These last names meaning wolf are real surnames whose dictionary entry traces them to a word for a wolf. Lobo is Portuguese for wolf, Farkas is the Hungarian word, and Phelan goes back to Irish faol.
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Wolf, little wolf or a longer name
The dropdown under the button, How it carries the word, keeps one kind: the 13 names that are the word for a wolf, such as Lupo, Kurt and Volk; the 18 built on it, such as Lowell, little wolf, and McCann, from a word for a wolf cub; or the 19 longer names with wolf in them, such as Randolph, shield plus wolf.
Wolf surnames by language
Under More filters, Language keeps the Old English names, all built on wulf; German and other Germanic; Irish and Scottish Gaelic; French, Italian, Spanish and Basque; Slavic; or other languages: Turkish, Hungarian, Finnish, Albanian and Arabic.
Tips
Not every pairing holds a name: the Old English names are all longer names with wulf in them.
Spelling matters: Wolf and Wolfe are two surnames.
Questions and answers
What last names mean wolf?
Wolf and Wolfe in English and German, Lobo in Portuguese, Lupo in Italian, Ochoa from Basque otsoa, Volk in Slovene, Wilk from Polish, Kurt in Turkish and Farkas in Hungarian. Each card gives the word the dictionary names.
What are good werewolf last names for a character?
A real surname that means wolf fits a werewolf character and can be checked: Lowell and Lovell go back to little wolf, Phelan and Whelan to Irish faol, and Randolph joins shield and wolf.
What last name means little wolf?
Lowell: its entry gives a Middle English diminutive of Old French lou, meaning little wolf. Lovell is built the same way from Anglo-Norman lou, and Phelan and Whelan come from Faolán, a pet form of Irish faol, wolf.
Which Irish last names mean wolf?
Phelan and Whelan, from Ó Faoláin; McClellan and Gilfillan, which hold the saint's name Faolán; and Cannon, Cannan and McCann, from a word for a wolf cub.
Are these last names real?
Yes. Every name has a surname entry in English Wiktionary, and the card quotes the part of its etymology that names the wolf word. A meaning is what the dictionary records for the name, not for any family.
DiabArabic surname, probably from a word the entry glosses as “wolf”.
FărcașRomanian. From Hungarian Farkas, from farkas (“wolf”).
FarkasHungarian. Spelled as the Hungarian word farkas, which the dictionary gives as “wolf”.
KurtTurkish. From kurt (“wolf”).
LoboPortuguese. From lobo (“wolf”).
LupoItalian. From the noun lupo (“wolf”).
OchoaSpanish. From Basque otsoa, otxoa (“wolf”).
SusiFinnish. As a word, susi is a wolf. As a surname, originally likely a byname either for a skilled wolf hunter or a descriptive one.
VilkRespelling of Polish Wilk or a transliteration of Russian Вильк, both from Polish wilk (“wolf”).
VolkSlovene. From volk (“wolf”).
WilkAs a Polish surname, from Polish Wilk, from wilk (“wolf”).
WolfFrom Middle English and German short forms of given names containing the element “wolf”.
WolfeA variant of Wolf.
Show all 50 last names (37 more)
Built on the word 18
CannanReduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Canann (“descendant of Canán”), a personal name derived from cano (“wolf cub”).
CannonAs an Irish surname, Anglicized from Ó Canann (“descendant of Cana”), Ó Canáin (“descendant of Canán”), from cana (“wolf cub”).
GilfillanFrom Scottish Gaelic Gille Fhaolain, “servant of (Saint) Fillan”; the personal name Faolán is thought to be a diminutive of faol, “wolf”.
HukkanenFinnish. From hukka (“wolf”) + -nen; a Savonian form of the Karelian surname Hukka.
LovellOriginally a nickname, from Anglo-Norman lou (“wolf”) + -el.
LoveraBorrowed from Spanish lobera (“wolf pack or wolf lair”).
LowellA Middle English diminutive of Old French lou + -el, meaning “little wolf”.
McCannAnglicized form of Irish Mac Cana (“son of Cana”), a nickname from cana (“wolf cub”).
McClellanAnglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Gille Fhaolain and Irish Mac Giolla Fhaoláin (“son of the servant of Faolán”), a personal name thought to be a diminutive of Irish faol (“wolf”).
PhelanReduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Faoláin (“descendant of Faolán”), a hypocoristic form of faol (“wolf”).
SutelaFinnish. From susi (“wolf”) + -la.
VâlcuRomanian. From a Bulgarian surname, from a word the entry glosses as “wolf”.
