How did Hitler get his name?

Answer 1

From his father, Alois Hitler.

Many people believe the urban myth that his surname was Schicklgruber, this was actually the name of his paternal grandmother and for many years the surname of his father.

Alois Hitler was born on 7 June 1837 as the illegitimate son of Anna Maria Schicklgruber and Johann Georg Hiedler. He went by the name of Alois Schicklgruber until he was 39, when, in 1876, his uncle, Johann Nepomuk Hiedler, included him in his will on the condition that he change his name to Hiedler. As a result of dialectic variations the name change was recorded in the church registry of the parish of Döllersheim on 4 June 1876 as Alois Hitler.

On 6 January 1877, the name change was officially confirmed and Alois Schicklgruber became Alois Hitler, which secured him his share of the inheritance.

In the 19th Century there were several variations of the name in Austria: Hüttler, Hiedler, Hittler and Hitler depending on region and dialect and all variations were pronounced more or less the same. It is accepted that the variations are derived from Hütte (hut) and was probably used to refer to a peasant or small holder.

As to why Alois Hitler did not correct this mistake and ensure that his new surname was correctly recorded as Hiedler is debatable. Journalist and histororian Wolfgang Zdral wrote in his book The Hitlers: "[Alois] probably liked the idea that he could distance himself from his ancestry with this variation. As "Hitler" he would begin a new branch of the family tree and as a dynastic progenitor he would found his own clan".

Answer 2

The name Hitler is derived from the word hit as in to strike someone or something, and the suffix ler denotes the action, for example, a pugilist is commonly referred to as a boxer and in the case of the guy in question he certainly lived up to his name or at least managed to persuade almost a whole nation to do the hitting for him.

p.s.

At least this is what my Dad told me, however, he's known as a bit of a practical joker and is probably giving me another bum stir!

Answer 3

Nazi is an acronym derived from the German word Nationalsozialistische (National Socialist).

Answer 4

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