First of all, I have to say I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] this site! I have always been a name-addict and have been having fun reading other addicts name opinions. I appreciate everyone’s insightful responses - especially compared to “another site” where most people are quite rude.
So I would love opinions on something. [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m] has always been one of my favorite names. [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] it. For years I have fully intended on naming my first son [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m], but when I got pregnant with DS, I chickened out! It was mainly because neither my husband or I have any [name_m]German[/name_m] ancestry (we are both mostly Swedish & English) so I thought it might be weird? Does it have such strong [name_m]German[/name_m] ties that it would be like me naming my son [name_m]Juan[/name_m]? Or would it be OK? I love the nickname [name_m]Wolf[/name_m] too. Our last name is [name_m]Kent[/name_m], so [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m] [name_m]Kent[/name_m] sounds great in my opinion, but I would love to hear other people’s honest opinions! I am not pregnant yet but will be TTC soon, and I have a feeling we will be having all boys (strong genes in my husband’s family), and [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m] has been coming back into my mind and heart (hehe).
THANKS!
I think it’s fine, and [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m] is a cool name that sounds brilliant with your surname. [name_m]Wolf[/name_m] is such an amazing nn as well! I’ve got so many names I’d happily use that in no way reflect my ancestry, and are very connected to other cultures. E.g. [name_f]Pandora[/name_f], [name_m]Lorenzo[/name_m], [name_m]Nikolai[/name_m] etc.
We are naming our baby [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m] if it is a boy. I have no known [name_m]German[/name_m] heritage, but I don’t think it matters. I asked my [name_m]German[/name_m] friend about the name and she has never met a [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m] in her 23 years of living in Germany.
[name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m] would work fine in a non-[name_m]German[/name_m] context. It’s an internationally well-known name thanks to [name_m]Mozart[/name_m] and St [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m]. In fact, [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m] pronounced [woolf-gang] is the English form of the name, as opposed to [volf-gang].
I would be a bit surprised to meet a little [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m].
However I would be more surprised to meet a little [name_m]German[/name_m] [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m] (VOLF-gang) than an English one simply because the name is barely used here anymore and you only hear it on 40+ year old men.
It’s quite interesting that older [name_m]German[/name_m] names seem to be more popular elsewhere than in Germany where most people would only consider them as middle names to honor somebody ([name_f]Heidi[/name_f], [name_f]Liesel[/name_f], [name_m]Klaus[/name_m], etc.).
I’d say go for it, you love the name and that’s all that matters.
I don’t think it would be too weird to use, no matter what your ancestry is. There is an English form, as someone pointed out above.
[name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m] and [name_m]Wolf[/name_m] are both really cool!!! I like names from all different origins as well and would use most of them in a heartbeat if my beloved would agree to them. I would go for it if your husband’s on board with the idea! 
[name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m] is bad ass. You don’t have to be [name_m]German[/name_m] to pull it off, but you do have to be pretty freaking cool.
[name_u]Love[/name_u] these responses, thanks so much! DH was totally on board with naming our DS [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m], and was totally surprised when I changed my mind while pregnant, but I mentioned it tonight and - based on his response - I think I need to convince him again, if I really want to use the name, Uh oh!
I’m not the biggest fan of [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m], but, I’ll be honest with you on my personal experience with the name;
At a daycare I was previously at for a college placement (I left and quit my program because this daycare was horrific), there was a 2 year old little boy named [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m] who had just started in the one toddler room.
I know that, compared to the incredibly trendy, awfully spelled names there, it did seem like a welcome change to me (almost like meeting a little [name_f]Martha[/name_f] in a sea of [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f]'s and [name_f]Ava[/name_f]'s), but the girls I worked with often made rude comments about his name (usually while he was playing and they were observing him). Some were fine with the name, or simply did not say anything (which, to me, would be the right thing to do), but then there were a few who would give unsolicited comments about every child there’s name, family and background, and [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m] was no exception.
Usually it was something like “I bet he has a brother named [name_m]Bach[/name_m]” but occasionally it was “it should count as child abuse.”.
Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with the name (although I do dislike it), and the [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m] I know (who goes by Wolfie) is adorable, but, at that particular daycare, they weren’t so kind.
It wouldn’t be weird at all to have a non-[name_m]German[/name_m] [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m]. I don’t think many people would immediately think of it as being a [name_m]German[/name_m] name. Most people would probably think of [name_m]Mozart[/name_m] before anything else.
[name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m] is an awesome name and if you love it, you should use it. I don’t think one requires ancestry in any given names background to use it, as long as one can pronounce it correctly, doesn’t butcher the spelling or give it to the opposite gender than it is given in its culture then go ahead.
I think it it us totally usable. You can always say you named him after [name_m]Mozart[/name_m]. And the [name_m]German[/name_m] pronouncing is slightly different, more like “volf-guhng”.
I love the name [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m] too! So much that it’s my son’s middle name It’s a family name though, and we are [name_m]German[/name_m] (my husband VERY much so - his name is [name_m]Klaus[/name_m]). However, I actually know a [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m] who is about 10 years old. His last name is pretty standard, definitely not overly [name_m]German[/name_m] or anything (like mine is), and I don’t know his heritage. So he might not have a [name_m]German[/name_m] bone in his body! But he wears it well. I say go for it!
Also, your signature cracked me up. I too have “baby name fever!”
That is so sad! Sounds like your former co workers were pretty closed minded. I also work at a daycare, but my coworkers are always respectful of the parents choices in names. The only ones in have heard that some of the workers didn’t like were [name_m]Kain[/name_m], [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u], [name_m]Jaxen[/name_m], and [name_u]McKinley[/name_u] but they weren’t rude. What if the kids heard?! [name_m]Just[/name_m] awful.
I personally really like [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m]! Always have. I don’t think you have to be from a certain ancestry to use a name you really love. I have always adored [name_f]Sofia[/name_f], [name_u]Pasha[/name_u], and [name_f]Colette[/name_f]. If my husband was on board with it I’d use them in a heart beat! Sadly he isn’t.
[name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m] with the nn [name_m]Wolf[/name_m] is adorable. For some reason I put [name_m]Wolfgang[/name_m] in the same gentlemen category as [name_m]William[/name_m], [name_u]Chandler[/name_u], [name_u]Darcy[/name_u], etc. Classic names that to me don’t seem terribly dated at all.