More common than you might think. When I lived in a remote Amazonian village in the early 2000s, a local teacher was named Hitler (his given name). This area probably barely had contact with the capital in the 50s, let alone Europe. It wasn’t uncommon to choose a powerful or famous name, and Hitler was probably just someone who they knew changed the world.
There were other interesting names still being given too. My favorite was a baby named Shakira Marley while I lived there.
In his book, Trevor Noah mentions this. Everyone knows the name Hitler! So it’s like borrowing fame.
Across West Africa a few years post-9/11, tons of merch would feature Osama Bin Ladin. T-shirts, watches, posters, etc. Most people didn’t fully understand he did 9/11, but his name and picture was always in Western media, so he was famous!
More common than you might think. When I lived in a remote Amazonian village in the early 2000s, a local teacher was named Hitler (his given name). This area probably barely had contact with the capital in the 50s, let alone Europe. It wasn’t uncommon to choose a powerful or famous name, and Hitler was probably just someone who they knew changed the world.
There were other interesting names still being given too. My favorite was a baby named Shakira Marley while I lived there.
In his book, Trevor Noah mentions this. Everyone knows the name Hitler! So it’s like borrowing fame.
Across West Africa a few years post-9/11, tons of merch would feature Osama Bin Ladin. T-shirts, watches, posters, etc. Most people didn’t fully understand he did 9/11, but his name and picture was always in Western media, so he was famous!
It’s literally free fame.
Would you have ever heard of this local African politician if he didn’t have this name?
Given that the headline doesn’t even mention which country, no.
That’s kinda cute in a strange way.
also Brazil: there used to be a police chief named Hitler Mussolini