# How come there aren't any other Hitlers or Stalins? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 24, 2003, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-arent-any-other-hitlers-or-stalins/170810 "2003-04-24T07:04:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-arent-any-other-hitlers-or-stalins/170810/1 "2003-04-24T07:04:41Z")
So…How come there aren’t any other families out there with Stalin or Hitler as their last name? Conversely, why aren’t there any dictators with more common names like Johnson or Smith? ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-arent-any-other-hitlers-or-stalins/170810/2 "2003-04-24T07:13:19Z")
“Stalin” was a pseudonym; it meant “Steel Man” in Russian; strong-sounding, but not a common surname, any more than “The Iron Sheikh” is a common name among wrestling fans. And Hitler does have living relatives; they’re keeping a low profile these days (compared to Mussolini’s daugher, who ran for Italian Parliament a few years back). My last name, incidentally, is “Kennedy.” It opens some doors and closes others. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-arent-any-other-hitlers-or-stalins/170810/3 "2003-04-24T07:14:00Z")
Stalin was a pseudonym. It means `iron’ in Russian. And, yes, there _are_ people named Hitler. Today. Right now. One of them even fought in WWII _for America_. As for no dictators named `Smith,’ I guess it’s because America and Great Britian have been notoriously lax in producing psychotic warlords. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![j\_kat\_251](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@j\_kat\_251](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_kat_251)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-arent-any-other-hitlers-or-stalins/170810/4 "2003-04-24T07:19:38Z")
> [@](#): > > I guess it’s because America and Great Britian have been notoriously lax in producing psychotic warlords. How sure are you about this one? ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-arent-any-other-hitlers-or-stalins/170810/5 "2003-04-24T08:13:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Derleth \* > \*\*As for no dictators named `Smith,’ I guess it’s because America and Great Britian have been notoriously lax in producing psychotic warlords. Go figure. \*\* I plan to be the next British one - so keep your ear out for then name “Edwards” ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-arent-any-other-hitlers-or-stalins/170810/6 "2003-04-24T09:13:44Z")
According to [this](http://dublin.local.ie/content/52692.shtml/genealogy/emigration_studies), there were an Alois and a William Patrick Hitler living in Dublin before WWII. It also shows that “Hitler”, was a misspelling of “Heidler”, which was the name to which Adolph’s father changed from Schickelgruber. Therefore the scarcity of other Hitlers (hasty post-war deed-polling notwithstanding) would probably be from the fact that it was a fabricated spelling. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-arent-any-other-hitlers-or-stalins/170810/7 "2003-04-24T10:18:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by msmith537 \* > \*\*So…How come there aren’t any other families out there with Stalin or Hitler as their last name? Conversely, why aren’t there any dictators with more common names like Johnson or Smith? \*\* Stalin was a taken name and most Hitlers have changed theirs (although I understand that some haven’t). There’s still at least one family called Mengele (not a dictator, but still in the same league), and they run a successful farm equipment company. I’ve seen a tractor with MENGELE proudly written in big white letters on the side. About the Johnsons and Smiths, this is just a cultural thing. How common is the name Pot in Cambodia? Hussein doesn’t seem to be an uncommon Arabian name. Their names just sound strange to you because you’re Western. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-arent-any-other-hitlers-or-stalins/170810/8 "2003-04-24T15:26:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjimm \* > **It also shows that “Hitler”, was a misspelling of “Heidler”, which was the name to which Adolph’s father changed from Schickelgruber.** It shows nothing of the sort. “Hitler” and “Hiedler” are merely VARIATIONS of the same name. Neither is a “misspelling” of the other. Likewise, Alois Hitler did NOT change his name from Schickelgruber. Alois Hitler was recognized as a Hitler when same was just a child. Alois Hitler never changed his name. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-arent-any-other-hitlers-or-stalins/170810/9 "2003-04-24T15:52:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Hussein doesn’t seem to be an uncommon Arabian name. It’s also not a surname. We tend to confuse Arabic names because of their convention of using the father’s given name in the second slot. Hussein is a common given name, so you will also see it used as the first name, as in King Hussein bin Talil of Jordan. Referring to the unlamented-if-late president of Iraq as “Mr. Hussein” is rather like calling George W. Bush “Mr. W”. Saddam abolished tribal names in Iraq - which he possibly did because there would be too many “Al Tikriti”'s floating around the government, and it would be obvious how much favoritism he had been showing to his own town. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-arent-any-other-hitlers-or-stalins/170810/10 "2003-04-24T16:08:23Z")
In the late 30s the name “Hitler” was VERY common in Germany. I wonder why it dropped off… heh. ---
