The name can also be derived from the ancient Germanic elements "Wald" meaning "power", "brightness" and wolf (Waldwulf).

Due to its extremely negative associations with the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, the name has greatly declined in popularity since the end of World War II.

The female forms Adolphine and Adolpha are far more rare than the male names.

[2] Adolf Dassler (born 1900), the founder of Adidas, used his nickname, 'Adi', in his professional life and for the name of his company.

However, the Spanish and Portuguese version, Adolfo, has not become stigmatised in the same way and is still in common use in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries.