Wolferl

This name means “who walks like a wolf, hunter of wolves, one who follows the wolf’s track.” It derives from the Old High German name “Wolfgang,” composed of two elements: “*-wulfaz” (wolf) plus “*ganganą” (to go, walk, turn out, to step). Wulf and Wolf were one of the most prolific elements in early Germanic and Nordic names. In Norse mythology, Gangr or Gang was a giant and a son of Ölvaldi and his brothers Þjazi and Iði. It could figure as the first element in dithematic names, as in Wulfstan, but mostly as the second element, in the form “-ulf, / -olf.” The numerous names in -wulf, -ulf, -olf gave rise to hypocorisms (pet) from an early time, which were later also treated as given names in their own right. The wolf is a significant figure in Germanic and Norse paganism for more than a thousand years. 1) Saint Wolfgang of Regensburg (~934–994) was bishop of Regensburg in Bavaria from Christmas 972 until his death. He is a saint of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. 2) Wolfgang, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen (1492–1566), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-köthen. He was one of the earliest Protestant rulers in the Holy Roman Empire. 3) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the classical era.