WOLFOWITZ Origin of surname
WOLFOWITZ
Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name is a patronymic surname based on a male ancestor's personal name, in this case of biblical origin.
Wolfowitz, in which the German suffix "-owitz" means "of/from" and stands also for "son of", is a variant of Wolf, a translation of the Hebrew Zeev. Zeev is the biblical nickname of the biblical Binyamin (Benjamin in English) son of Joseph (Genesis 49.27). Initially a personal name, Ze'ev/Ze'eb became a family name with equivalents in several languages, among them Lupus (Latin), Lopez and Lopes (Spanish and Portuguese), Lupu (Romanian), Wilk/Wolk/Walk (Slavic) and Wolf (German and English). Some of its variants are associated with place names such as Wolfsberg in Carinthia, southern Austria, where Jews lived since the 13th century; Wolfsburg in Hanover, north western Germany; Wolfstein in Bavaria and Wolfstein in the Rhenish Palatinate, Germany; Volpa/Wolpa (in Yiddish Volp/Volpe) in Bielorussia (today Belarus), and Loupes in Gironde, France.
Lupus is recorded as a Jewish family name in the 10th century; Woelflin in 1259; De Lopa in 1262; Lopes in 1407; De Loppes in 1459; De Louppes in 1510; Lopis in 1547; Wolff in 1558; Lopez in the 16th century; Wolf in 1718; and Woulfe in 1750. The same name in Hebrew and German was borne by the 18th century hassidic preacher of Zhitomir, Zeev Wolf.
Distinguished 20th century bearers of the Jewish family name Wolfowitz include the Polish-born American mathematician, Jacob Wolfowitz and the South African surgeon, Jack Wolfovitz.
Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name is a patronymic surname based on a male ancestor's personal name, in this case of biblical origin.
Wolfowitz, in which the German suffix "-owitz" means "of/from" and stands also for "son of", is a variant of Wolf, a translation of the Hebrew Zeev. Zeev is the biblical nickname of the biblical Binyamin (Benjamin in English) son of Joseph (Genesis 49.27). Initially a personal name, Ze'ev/Ze'eb became a family name with equivalents in several languages, among them Lupus (Latin), Lopez and Lopes (Spanish and Portuguese), Lupu (Romanian), Wilk/Wolk/Walk (Slavic) and Wolf (German and English). Some of its variants are associated with place names such as Wolfsberg in Carinthia, southern Austria, where Jews lived since the 13th century; Wolfsburg in Hanover, north western Germany; Wolfstein in Bavaria and Wolfstein in the Rhenish Palatinate, Germany; Volpa/Wolpa (in Yiddish Volp/Volpe) in Bielorussia (today Belarus), and Loupes in Gironde, France.
Lupus is recorded as a Jewish family name in the 10th century; Woelflin in 1259; De Lopa in 1262; Lopes in 1407; De Loppes in 1459; De Louppes in 1510; Lopis in 1547; Wolff in 1558; Lopez in the 16th century; Wolf in 1718; and Woulfe in 1750. The same name in Hebrew and German was borne by the 18th century hassidic preacher of Zhitomir, Zeev Wolf.
Distinguished 20th century bearers of the Jewish family name Wolfowitz include the Polish-born American mathematician, Jacob Wolfowitz and the South African surgeon, Jack Wolfovitz.