Prior to World War II, the name of Adolf was a relatively popular Germanic name. Adidas, the sportswear company, is named after its founder, Adolf “Adi” Dassler and Harpo Marx of the Marx Brothers’ real name was originally Adolf.However since the war very few Germans are names Adolf. Germans are encouraged to give their children gender-appropriate German names. As a result on the back of the birth registry forms, there are 200 appropriate names. Adolf is not listed as one of these names.
Even though Germany has some of the strictest laws in Europe on what you can name a child with names like Apple and Tree banned it is perfectly legal to call a child Adolf as it is considered a historic German name. Currently, there are 46,000 people with the name, according to a study by the University of Leipzig.
Today the name has become very rare. Only 13 children were named Adolf between 2006 and 2013. Since 2013 it has made a very small comeback with 46 children named Adolf.Most Adolfs in modern Germany choose to use shortened versions of the name, such as Adi or Dolf. There is one unfortunate football coach named Adolf Hutter who with good reason goes by Adi. Several men with the name Adolf were interviewed in a study by Anne Haeming. One man said “When I hear the name Adolf, the first thing I think about is Adolf Hitler,” After meeting with Holocaust survivors he decided “not to use the name in the official context anymore. In fact, I consider it a sort of offensive act to use the name.”
Who would you let a family member name their child Adolf? How does it make you feel when you meet/hear about someone named Adolf?
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/07/28/name-can-german-really-ever-call-child-adolf/
https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-1076,00.html
It seems like people are trying to disassociate themselves from Nazi Germany.In the documentary, the woman who submitted an SS report was in denial when confronted about her actions. Few want to be associated with the horrors of the Nazis, and the name Adolph is often associated with the Fuhrer.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think parents should name their child Adolf because whenever their kids meets someone, the other person will always think of Adolf Hitler. This association between the child and Hitler can subconsciously affect how people think about and treat the child. However, I don’t think this association is a bad thing. The fact that people associate the name Adolf with Adolf Hitler means we haven’t forgotten the Holocaust. We can never forget the Holocaust so that nothing like it ever happens again.
ReplyDeleteAdding to what Courtney said, not only do I think people will associate the name Adolf with a horrible time and person, but to the parents of the child they would assume that the family might not care or SUPPORT' Hitler and his actions.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ilse. I think that people in Germany are trying to distance themselves from the reputation of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime and one of the ways of doing that is limiting the usage of the name Adolf. Like many others, when I hear Adolf my immediate thought is Hitler. I think that when someone names their child Adolf, it is in a way disrespectful and uncouth. People should be aware of the gravity that name holds, and naming your child Adolf in a way dismisses that. There is a dramatic decrease in the usage of the name, since the end of WWII, and there is a good reason why. Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party killed 11 million people. And that name comes with lots of traumatic and horrific memories.
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