Fun Facts About the Name Wolfgang
- More than 3 thousand babies named Wolfgang: U.S. records list 3,219 babies given the name Wolfgang from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Wolfgang Mean?
Wolfgang is an Old High German compound name, and its literal meaning is "wolf path" or "wolf's gait." It joins two elements: wulf, meaning "wolf," and gang, a noun meaning "going," "journey," "course," or "path."
The second element is an ordinary Old High German noun but an unusual one inside a personal name, so the exact sense the original name-givers intended is not certain. Besides the literal "wolf path," the compound has been read as a description of someone who travels or moves like a wolf. It should not be confused with names built on the separate element gund ("battle"), such as Gundolf, which is a different combination, even though the wolf element appears in both.
Wolfgang Name History & Origins
Wolfgang belongs to the early medieval German naming tradition that joined two meaningful elements into one personal name, a pattern seen across Old High German, Old Saxon, and related Germanic languages. The earliest forms are built from wulf plus gang, and the name stayed largely within German-speaking Central Europe through the Middle Ages.
Its wider currency is tied to Saint Wolfgang (c. 924 - 994). Born in Swabia, he was educated at Reichenau and Würzburg and became bishop of Regensburg in 972. He did missionary work toward Bohemia and Hungary and died at Pupping, in present-day Upper Austria, in 994. He was canonized in 1052, and devotion to him spread through Bavaria, Austria, and neighboring lands; the Austrian town of Sankt Wolfgang and numerous churches are named for him. His feast day, October 31, is the traditional name day for Wolfgang in German-speaking Catholic regions.
The name has been common in German-speaking countries for centuries and traveled with German-speaking emigrants to other countries, including the United States. Widely known bearers include the poet and dramatist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) and the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791), whose baptismal name was Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. The short form Wolf is also used. In English use the name keeps its German spelling, and the German initial w, pronounced like an English "v" in German, is normally pronounced as an English "w" by English speakers.
How Popular is the Name Wolfgang?
Wolfgang has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2021. Its best rank was #1,282 in 2019.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,519 | 115 | 0.0067% |
| 2024 | #1,534 | 115 | 0.0067% |
| 2023 | #1,327 | 144 | 0.0084% |
| 2022 | #1,412 | 131 | 0.0075% |
| 2021 | #1,287 | 148 | 0.0085% |
| 2020 | #1,352 | 132 | 0.0077% |
| 2019 | #1,282 | 146 | 0.0081% |
| 2018 | #1,400 | 126 | 0.0069% |
| 2017 | #1,458 | 117 | 0.0063% |
| 2016 | #1,455 | 119 | 0.0063% |
| 2015 | #1,479 | 113 | 0.0059% |
| 2014 | #1,669 | 93 | 0.0048% |
| 2013 | #2,019 | 68 | 0.0036% |
| 2012 | #2,065 | 67 | 0.0035% |
| 2011 | #1,754 | 84 | 0.0044% |
| 2010 | #2,009 | 69 | 0.0036% |
| 2009 | #2,142 | 64 | 0.0032% |
| 2008 | #2,540 | 50 | 0.0025% |
| 2007 | #3,086 | 38 | 0.0018% |
| 2006 | #2,541 | 48 | 0.0023% |
| 2005 | #2,295 | 52 | 0.0026% |
| 2004 | #2,312 | 50 | 0.0025% |
| 2003 | #2,236 | 49 | 0.0025% |
| 2002 | #2,152 | 50 | 0.0026% |
| 2001 | #1,956 | 56 | 0.0029% |
| 2000 | #2,012 | 51 | 0.0026% |
| 1999 | #1,761 | 58 | 0.0030% |
| 1998 | #1,679 | 62 | 0.0032% |
| 1997 | #1,812 | 53 | 0.0028% |
| 1996 | #1,906 | 48 | 0.0025% |
| 1995 | #1,587 | 59 | 0.0031% |
| 1994 | #1,470 | 66 | 0.0034% |
| 1993 | #2,505 | 30 | 0.0015% |
| 1992 | #1,749 | 49 | 0.0025% |
| 1991 | #2,604 | 27 | 0.0013% |
| 1990 | #3,773 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1989 | #3,613 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1988 | #3,074 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1987 | #3,334 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1986 | #4,447 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1985 | #4,041 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1984 | #5,538 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1983 | #6,214 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1982 | #4,578 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1980 | #6,225 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1979 | #5,345 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1978 | #4,545 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1977 | #5,113 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1976 | #4,409 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1975 | #3,072 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1974 | #4,182 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1973 | #3,218 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1972 | #4,427 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1971 | #3,654 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1970 | #1,743 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 1969 | #2,547 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1968 | #2,198 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 1967 | #2,981 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1966 | #2,322 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1965 | #2,614 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1964 | #2,661 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1963 | #4,041 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1962 | #2,499 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1961 | #2,320 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1960 | #2,116 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1959 | #2,109 | 16 | 0.0007% |
| 1958 | #2,368 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 1957 | #2,373 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 1956 | #2,625 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1955 | #2,759 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1954 | #2,205 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1953 | #2,285 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1952 | #3,723 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1950 | #3,673 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1949 | #4,198 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1935 | #3,633 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1932 | #3,357 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1930 | #3,997 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1929 | #3,246 | 8 | 0.0007% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
