their unborn child Adolphe, in homage to Constant’s novel, which backfires and starts a series of arguments. However, the Spanish and Portuguese version, Adolfo, has not become stigmatised in the same way and is still in common use.

02Monarchs and nobles

03Saints

04People with the given name in any variant

Adolf

A-G

H-M

N-Z

Adolfas

Adolfo

Adolph

Adolphe

Adolphus

05People with the surname Adolf or Adolphus

06Fictional characters

Watch videos about AdolfExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Adolf”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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Related topics

Æthelwulf (disambiguation)

Æthelwulf was King of Wessex from 839 until his death.

Athaulf

Athaulf (c. 370, 15 August 415) was king of the Visigoths from 411 to 415.

Adolff

Adolff is a German surname.