Surname Wilß - Meaning and Origin
all surnames with 'W'
Wilß: What does the surname Wilß mean?
The last name Wilß is German in origin. It is derived from the old German personal name Willec, the diminutive form of Wilhelm which translates to mean ‘will helmet.’
As a patronymic surname, Wilß would have been the name used to denote ‘son of Willec’ in medieval Germany. It is likely that the people who carried this name were associated with the Bavarian nobility, as Wilhelm is a name usually associated with royalty.
Today, the surname Wilß is found all over Germany, with its highest incidence found in the Rhineland, Bavaria and Thuringia. It is also commonly found in southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland and parts of Eastern Europe.
Its spellings can vary slightly due to its mixed origins, but usually it is seen spelled Wilß, Wilss, Wilßer, Wils, Wies or Wiese. The name is uncommon but still carries meaning in its original language, and it is a reminder of the name bearer’s Germanic ancestry.
Order DNA origin analysisWilß: Where does the name Wilß come from?
The last name Wilß is most common today in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. This surname is of German origin and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is usually found in records from Bavaria, the German-speaking area of southern Germany. The name is a patronymic form of the German personal name Wille or Willo, a short form of Willehelm. The surname Wilß is typically found in areas of Germany where German is spoken, as well as other areas of the Germanic world, such as Austria, Switzerland, and former German provinces, like South Tyrol in Italy.
The surname Wilß has many variant spellings, such as Wills, Wille, Will, Willes, Weills, Wilss, Wilse, Wilsen, etc. Kalman Wills, a prominent German-Jewish attorney active in the 1800s, was an example of a notable person with the last name Wilß.
The surname Wilß has been used for centuries and is still in use today. In 2017, it ranked as the 14,613th most common surname on the planet, according to WorldNames PublicProfiler. This rank was especially notable in Germany where the name was the 3,069th most common, and in Austria, where it was the 2,678th most common.
Variations of the surname Wilß
The surname Wilß has many associated variant spellings and surnames of the same origin. According to HouseOfNames.com, these include Wilss, Wilse, Wilce, Wilcey, Wilcy, Wiles, Wile, Wilcee, Wilsee, Wilsey and Wilsys. All of these surnames are based on the historic German surname “Wilß” or “Voelkel”, which were both derived from the Old German personal name “Willehalm” or “Wilhelm”.
The spelling of Wilß is an ancient version of the name and was used in the 18th century and earlier. The original spelling was “Wilss” or “Wilse”. From there, depending on the area it was used in, the spelling could be changed to “Wilce”, “Wilcey”, “Wilcy”, “Wiles”, “Wile”, “Wilcee”, “Wilsee”, “Wilsey”, and “Wilsys”.
The meaning of Wilß and its variants is “resolute protector”, which is derived from the elements “wil”, meaning “will/desire”, and “helm”, meaning “helmet/protection”. The Wilß family was prominent in many aspects of German life; members of this family held positions such as princes, counts, and minor nobility.
Today, Wilß and its variants are still common throughout Germany. It is also found in the United States, with many members of the Donauschwaben, a group of German immigrants to the US, bearing this name.
Famous people with the name Wilß
- Charlotte Wilß: German actress
- Maria Wilß: German cyclist
- Jonathan Wilss: American actor
- Jean-Jacques Wilß: Swiss politician
- Maria Wilß Browne: German writer
- Leopold Wilhelm Wilß: German botanist
- Andreas Wilß: German actor, director
- Johann Wilß: German composer
- Georg Wilß: German painter
- Jörg Wilß: German guitarist