Wolfgang

For other uses, see Wolfgang (disambiguation).

Wolfgang

Pronunciation	/ˈwʊlfɡæŋ/ French: [vɔlfɡɑ̃ɡ] German: [ˈvɔlfɡaŋ] Polish: [ˈvɔlvɡaŋk]
Gender	Male
Language(s)	German
Origin
Word/name	wulf (wolf) + gang (path)
Meaning	Path of the Wolf
Region of origin	Central Europe

Wolfgang is a German male given name traditionally popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The name is a combination of the Old High German words wolf , meaning "wolf", and gang , 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. ^[1] The name was also attested as "Vulfgang" in the Reichenauer Verbrüderungsbuch  [ de ] 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 of Regensburg (934–994 AD), Bavarian bishop and Catholic and Orthodox saint
• Wolfgang, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen (1492–1566), German prince of the House of Ascania
• Wolfgang of the Palatinate (1494–1558), German nobleman from the House of Wittelsbach
• Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (1526–1569), Duke of Zweibrücken
• Wolfgang, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (1531–1595), Prince of Grubenhagen from 1567–1595
• Wolfgang, Count of Hohenlohe-Weikersheim (1546–1610)
• Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg (1578–1653), Duke of Neuburg, Jülich and Berg
• Prince Wolfgang of Hesse (1896–1989), designated Hereditary Prince of the monarchy of Finland
• Wolfgang von Trips (1928–1961), son of a noble Rhineland family

Given name

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), Austro-German composer
• 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 Becker (director, born 1910) (1910–2005), German film director and film editor
• Wolfgang Becker (director, born 1954) (1954–2024), German film director and screenwriter
• Wolfgang Bernhard (born 1960), former President of Chrysler
• Wolfgang Blochwitz (1941–2005), East German footballer
• Wolfgang Bodison (born 1966), American actor
• Wolfgang Boettcher (1935–2021), German classical cellist
• Wolfgang Bolyai (1775–1856), Hungarian mathematician
• Wolfgang Borchert (1921–1947), German author and playwright
• Wolfgang Bosbach (born 1952), German politician
• Wolfgang Bosch, mayor of Ljubljana 1520–1524
• Wolfgang Heichel (born 1950), German singer and husband of Henriette Strobel
• Wolfgang Clement (1940–2020), German politician
• Wolfgang Danne (born 1941), West German pair skater
• Wolfgang Dauner (1935–2020), German jazz fusion pianist, composer and keyboardist
• Wolfgang Dietrich (disambiguation), several people
• Wolfgang Dremmler (born 1954), German footballer
• Wolfgang Figulus (c. 1525 – c. 1591), German composer
• 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), stage name of the American electro house DJ Joseph Youngman
• Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer (born 1979), Austrian politician
• Wolfgang Herold (born 1961), producer
• Wolfgang Herrndorf (1965–2013), German author, painter, and illustrator
• Wolfgang Jerat (1955–2020), German footballer
• Wolfgang Joop (born 1944), German fashion designer
• Wolfgang Kapp (1858–1922), Prussian civil servant and right-wing nationalist
• Wolfgang Kautek, Austrian physical chemist
• Wolfgang Ketterle (born 1957), German physicist
• Wolfgang Kleff (born 1946), German footballer
• Wolfgang Kocevar (born 1969), Austrian politician
• 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 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 (1941–2022), German film director
• Wolfgang Petry (born 1951), German singer and songwriter
• Wolfgang Pisa, O.F.M cap (born 1965), Tanzanian Catholic Bishop and President of Tanzania Episcopal Conference
• Wolfgang Preiss (1910–2002), German actor
• Wolfgang Priklopil (1962–2006), Austrian criminal, captor of Natascha Kampusch
• Wolfgang Puck (born 1949), American chef
• Wolfgang Reinhardt (producer) (1908–1979), German film producer and screenwriter
• Wolfgang Reinhardt (athlete) (1943–2011), West German pole vaulter
• Wolfgang Reitherman (1909–1985), German-American Disney animator
• Wolfgang Rihm (1952–2024), German composer
• Wolfgang W.E. Samuel (born 1935), German-born American author and a veteran of the United States Air Force
• Wolfgang Schäuble (1942-2023), German politician (CDU)
• Wolfgang Schmeltzl (c. 1505 – 1564), German writer, composer and priest
• Wolfgang Schmidt (born 1954), German discus thrower
• Wolfgang Schneiderhan (violinist) (1915–2002), Austrian violinist
• Wolfgang Schneiderhan (general) (born 1946), German general
• Wolfgang Steinbichler (born 1989), Austrian para-cyclist
• Wolfgang Stumph (born 1946), German actor
• Wolfgang Thierse (born 1943), German politician
• 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 Schweinitz (born 1953), German composer and teacher
• 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, 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
• Wolfgang Krauser von Stroheim, a character from the Fatal Fury series introduced as the final boss of Fatal Fury 2

References

1. Förstemann ibid., Col. 596
2. "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.
3. E. Förstemann, Altdeutsches Namenbuch (1856), p. 1347.