Wolfgang is a German name traditionally popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The name is a combination of the Old High German words , meaning "wolf", and , meaning "path", "journey", "travel". Besides the regular "wolf", the first element also occurs in Old High German as the combining form "-olf".
The earliest reference of the name being used was in the 8th century.[Förstemann ibid., Col. 596] The name was also attested as "Vulfgang" in the in the 9th century. 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.[E. Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch (1856), p. 1347.]
Royalty and nobility
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Wolfgang of Regensburg (934–994 AD), Bavarian bishop and Catholic and Orthodox saint
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Wolfgang, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen (1492–1566), German prince of the House of Ascania
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Wolfgang of the Palatinate (1494–1558), German nobleman from the House of Wittelsbach
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Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (1526–1569), Duke of Zweibrücken
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Wolfgang, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (1531–1595), Prince of Grubenhagen from 1567–1595
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Wolfgang, Count of Hohenlohe-Weikersheim (1546–1610)
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Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg (1578–1653), Duke of Neuburg, Jülich and Berg
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Prince Wolfgang of Hesse (1896–1989), designated Hereditary Prince of the monarchy of Finland
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Wolfgang von Trips (1928–1961), son of a noble Rhineland family
Given name
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), Austro-German composer
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Wolfgang Albers (disambiguation), several people
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Wolfgang Ambros (born 1952), Austrian singer-songwriter
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Wolfgang Baldus, German philatelist and writer
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Wolfgang Barthels (born 1940), German footballer
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Wolfgang Bauer (disambiguation), several people
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Wolfgang Becker (director, born 1910) (1910–2005), German film director and film editor
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Wolfgang Becker (director, born 1954) (1954–2024), German film director and screenwriter
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Wolfgang Bernhard (born 1960), former President of Chrysler
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Wolfgang Blochwitz (1941–2005), East German footballer
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Wolfgang Bodison (born 1966), American actor
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Wolfgang Boettcher (1935–2021), German classical cellist
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Wolfgang Bolyai (1775–1856), Hungarian mathematician
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Wolfgang Borchert (1921–1947), German author and playwright
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Wolfgang Bosbach (born 1952), German politician
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Wolfgang Bosch, mayor of Ljubljana 1520–1524
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Wolfgang Heichel (born 1950), German singer and husband of Henriette Strobel
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Wolfgang Clement (1940–2020), German politician
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Wolfgang Danne (born 1941), West German pair skater
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Wolfgang Dauner (1935–2020), German jazz fusion pianist, composer and keyboardist
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Wolfgang Dietrich (disambiguation), several people
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Wolfgang Dremmler (born 1954), German footballer
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Wolfgang Figulus ( – c. 1591), German composer
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Wolfgang Flür (born 1947), German musician, Kraftwerk
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Wolfgang Franz (mathematician) (1905–1996), German mathematician
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Wolfgang Gaede (1878–1945), German physicist and pioneer of vacuum engineering
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Wolfgang Gartner (born 1982), stage name of the American electro house DJ Joseph Youngman
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Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer (born 1979), Austrian politician
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Wolfgang Herold (born 1961), producer
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Wolfgang Herrndorf (1965–2013), German author, painter, and illustrator
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Wolfgang Jerat (1955–2020), German footballer
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Wolfgang Joop (born 1944), German fashion designer
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Wolfgang Kapp (1858–1922), Prussian civil servant and right-wing nationalist
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Wolfgang Kautek, Austrian physical chemist
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Wolfgang Ketterle (born 1957), German physicist
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Wolfgang Kleff (born 1946), German footballer
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Wolfgang Kocevar (born 1969), Austrian politician
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Wolfgang Kuck (born 1967), German volleyball player
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Wolfgang Langewiesche (1907–2002), German aviation expert and author
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Wolfgang Leonhard (1921–2014), German professor and expert on communism
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Wolfgang Lück (born 1957), German mathematician
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Wolfgang Michel-Zaitsu (born 1946), German Japanologist
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Wolfgang Niersbach (born 1950), president of the German Football Association
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Wolfgang Overath (born 1943), German footballer
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Wolfgang Pagenstecher (1880–1953), German heraldist
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Wolfgang Pauli (1900–1958), Austrian-born Swiss American physicist, Nobel Prize
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Wolfgang Petersen (1941–2022), German film director
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Wolfgang Petry (born 1951), German singer and songwriter
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Wolfgang Pisa, O.F.M cap (born 1965), Tanzanian Catholic Bishop and President of Tanzania Episcopal Conference
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Wolfgang Preiss (1910–2002), German actor
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Wolfgang Priklopil (1962–2006), Austrian criminal, captor of Natascha Kampusch
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Wolfgang Puck (born 1949), American chef
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Wolfgang Reinhardt (producer) (1908–1979), German film producer and screenwriter
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Wolfgang Reinhardt (athlete) (1943–2011), West German pole vaulter
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Wolfgang Reitherman (1909–1985), German-American Disney animator
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Wolfgang Rihm (1952–2024), German composer
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Wolfgang W.E. Samuel (born 1935), German-born American author and a veteran of the United States Air Force
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Wolfgang Schäuble (1942-2023), German politician (CDU)
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Wolfgang Schmeltzl (c. 1505 – 1564), German writer, composer and priest
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Wolfgang Schmidt (born 1954), German discus thrower
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Wolfgang Schneiderhan (violinist) (1915–2002), Austrian violinist
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Wolfgang Schneiderhan (general) (born 1946), German general
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Wolfgang Steinbichler (born 1989), Austrian para-cyclist
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Wolfgang Stumph (born 1946), German actor
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Wolfgang Thierse (born 1943), German politician
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Wolfgang Tillmans (born 1968), German fine-art photographer and artist
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Wolfgang Uhlmann, chess player
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Wolfgang Van Halen (born 1991), American musician, Van Halen
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Wolfgang von Kempelen (1734–1804), Hungarian author and inventor
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Wolfgang von Leyden (1911–2004), German philosopher
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Wolfgang von Schweinitz (born 1953), German composer and teacher
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Wolfgang von Trips (1928–1961), German racing driver
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Wolfgang Wagner (1919–2010), German opera director
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Wolfgang Werlé, German murderer
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Wolfgang Weyrauch (1904–1980), German writer and playwright
Middle name
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Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897–1957)
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Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein (born 1964), formerly of the band Misfits
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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832)
Art, entertainment, and media
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Wolfgang, a short film directed by Anders Thomas Jensen
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Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, fourth studio album by French indie pop band Phoenix
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Wolfgang, a character appearing in the American comedy television series The Thundermans
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Wolfgang Bogdanow, a character appearing in the American science fiction drama web television series Sense8
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Wolfgang Krauser, a character from the Fatal Fury series introduced as the final boss of Fatal Fury 2