A masculine given name of Germanic origin meaning 'noble wolf.' The name became historically stigmatized due to its association with Adolf Hitler.
From Old High German 'Adalwolf,' composed of 'adal' (noble) + 'wolf' (wolf). Common in Germanic regions for centuries, the name experienced dramatic decline in usage after World War II due to negative historical associations with Nazi Germany.
This name demonstrates how historical events can completely transform a word's social acceptability - once a proud Germanic name celebrating nobility and strength, it became virtually unusable in Western culture after 1945. Some families legally changed their names to escape the association, showing language's power to carry historical memory.
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