Surname Wegfraß - Meaning and Origin

Wegfraß: What does the surname Wegfraß mean?

The surname Wegfraß is believed to be of German origin, although its exact origin is unclear. It is thought to derive from the Middle High German words “weg” (path) and “fraz” (stride), indicating that it may have referred to someone who regularly took a particular path. Another interpretation suggests that it referred to a person of determination, who had a determined stride that was likely to take him far along the path of his chosen profession.

The surname Wegfraß is quite rare, with only a handful of families bearing the name; however, it can be found in Germany, Austria, and parts of Switzerland. Records of its use date back to the 15th century; its most notable bearer is said to have been the Duke of Wegfraß, who lived in Germany during the 16th century and whose descendants continue to live in the region to this day.

The modern Wegfraß family members are characterized by ambition and determination, qualities that are likely to have been inherited from their ancestor. This surname was likely to have symbolized a person who was destined for success because they had the strength of will to stride along the path to reach their goals.

Wegfraß: Where does the name Wegfraß come from?

Today, the last name Wegfraß is most common in Germany. Records indicate that the name was first used by the Franks, a Germanic tribe in present-day France in the 5th century. The name then spread to other parts of Germany along with the Franks’ descendants. The earliest known recorded version of the surname is found in the 13th century on documents from Bavaria, Germany.

Today, the name is still common in Germany, especially in Northern Bavaria. Based on phonebook listings, the name Wegfraß can be found in numerous German towns, including Bamberg, Bayreuth, Erlangen, and Regensburg. According to popular German genealogy site Verwandt, Wegfraß is the 500th most common last name in Germany, with roughly 6,100 people carrying the name.

Outside of Germany, the surname Wegfraß is not as common. Records indicate there are some Wegfraß families living in Austria and Switzerland, and there are a few U.S. citizens with the name. Interestingly, several of these Wegfraßs can trace their ancestry back to the same Wegfraß family living in the same compact region of Bavaria hundreds of years ago. However, it appears that the majority of these Americans are descendants of a single German immigrant who came to Pennsylvania in the late 1800s.

Variations of the surname Wegfraß

The surname Wegfraß is a German occupational surname derived from the word 'weg', meaning road or path, and 'fraß', meaning cutting or grazing. It is an archaic name for a person who made a living by grazing livestock along roads.

The variants of the surname Wegfraß include Wegfrass, Wegfras, Wegfratz, Wegfritz, Wegfratz, Wigfras, Wigfratz, Vogfraß, Vogfraße, Vogfraes, Vogfraez and Vogfrazen.

The variants of the surname Wegfraß are assumed to have originated from regional phonetic variation, with the use of F and V for B, and S and Z for T. Additionally, the use of the ending 'er' was added over time to the original Wegfraß spelling.

Surnames derived from the same origin as Wegfraß are Streufraß, Schwarzfraß, Langfraß, Erbfraß, Siehlerfraß, Stichfraß, Giefraß, Fuchsfraß, Gehrkenfraß, Giesfraß and Grütfraß.

These surnames are derived from either the same or a similar etymology as Wegfraß, with the same meaning of 'road grazer', and the endings of 'fraß' or 'fraße' added to a new verb or adjective to define the occupation held by their ancestor.

In summary, the surname Wegfraß has several variants, spellings and surnames from the same origin. All are derived from a German occupational surname, in which the meaning 'road grazer' is implicit from the combination of the two words, 'weg' and 'fraß'

Famous people with the name Wegfraß

• Anna Wegfraß: German film actress best known for her appearances in films like Die Abenteuer des Huck Finn and Zwei in einer großen Stadt.
• Karin Wegfraß– German theater, film and television actress who rose to fame after starring in a few television series, including Weiß Blaue Geschichten.
• Martin Wegfraß: German professional basketball player who played mainly for physicsalteam of Österreich in the mid-1990s.
• Klaus Wegfraß: German violin clarinet, double bass and bass clarinet player, mostly known for his collaborations with the bands and musicians Zita Swoon and The Notwist.
• Horst Wegfraß: German actor who mostly worked in television and films in Germany and Austria from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s.
• Irene Wegfraß: German singer and lyricist, active in the years between the 1970s and 1990s.
• Franziska Wegfraß: German sports shooter who competed in the women's trap event at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
• Anke Wegfraß: German biologist and oceanographer, mostly known for her work on black bacterial diversity and photosynthetic density in the waters around South Africa.
• Volker Wegfraß: German car driver, winner of the Formula Three in 2009 and a success story in Formula One, although his time in the sport was cut short due to an injury.
• Gerd Wegfraß: German lawyer and former president of Dresdner Bank, active during the 1980s and 1990s.

Other surnames

Wegfrahs