Woolf (surname)

Alternate spellings include Wolfe, Wolff, Wulf and Wolf.

Woolf is a name that is used as a surname, given name, and a name among Germanic-speaking peoples: see Wolf, Wulf. This name is particularly popular in England especially in the south due to strong Saxon influence: see Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. Historians on Anglo Saxon Britain such as Barbara Yorke, have commented that the Woolf name originated from Oswelf the 'Wolf', who was a famous Saxon lord who in legend fought King Horsa. He supposedly changed his name to 'Woolf' from the more Germanic spelling of Wolf. This is the first recording of the Woolf name, although according to Yorke it is most likely that other Saxon families changed their name to this translation.[1]

Notable people with the name include:

  • Aida Woolf (1886-1967) was a British dress designer
  • Arthur Woolf, English engineer, best known for invention of a compound steam engine
  • Bailey Woolf, NC nurse
  • Benjamin Edward Woolf, British-American playwright, composer and journalist
  • Cecil Woolf (1927–2019), English author and publisher
  • Daniel Woolf, principal of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario
  • Edgar Allan Woolf (1881-1943), American playwright and co-author of the script for The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
  • Fiona Woolf, Lord Mayor of London
  • George Woolf, Canadian horse racing jockey
  • Harry Woolf (historian), (1923-2003), American historian of science, provost of The Johns Hopkins University and Director of the Institute for Advanced Study
  • Herbert M. Woolf, American businessman and racehorse owner
  • Jack Woolf, American academic
  • Jimmy Woolf (born 1916), South African footballer who played for Southampton F.C.
  • Leonard Woolf, author and husband of Virginia
  • Lord Woolf, England and Wales Lord Chief Justice credited with making wide-ranging reforms to improve the effectiveness of the court system
  • Raphael Woolf, British philosopher
  • Russell Woolf, Western Australian media personality
  • Virginia Woolf, English author and feminist

References
  1. Yorke, Barbara (2006). The Conversion of Britain: Religion, Politics and Society in Britain, 600-800. London: Longman. ISBN 0-582-77292-3.
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