Hitler was born Adolf Hitler, though due to both of his parents being Roman Catholics, he was christened as Adolfus Hitler. His father, Alois, Sr., was born Alois Schicklgruber and only changed his name in 1876 to match that of his stepfather, Johann Georg Hiedler. Some believe that Hitler's real name was Ignatz or Ignatius, a common name in Lower Austria and Bavaria at the time, as the diminutive for the name 'Ignatz' was 'Nazi'.