VarilaFinnish. From Swedish varg (“wolf”) + -la.
VlčkoSlovak. From vlk (“wolf”).
WhelanReduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Faoláin (“descendant of Faolán”), a hypocoristic form of faol (“wolf”).
WilczykPolish. From wilk (“wolf”).
WilkosPolish. From wilk (“wolf”).
WilkusPolish. From wilk (“wolf”).
A longer name with wolf in it 19
ArdleyFrom the Old English personal name Eardwulf, which is composed of the elements eard (“homeland; earth”) and wulf (“wolf”), + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”).
BacigalupoItalian. From a Ligurian verb + lupo (“wolf”), perhaps a nickname for someone who was courageous and fierce.
BozkurtTurkish. Spelled as the Turkish word bozkurt, which the dictionary gives as a wolf.
BuzukuAlbanian. From the expression buzë ujku (“wolf lips”).
EagleshamFrom the Old English personal name Eċġwulf, composed of the elements eċġ (“edge”) and wulf (“wolf”), + -s- + hām (“homestead”).
EdgellFrom the Old English personal name Eċġwulf, which is composed by the elements eċġ (“edge”) and wulf (“wolf”).
EggletonFrom the Old English personal name Eċġwulf, which is composed of the elements eċġ (“edge”) and wulf (“wolf”), + tūn (“enclosure; settlement, town”).
EgloffGerman and Swiss surname, from the old name *Egilolf, from *aggju (“edge of a sword”) + *wulf (“wolf”).
LudolphBorrowed from German Ludolf, an ancient personal name composed of the Proto-Germanic elements *liudīz (“people”) + *wulfaz (“wolf”).
RandolphFrom Old Norse rǫnd (“shield”) + úlfr (“wolf”).
RudloffGerman. Derived from a variation of the given name Rudolf, built from the stems hruod (honor or renown) and wolf.
WolseleyFrom Middle English Ulselei, Wulfsieslega, from the Old English personal name Wulfsiġe (“wolf victory”) in the genitive case Wulfsiġes + lēah (“wood, clearing”).
WolseyFrom Old English Wulfsiġe (“wolf victory”).
WoolfallHabitational surname from a minor place in Huyton, Lancashire, from the Old English personal name *Wulfa, a byname from wulf (“wolf”), + healh (“nook, corner, angle”).
WoolfreyFrom Old English wulf (“wolf”) + friþ (“peace”).
WoollardFrom Old English wulf (“wolf”) + ford (“ford”).
WoolnoughFrom the Old English personal name Wulfnoþ, a compound of wulf (“wolf”) + noþ (“daring, courage”).
WoolvertonFrom the Old English personal name Wulfhere, which is composed of the elements wulf (“wolf”) and here (“army”), + tūn (“enclosure; settlement, town”).
WoolwayFrom the Old English personal name Wulfing, composed of the element wulf (“wolf”) + wīġ (“war, battle”).
How this list was compiled: A list by a written rule, built on 3 October 2026 from English Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org, CC BY-SA 4.0), read that day. The dictionary was searched for surname entries that mention a wolf, and the entries of the names this page's plan gave as examples were read as well. A surname is listed when the etymology of its entry glosses the name, or a word or older name it is built from, as a wolf, a wolf cub or a she-wolf; for Farkas and Bozkurt, whose entries give no etymology, the card says that the dictionary's entry for the word of the same spelling gives a wolf. The card quotes the first sentence of the etymology in the dictionary's own words (shortened or reworded for about twenty names where it runs long, prints another script or names a language family by a link), with the language of the entry in front when it is not English. Left out: entries whose wolf word is one of several origins the dictionary cannot choose between, entries it marks as uncertain, a place name, and names written in another script. Three names stay with the dictionary's own hedge printed on the card: Diab (probably) and Gilfillan and McClellan (thought to be). Where an entry gives a second origin under another sense, the card says which sense it quotes (Wilk, Cannon). One gloss about beating was cut from a card and the name kept. Names whose entry gives no wolf word are not listed, however well known the link (Volkov, Lupu, López and Rudolph among them). 72 names passed the rule. This site's rule is that at most 40 in 100 names of a list may also stand on its other lists: 5 names were left out because a list that already holds them has no room, and 17 more to keep this list under the cap. That leaves 50 names, 19 of them shared (38.0 in 100), counted on 3 October 2026: 13 are the word for a wolf, 18 are built on it and 19 are longer names with wolf in them. A meaning is what a dictionary records for the name in general, not for any family. Licence: Drawn from English Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). The selection and the grouping are our own work.