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. The name was also attested as "Vulfgang" in the Reichenauer
Verbrüderungsbuch in the 9th century. The earliest recorded famous bearer of the name was a tenth-century
Saint Wolfgang of
Regensburg
Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...
. 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), Bavarian bishop and Catholic 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
Wolfgang of the Palatinate (nicknamed ''the Elder''; 31 October 1494 in Heidelberg – 2 April 1558 in Neumarkt) was a German nobleman from the House of Wittelsbach. He was Count Palatine of Neumarkt and governor of the Upper Palatinate.
L ...
(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
Duke Wolfgang of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (1531–1595) was the Prince of Principality of Grubenhagen, Grubenhagen from 1567 to 1595.
Wolfgang was born on 6 April 1531 in Herzberg am Harz, Herzberg, the fifth son of Duke Philip I, Duke of Brunswick- ...
(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 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 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
Wolfgang Bosch was a politician in Carniola during the early 16th century when it was under the Holy Roman Empire. He became mayor of Ljubljana in 1520 and was the first mayor of the city to serve a period of four years.
He was succeeded by Jurij ...
, mayor of Ljubljana 1520–1524
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Wolfgang Brinkmann
Wolfgang Brinkmann (born 23 May 1950) is a retired German equestrian. He won a gold medal in show jumping with the West German team at the 1988 Summer Olympics and finished in 19th place individually.
Personal life
Brinkmann was born in Bielef ...
(born 1950), German equestrian
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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
Wolfgang Dauner (; 30 December 1935 – 10 January 2020) was a German jazz pianist who co-founded the United Jazz + Rock Ensemble. He worked with Hans Koller, Albert Mangelsdorff, Volker Kriegel and Ack van Rooyen and composed for radio, televi ...
(1935–2020), German jazz fusion pianist, composer and keyboardist
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Wolfgang Dietrich (disambiguation), several people
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Wolfgang Dremmler
Wolfgang Dremmler (born 12 July 1954) is a German former footballer who played as a midfielder.
A trained metalworker, Dremmler was part of the West Germany team that reached the 1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th ...
(born 1954), German footballer
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Wolfgang Flür (born 1947), German musician, Kraftwerk
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Wolfgang Franz (mathematician)
Wolfgang Franz (born 4 October 1905 in Magdeburg, Germany; died 26 April 1996) was a German mathematician who specialized in topology particularly in 3-manifolds, which he generalized to higher dimensions. He is known for the Reidemeister–F ...
(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 Herold (born 1961), producer
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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 Kuck
Wolfgang Kuck (born 12 October 1967 in Wülfrath, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a volleyball player from Germany, who played for the Men's National Team in the 1990s and the early 2000s. He earned a total number of 203 caps for the national squad. He ...
(born 1967), German volleyball player
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Wolfgang Langewiesche
Wolfgang Langewiesche (pronounced:long-gah-vee-shuh) (1907–2002) was an aviator, writer and journalist. He is one of the most quoted writers in aviation writing. His book, ''Stick and Rudder'' (1944), is still in print, and is considered a primar ...
(1907–2002), German aviation expert and author
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Wolfgang Leonhard
Wolfgang Leonhard (16 April 1921 – 17 August 2014) was a German political author and historian of the Soviet Union, the German Democratic Republic and Communism. A German Communist whose family had fled Hitler's Germany and who was educat ...
(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 Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), Austro-German composer
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Wolfgang Niersbach
Wolfgang Niersbach (born 30 November 1950) is a German sports official and former sports journalist. From 2 March 2012 until 9 November 2015, he was President of the German Football Association (german: link=no, Deutscher Fußball-Bund, DFB).
Bio ...
(born 1950), president of the German Football Association
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Wolfgang Overath (born 1943), German footballer
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Wolfgang Pagenstecher
Wolfgang Pagenstecher (March 16, 1880 – December 26, 1953) was a German painter and heraldist. He was born in Elberfeld and died in Düsseldorf.
Biography
Pagenstecher was born in Elberfeld, German Empire, on March 16, 1880, as the third son o ...
(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 Preiss (1910–2002), German actor
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Wolfgang Priklopil
Natascha Maria Kampusch (born 17 February 1988) is an Austrian author and former talk show host. At the age of 10, on 2 March 1998, she was Child abduction, abducted and held in a secret cellar by her kidnapper Wolfgang Přiklopil for more than ...
(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)
Wolfgang Reinhardt (13 December 1908 – 28 July 1979) was a German film producer and screenwriter. He was best known for co-writing the screenplay for the film '' Freud: The Secret Passion'' (1962), which earned him Academy Award and Writers G ...
(1908–1979), German film producer and screenwriter
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Wolfgang Reinhardt (athlete)
Wolfgang Reinhardt (6 May 1943 – 11 June 2011) was a West German pole vaulter. Competing for the United Team of Germany he won a silver medal at the 1964 Olympics and was awarded the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt for this achievement. Domestically ...
(1943–2011), West German pole vaulter
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Wolfgang Reitherman (1909–1985), German-American Disney animator
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Wolfgang Rihm (born 1952), German composer
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Wolfgang W.E. Samuel
Wolfgang W.E. Samuel (born February 2, 1935) is a German-born American author and a veteran of the United States Air Force.
Early years
Born in what is now Poland, ten-year-old Samuel, along with his mother and sister, ran from his home town of ...
(born 1935), German-born American author and a veteran of the United States Air Force
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Wolfgang Schäuble (born 1942), German politician (CDU)
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Wolfgang Schmidt Wolfgang Schmidt may refer to:
* Wolfgang Schmidt (athlete) (born 1954), German track and field athlete
* Wolfgang Schmidt (politician)
Wolfgang Schmidt (; born ) is a German politician and jurist who has been serving as Federal Minister for ...
(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 Stumph (born 1946), German actor
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Wolfgang Thierse
Wolfgang Thierse (; born 22 October 1943) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He served as the 11th President of the Bundestag from 1998 to 2005.
Early life and career
Thierse was born in Breslau (Wrocław in present ...
(born 1943), German politician
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Wolfgang Tillmans
Wolfgang Tillmans (born 16 August 1968) is a German photographer. His diverse body of work is distinguished by observation of his surroundings and an ongoing investigation of the photographic medium’s foundations.
Tillmans was the first photog ...
(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
Wolfgang von Schweinitz (born 7 February 1953 in Hamburg) is a German composer of classical music and an academic teacher.
Career
Schweinitz studied composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, from 1971 to 1973 with Gernot Kl ...
(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
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 reg ...
, German murderer
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Wolfgang Weyrauch
Wolfgang Weyrauch (15 October 1904 – 7 November 1980) was a German writer, journalist, and actor. He wrote under the pseudonym name Joseph Scherer.
Life and work
Wolfgang Weyrauch was born Königsberg, Prussia as the son of a surveyor. Afte ...
(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'' (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''
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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 von Stroheim, a character from the ''
Fatal Fury'' series introduced as the final boss of ''
Fatal Fury 2''
References
{{given name, type=both, cat1=German masculine given names
English masculine given names