Wolf Family History

German, English, Dutch, and Danish surnames often originate from a short form of various ancient Germanic compound names that include the first element wolf, meaning ‘wolf’. These names can also be derived from bynames or nicknames with the same meaning, or from topographic or habitational names that refer to a house distinguished by the sign of a wolf. The wolf was native throughout the forests of Europe, including Britain, until comparatively recently. In ancient and medieval times, it played an important role in Germanic mythology, being regarded as one of the sacred beasts of Woden.

The surname of German origin is found in various parts of Europe, including France (specifically Alsace and Lorraine), Poland, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Croatia, often as a German translation of local equivalents. In North America, this surname has absorbed cognates from other languages, such as Hungarian Farkas, Czech and Slovak Vlk, Slovenian Volk, and Ukrainian Vovk. It also includes varieties from Slovenian, Croatian, and Serbian Vuk, as well as Czech, Slovenian, Croatian, Slovak, and Hungarian Volf.

This name partly reflects a Gottscheerish (i.e., Gottschee German) origin from the Kočevsko region in Lower Carniola, Slovenia (see Kocevar). Similar names include De Wolf, Wolfe, Wolff, Woolf, Woulfe, and Wulf. Additionally, there are Jewish (Ashkenazic) origins of this surname, deriving from the Yiddish male personal name Volf, also meaning ‘wolf’, which is linked to the Hebrew name Binyamin (see Benjamin).

This connection arises from Jacob's dying words in the Bible, where he prophesizes that ‘Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning, he shall devour the prey, and at night, he shall divide the spoil’ (Genesis 49:27). There is also an Irish variant of Woulfe. Furthermore, among Native Americans, there are translations into English (and shortenings) of names based on words such as Lakota Sioux šuŋgmanitu and Chippewa ma'iingan, which also mean ‘wolf’.

The significance of the wolf to Native Americans is illustrated in their traditional personal names, many of which have been adopted as surnames translated into English. Examples include Black Wolf (see Blackwolf) and Little Wolf (see Littlewolf).