The brothers were born into the old and distinguished aristocratic South German Catholic Stauffenberg family. Their parents were the last Oberhofmarschall of the Kingdom of Württemberg, Alfred Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, and Caroline née Gräfin von Üxküll-Gyllenband. Among Alexander's ancestors were several famous Prussians, including August von Gneisenau. His name points to the imperial Hohenstaufen mountain and castle.
