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!
That’s kinda cute in a strange way.