Wolfgang
 | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Language(s) | German |
| Origin | |
| Word/name | wulf (wolf) + gang (path) |
| Meaning | Path of the Wolf |
| Region of origin | Northern Europe |
Wolfgang is a German male given name traditionally popular in Germany and Austria. The name is a combination of the Old High German words wolf, meaning "wolf," and gang, meaning "path, journey." Besides the regular "wolf", the first element also occurs in Old High German as the combining form "-olf". "Wolf" (in Old High German) or "wulf" (in most other Germanic languages) is a popular element of the common dithematic Germanic names. The word is present in hundreds of German names. Some Germanic names with this element include Adolf, Aethelwulf, Beowulf, Cynewulf, Rudolf, Wulfstan, Ulfilas, and Wulf. "Gang" is found in such names as Gangperht, Gangulf, Bertegang, Druhtgang, Hildigang, Hrodegang, and Wiligang.
The earliest reference of the name being used was in the 8th century.[1] The name was also attested as "Vulfgang" in the Reichenauer Verbrüderungsbuch in the 9th century,[2] The earliest recorded famous bearer of the name was a tenth-century Saint Wolfgang of Regensburg. Due to the lack of conflict with the pagan reference in the name with Catholicism, it is likely a much more ancient name whose meaning had already been lost by the tenth-century. Grimm (Teutonic Mythology p. 1093) interpreted the name as that of a hero in front of whom walks the "wolf of victory". A Latin gloss by Arnold of St. Emmeram interprets the name as Lupambulus.[3]
Royalty and nobility
- Wolfgang, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen (1492–1566), German prince of the House of Ascania
- Wolfgang of Regensburg (934–994), Bavarian bishop and Catholic saint (d. 994)
- Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (1526–1569), 16th-century Duke of Zweibrücken
- Wolfgang von Trips (1928-1961), son of a noble Rhineland family
- Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg (1578–1653), a 17th-century Duke of Neuburg, Jülich and Berg
Given name
- Wolfgang Albers (disambiguation), several people
- Wolfgang Ambros (born 1952), Austrian singer-songwriter
- Wolfgang Baldus, German philatelist and writer
- Wolfgang Barthels (born 1940), German footballer
- Wolfgang Bauer (disambiguation), several people
- Wolfgang Bernhard (born 1960), former President of Chrysler
- Wolfgang Blochwitz (1941–2005), East German footballer
- Wolfgang Bodison (born 1966), American actor
- Wolfgang Bolyai (1775–1856), Hungarian mathematician
- Wolfgang Borchert (1921–1947), German author and playwright
- Wolfgang Bosch, mayor of Ljubljana 1520–1524
- Wolfgang Brinkmann (born 1950), German equestrian
- Wolfgang Danne (born 1941), West German pair skater
- Wolfgang Dauner (born 1935), German jazz fusion pianist, composer and keyboardist
- Wolfgang Dietrich (disambiguation), several people
- Wolfgang Flür (born 1947), German musician, Kraftwerk
- Wolfgang Franz (mathematician) (1905–1996), German mathematician
- Wolfgang Gaede (1878–1945), German physicist and pioneer of vacuum engineering
- Wolfgang Gartner (born 1982), American electro house DJ
- Wolfgang Herold (born 1961), producer
- Wolfgang Kapp (1858–1922), Prussian civil servant and right-wing nationalist
- Wolfgang Ketterle (born 1957), German physicist
- Wolfgang Kuck (born 1967), German volleyball player
- Wolfgang Langewiesche (1907–2002), German aviation expert and author
- Wolfgang Leonhard (1921–2014), German professor and expert on communism
- Wolfgang Lück (born 1957), German mathematician
- Wolfgang Michel-Zaitsu (born 1946), German Japanologist
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), Austro-German composer
- Wolfgang Niersbach (born 1950), president of the German Football Association
- Wolfgang Overath (born 1943), German footballer
- Wolfgang Pagenstecher (1880–1953), German heraldist
- Wolfgang Pauli (1900–1958), Austrian-born Swiss American physicist, Nobel Prize
- Wolfgang Petersen (born 1941), German film director
- Wolfgang Preiss (1910–2002), German actor
- Wolfgang Priklopil (1962–2006), Austrian criminal, captor of Natascha Kampusch
- Wolfgang Puck (born 1949), American chef
- Wolfgang Reitherman (1909–1985), German-American Disney animator
- Wolfgang Schäuble (born 1942), German politician (CDU)
- Wolfgang Schmidt (born 1954), German discus thrower
- Wolfgang Schneiderhan (violinist) (1915–2002), Austrian violinist
- Wolfgang Schneiderhan (general) (born 1946), German general
- Wolfgang Tillmans (born 1968), German fine-art photographer and artist
- Wolfgang Uhlmann, chess player
- Wolfgang Van Halen (born 1991), American musician, Van Halen
- Wolfgang von Kempelen (1734–1804), Hungarian author and inventor
- Wolfgang von Leyden (1911–2004), German philosopher
- Wolfgang von Trips (1928-1961), German racing driver
- Wolfgang Wagner (1919–2010), German opera director
- Wolfgang Werlé, German murderer
- Wolfgang Weyrauch (1904–1980), German writer and playwright
Middle name
- Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897–1957)
- Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein (born 1964), formerly of the band Misfits
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832)
Art, Entertainment, and Media
- Wolfgang (Film), a short film directed by Anders Thomas Jensen
- Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, fourth studio album by French indie pop band Phoenix
- Wolfgang, a character appearing in the American comedy television series The Thundermans
- Wolfgang Bogdanow, a character appearing in the American science fiction drama web television series Sense8
References
- ^ Förstemann ibid., Col. 596
- ^ "dMGH | Band | Antiquitates [Dichtung und Gedenküberlieferung] | Libri memoriales et Necrologia, Nova series (Libri mem. N.S.) | 1: Das Verbrüderungsbuch der Abtei Reichenau | Titelblatt: Das Verbrüderungsbuch der Abtei Reichenau Zentralbibliothek Zürich Ms. Rh. hist. 27". Mgh.de. 2011-04-04. Retrieved 2017-04-09.
- ^ E. Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch (1856), p. 1347.
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