Alois

Alois is a masculine given name of German origin. It is the German form of the Latin name Aloysius, which in turn derives from a Germanic name associated with nobility. The name is common in Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and other parts of Central Europe and has several local spellings.

The name is used in religious contexts as well; Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, the 16th-century Italian Jesuit saint, bears the Latinized form Aloysius, which influenced usage in Catholic regions.

Notable bearers of the name include Alois Alzheimer (1864–1915), a German psychiatrist who described Alzheimer's disease; Alois Hitler (1837–1903), the father of Adolf Hitler; Alois Mock (1934–2015), an Austrian politician who, as foreign minister, helped open the Austria–Hungary border in 1989, a key moment in the decline of the Iron Curtain; and Alois Rašín (1867–1923), a Czech economist and politician who helped establish Czechoslovak currency and independence.