# Adolf (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/adolf/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | English |
| Meaning | “noble”, “wolf” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 1,394 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,394 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | not in the ONS data |

## Etymology

From Old High German adal (“noble”) + wulf (“wolf”). Doublet of Ethelwolf from Old English Æþelwulf.

## What it means

Adolf is grouped under noble and wolf.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 12 | 2,409 |
| 1965 | 10 | 2,619 |
| 1966 | 7 | 3,250 |
| 1968 | 10 | 2,735 |
| 1969 | 9 | 3,064 |
| 1970 | 10 | 3,072 |
| 1971 | 5 | 4,912 |
| 1972 | 7 | 3,965 |
| 1973 | 5 | 5,105 |
| 1975 | 6 | 4,802 |
| 1976 | 5 | 5,594 |
| 1979 | 5 | 6,067 |
| 1980 | 5 | 6,261 |
| 1983 | 7 | 4,921 |
| 1990 | 5 | 8,134 |

## People named Adolf

- Adolf Hitler, Dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945 (1889–1945)
- Adolf Eichmann, German-Austrian SS officer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust (1906–1962)
- Adolf Butenandt, German biochemist (1903-1995)
- Adolf Windaus, German chemist (1876–1959)
- Adolf Loos, Austrian and Czech architect and art collector (1870-1933)
- Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, Finland Swedish baron, geologist, mineralogist and Arctic explorer (1832–1901)
- Adolf Anderssen, German chess champion, after Paul Morphy (1858-1860), second unofficial world chess champi
- Adolf Dassler, German entrepreneur, founder of Adidas shoe company (1900–1978)
- Adolf von Harnack, Baltic German theologian and prominent church historian (1851–1930)
- Adolf Engler, German botanist (1844–1930)
- Adolf Schärf, Austrian politician, President of Austria 1957–1965 (1890–1965)
- Adolf Bastian, German anthropologist (1826–1905)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.