Surname Woitowitz - Meaning and Origin
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Woitowitz: What does the surname Woitowitz mean?
The last name Woitowitz is a Germanic last name. The name is derived from the German personal name Woyt, suggesting the original bearer was the son of someone by this name. The root of Woyt is possibly a Germanic word meaning "wood" or "forest".
The name is associated with “metal workers”. This is because the most common form of Woyt is Woytowicz, a Hungarian occupational surname for people who worked metal, usually as a blacksmith.
The habitational suffix “-witz” indicates that the original bearer of the name came from some place that was either known as Woit or from which the first Woit got his name. Woit can be derived from the Old High German Willa or Willo, which refers to a settlement on a water source, such as a well or a lake, alternatively it can also be derived from a place name with a similar literal meaning.
The last name Woitowitz implies that the original bearer came from a place where the woodworking or metal-smithing industry was prevalent, was the son of someone with a similar name, and may have had a connection to a water source.
Order DNA origin analysisWoitowitz: Where does the name Woitowitz come from?
The last name Woitowitz appears to be a rare surname, with no results found on popular ancestry sites such as Ancestry.com or MyHeritage.com. According to US Census records, Woitowitz is most commonly found in the United States today. It appears from US Census data that, in 2020, approximately 220 people in the US had the last name Woitowitz. Most of these people live in New York, with a few in Maryland, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and California. Amongst all of these, New York appears to have the highest concentration of people with the last name Woitowitz, particularly in the New York City metro area.
The US Census does not reveal much about the ethnicity of these people, suggesting that the last name may have been adopted by different ethnic and national groups who settled in the US over the years. It is possible that some of the people with the last name Woitowitz are descended from German and Austrian immigrants who were popularly known to have the surname. The surname is also found among Jews in Central and Eastern Europe, and it has also been used by Welsh people in the UK. Whatever its origin, it looks like the last name Woitowitz is now slowly fading into obscurity in many parts of the world.
Variations of the surname Woitowitz
The Woitowitz surname has multiple variants, spellings, and surnames of the same origin. These include Woitawicz, Woitawick, Vitovec, Voytowitz, Voytowitz, Vojtovych, Vitovcz, Vojcovicz, Vojtovicz, Voytovitch, Voytovitsch, Voytovetz, Vojtovic, Vojtovits, Voitowitz, Voytitch, Vojtocvicz, Vitovchuk, Voitawecz, Voitawicz, Vojcovicz, Vitovskij, Vojcovitz, and Voytowicz.
The Woitowitz surname is most likely of Slavic origin. It is believed to have originated from a place called Vitovce, which was located in what is now part of Ukraine. This place is thought to have been named after a leader of the region, who was referred to as Vituce or Wituce. Over time the name was eventually adapted into many different spellings and surnames, each of which carries the same meaning.
It is also possible that the Woitowitz surname may have originated from the German word ‘wüt,’ which means ‘fury’. German surnames were commonly derived from an occupation or character trait, and so the surname may have been given to someone who was known for their passionate or fiery behavior.
The prefix ‘woy,’ which is present in the Woitowitz surname, is often used in Eastern European languages to describe a type of nobility or high status. For example, the Ukrainian word, воєвода, and the Polish word, wojski, both mean ‘nobleman.’ It is therefore possible that the Woitowitz surname could indicate a family of noble status.
Regardless of the origin of this surname, it is clear that it has undergone many changes and variations over time. Each of these spellings and surnames carry the same meaning, and are all derived from the same unique origin.
Famous people with the name Woitowitz
- Michael Woitowitz: a German footballer who has played for several Bundesliga clubs and is now with Hallescher FC.
- Reinhard Woitowitz: a German Olympic fencer who represented West Germany at the 1980 Moscow Games and won a gold medal in men's team foil.
- Mikula Woitowitz: a German Polytechnic professor and civic leader who was a prominent figure in the politics of East Germany during the Cold War.
- Kurt Woitowitz: a German aerospace engineer and professor at the Technical University of Munich.
- Marc Woitowitz: a German-American businessman and entrepreneur who was the former CEO of Papa John's Pizza.
- Jakob Woitowitz: a German violinist and teacher of the Romantic school.
- Rudolf Woitowitz: a German abstract painter and graphic artist who was an important member of the Munich artist's group Die Brücke (The Bridge).
- Klaus Woitowitz: a German musician and composer who is best known for his jazz piano concerts.
- Uwe Woitowitz: a German harpist and professor at the Heidelberg Academy of Music.
- Michael Woitowitz: an American software engineer and the founder of NovaSoft Technologies, Inc.