Boy · Old High German
Adolf
Say it: AH-dolf
Meaning
From Germanic adal 'noble' and wulf 'wolf'.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Common in German and Scandinavian lands until the Second World War, after which it fell almost entirely out of use because of Adolf Hitler.
Its wave through time
Rare in the records
In the United States
- 1,394 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1891, about 1 in 10,100 boys
- Fewer than 5 babies a year in 2020
Through the ages
- The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450
- The Renaissance1400 to 1600
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Adolph
| Swedish | Adolf |
|---|---|
| French | Adolphe |
| Italian | Adolfo |
| Spanish | Adolfo |
Famous bearers
- Gustav II Adolf, king of Sweden
- Adolph Menzel, painter
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Royal and noble genealogies
- National birth statistics of European countries source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.