How common is the surname 'Hitler' in Germany/Austria and do any people persevere with it?

Question

I was just wondering how common the surname 'Hitler' is in Germany/Austria, and what proportion of people with that name chose to change it via the German equivalent of deed poll, or how many kept it.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Adolf Hitler was born to Aloys Schicklgruber, the illegitimate son of Maria Anna Schicklgruber, she married Johann Georg Hiedler (pron. Heat-ler) when Aloys was 5 years old. Aloys (Alois) changed to Hiedler (other spellings of this name are; Hiedler, Huetler, Huettler and Hitler) when he was 39 years old. In 1877 Aloys changed his name to Alois Hiedler and was mistakely recorded as Hitler by the town clerk, Austria was standardizing spellings. Adolf had 7 brothers and sisters Alois Jr. 1882-1956, Angela 1883-1949, Gustav 1885-1886, Ida 1886-1886, Otto 1887-1887, Adolf 1889-1945, Edmund 1894-1900 and Paula, 1896-1960. The only surviving relatives of Adolf fleed to USA after the war. There are no Hitlers in Germany...Adolf was not German...he was Austrian and rose to power in Bavaria.

Answer 2

I just checked the German phonebook (www.telefonbuch.de) and found one listed Hitler to my surprise (a guy living in Wismar)...Wonder what made him keep his name....

Answer 3

Interesting...I wonder too

Answer 4

Only a generation or two further back, Hitler's surname was spelt Hiedler.  It is believed the first instance of the Hitler variant was simply a spelling mistake by a clerk at the time, but the name stuck.

Even during his lifetime, Hitler asked that his sister Paula use a different surname (she went by the name "Wolf"), and after WW2 those few half-blood relations that survived the war later changed their names and fell out of sight competely.

It was the same story with the name Adolf.  Many 1930s German mothers were quick to name their first-born son after the fuhrer, but it wasn't long afterwards, that many of these Adolf's changed their name because they didn't want to be associated with the evil.  It's the same with Saddam - plenty of young boys were named after him while he was in charge of Iraq, but many are now reverting to another name rather than be associated with him by name.

Some names are destined never to come back in fashion.  How many young boys these days are named Genghis, even now, centuries after the man lived and died?   It will be the same with other names associated with tyrants.

Answer 5

There was only one Hitler.  His father's name was Huttler.  Hitler changed his name because Huttler is Jewish.

Answer 6

There is one guy with the surname Hitler on the UK Electoral Roll and 10 Heidler's.

Answer 7

i saw something on tv about a year ago covering this same story.  his entire family changed their last names for (a) fear of their lives and (b) the embarrassment that went along with it.  Almost anyone with that last name has changed their last name for the same reasons.  They couldnt find one Hitler in Germany.

Answer 8

It is rare.

Most people with that name changed it as soon as WW2 was ending.

Answer 9

I think Adoph has lost popularity for the same reason.

My G-G-Uncle was called Adolphus I can't help but think of the connection even though he lived 1887 - 1916!

A lot of people Anglo-sized their names around the First and Second World Wars to avoid the inevitable trouble.  My Grandfather served in the British Army from 1939-1945 with the most German name imaginable which was also my maiden name.  I can't imagine the grief he got but considering he'd never been to Germany I hate that it was an issue.

Answer 10

He had a nephew in the U.S.  That family changed their names.  I undersand they have all died out.

Answer 11

The original name was Hiedler.  Alois (Hitler's father) changed it because in the northern Austrian dialect Hitler was closer to the pronunciation.  (A lot of phonetic changing went on in the U.S. also.)

Hitler's nephew Patrick Hitler (son of his half-brother Alois, Jr.) in the United States changed his name and that of his sons as did most other relatives, so the Hitlers in Europe are probably not related.  

Hitler does have relatives in Austria and Germany, however, most of them the children and grandchildren of his sister Angela Hitler Raubal.  Some of them sued as recently as a few years ago to gain control of some of his property/bank accounts/book royalties.