Nameberry has a link to williams international variations… and one listed is wolf, although it doesnt talk in wolfs description as being related to william at all… is this truly a variation of william?? Thanks berries!
I’ve never heard of [name_m]Wolf[/name_m] being a variation of [name_m]William[/name_m] but maybe it is in a Scandinavian country? [name_f]Do[/name_f] you know to which country this is connected?
I looked-up [name_m]William[/name_m] and [name_m]Wolf[/name_m] at Behind the Name. They do not have them listed as related. I love Behind the Name, you can view the family tree and see the relations to each name, along with the name in other languages and diminutives, etc. [name_f]My[/name_f] top two sites are this one and Behind the name.
I’ve never heard of [name_m]Wolf[/name_m] being a variant of [name_m]William[/name_m]. Like lovemysweeties, I love Behind the Name.
So then is nameberry… wrong!!!
It can wrong. They also listed [name_m]Vasiliy[/name_m] as a variation of [name_m]William[/name_m], while it is actually a variation of [name_m]Basil[/name_m].
I think sometimes Nameberry includes “variations” that are just names with similar sounds or qualities.
Nameberry like every other source is not infallible. I think if something feels strange it is always a good idea to check other independant sources. Behindthename.com strikes me as one reputable source, The Journal of Onomastics is another, I also like looking things up in Etymology dictionaries ([name_m]Oxford[/name_m] or Cambridge) or just looking up word roots etc.
In the case of [name_m]William[/name_m] vs [name_m]Wolf[/name_m]. (as far as I can tell)
[name_m]William[/name_m] is a variant of the Germanic [name_m]Wilhelm[/name_m] - “will” being will or desire and helm being derived from helmet (BTN says this suggest protection) = something like resolute protection.
vs.
[name_m]Wolf[/name_m] in [name_m]German[/name_m] means wolf (defined in the [name_m]Oxford[/name_m] Dictionary of English Etymology as canine mammal.)
Clearly suggesting one is related to the other by anything except for a combined Germanic origin and a first letter feels a little far fetched. I’d say the NB listing is incorrect.