**Author:** ![Engywook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bc8723/32.png) [@Engywook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engywook)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-arent-any-other-hitlers-or-stalins/170810/11 "2003-04-24T16:15:58Z")
[hijack] What was Joseph Stalin’s first name, really? The Russian alphabet (IIRC) doesn’t have a J. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-arent-any-other-hitlers-or-stalins/170810/12 "2003-04-24T16:17:28Z")
We always hear of the intense decline in popularity of the name “Adolf” following WW2; I’d suspect that at least a couple people with the surname “Hitler” changed it, as well. Certainly, it would at the very least be downplayed. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-arent-any-other-hitlers-or-stalins/170810/13 "2003-04-24T16:18:29Z")
On _Hill Street Blues_ there was a minor subplot about a character named Vic Hitler, “the narcoleptic comic”. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-arent-any-other-hitlers-or-stalins/170810/14 "2003-04-24T16:23:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Engywook \* > [hijack] > What was Joseph Stalin’s first name, really? The Russian alphabet (IIRC) doesn’t have a J. > [/hijack] His real name was Joseph Vissarionovitch Dzhugashvili, and to my knowledge there’s a **j** in the Russian alphabet. It looks like an **i** (the Cyrillic equivalent thereof, of course) with a hook above. ---
**Author:** ![Nichol\_storm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Nichol\_storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nichol_storm)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-arent-any-other-hitlers-or-stalins/170810/15 "2003-04-24T16:37:46Z")
There’s a [genealogy board](http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=surnames.hitler) for the surname Hitler, suggesting that there were indeed a few folks carrying that name. I didn’t check for Stalin, since it was a pseudonym. .:Nichol:. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-arent-any-other-hitlers-or-stalins/170810/16 "2003-04-24T17:31:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Engywook \* > \*\*[hijack] > What was Joseph Stalin’s first name, really? The Russian alphabet (IIRC) doesn’t have a J. > [/hijack] \*\* Also remember that Stalin wasn’t Russian…he was Georgian, and whether the Russian Cyrllic alphabet has a J or not, the Georgian alphabet does…the letter “jan” ---
**Author:** ![Redhawke.the.bard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Redhawke.the.bard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redhawke.the.bard)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-arent-any-other-hitlers-or-stalins/170810/17 "2003-04-24T19:41:57Z")
In addition to **Captain Amazing** ’s post, I’ll add: The Russian alphabet has no “J” sound. It cobbles together a “d” sound with a “zh” sound, and pretty much only for foreign names. The combo is mostly unused in Russian, except as stated. It’s been several years since I used my Russian (my bachelor’s degree), so I’ll defer to native speakers as to what letter is referred to by **Floater** , though I am competely unfamiliar with any letter matching that description. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-arent-any-other-hitlers-or-stalins/170810/18 "2003-04-24T21:14:45Z")
In Russian, Stalin’s first name was Iosif. Using really stinky ASCII characters for transliteration, it looked somewhat like: |/| o c u cp (pretend the second ‘c’ and the ‘p’ are joined at the stem) As mentioned by **Floater** , Stalin was a pseudonym; his real name was Dzhugashvili and doubtless there are other Georgians with the same name still living in the republic. (Same thing for Trotsky and Lenin, whose birth names were Bronstein and Ul’yanov, respectively.) There’s an excellent and recent two-volume biography of Hitler in print - the name of the author escapes me, but the titles of the volumes are “Hubris” and “Nemesis” - which indicates that while Hitler’s paternal grandmother was named Schicklgruber, her son Alois - Adolf’s father - had always borne the name Hitler and had never changed it. I remember finding a link here at the SDMB to an article that interviewed the widow of William Patrick Hitler - Adolf’s English nephew - living under an assumed name and quite reclusively in New York State. Their children are aware of their relations but don’t use the name. ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2003, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-come-there-arent-any-other-hitlers-or-stalins/170810/19 "2003-04-24T23:41:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by msmith537 \* > \*\* why aren’t there any dictators with more common names like Johnson or Smith? \*\* Depends on your definition of “Dictator” but a mere 30 years ago Ian Smith was certainly seen as one by almost all the rest of the world including the UK [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/2/newsid\_2514000/2514683.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/2/newsid_2514000/2514683.stm) White people could vote, but he ruled over (+)97% of the people who could not vote (or do much else). He fought a brutal brush war to stay in power, dissolved parliament and proclaimed a “Republic”. Let’s be clear: Has the aftermath in Mugambe’s Zimbabwe been beyond words nightmarish? absolutely. Does Ian Smith meet most definitions of a dictator? I would say yes … Soviet & Chinese Chairmen were probably elected with **true** more popular vote on a % of population basis than Smith ever was.