Surname Wöstenfeld - Meaning and Origin

Wöstenfeld: What does the surname Wöstenfeld mean?

The last name Wöstenfeld has German-Dutch origins and is a relatively rare name. It derived from the combination of the German word ‘wö’, which stands for ‘au’ and the Dutch ‘stafen’ meaning staff. The name can be translated to ‘one from the staff’ and refers to a person who was appointed by a higher authority as part of a staff, often associated with a military position.

The earliest documented occurrence of the name is found in 1527 in Groningen. It is also recorded in chapter 21 of the ‘Civil Proceedings’, which is part of the records for the city of Oldenburg, Germany, in 1513.

The most common area where the Wöstenfeld surname is found today is in North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony, in northwest Germany. Other places where it can be found are in the Netherlands, especially in the province of North Holland, and Denmark, primarily in the region of Jutland.

The Wöstenfeld name has been associated with a variety of professions throughout the centuries. In the 1800s many of the people bearing the famous surname were merchants, church workers, farmers, artisan bakers, and millers.

The name Wöstenfeld is a dignified one with deep roots in German and Dutch cultures. It is a reminder of past status and a sign of respectability that continues to stand the test of time.

Wöstenfeld: Where does the name Wöstenfeld come from?

The last name Wöstenfeld is most commonly found in the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. It is also present in other German states as well as other European countries such as Switzerland, Poland, and the Netherlands. The name Wöstenfeld is documented as early as 1565 in what is now Lower Saxony.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, Wöstenfeld is a particularly common surname in the cities of Dortmund, Munster, Essen, and Duisburg. This may be due to the fact that Dortmund and the Münsterland region have a strong Westphalian heritage, and many families have lived in the region for hundreds of years. In Essen and Duisburg, the surname Wöstenfeld is particularly common because of its mining heritage.

In other parts of Germany, the name Wöstenfeld is much less common. In Bavaria, it is very rare, while in Hesse, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt it is quite common. In the eastern states of Germany, it appears more often as an ancestral name, often belonging to people with a Westphalian heritage who moved to those parts of Germany during the 20th century.

Outside of Germany, the name Wöstenfeld is found primarily in Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Poland, with smaller numbers of people bearing the name in other countries. In Switzerland, the name is most commonly found in the canton of Baselland, while in the Netherlands it is more often seen in regions bordering the German border. In Poland, the name is most common in the regions of Pomerania and Masovia.

Variations of the surname Wöstenfeld

The surname Wöstenfeld has three main variants, spellings and surnames of the same origin. They include Wöstefeld, Wösteveld, and Wöstenfel.

The spelling Wöstefeld is derived from the Middle High German “ebra”, meaning “dweller near a marsh”. The element “feld” means “field”, and together, it roughly translates to “the dweller of the marsh-field”.

A variation on this spelling is Wösteveld, which likely started as a typographical error. It likely originated as Wöstefeld.

The most common variant for this surname is Wöstenfel, which is derived from the Middle High German words “west” meaning “at the west” and “feld” translating to “field”. The translation for this variant is “dweller of the west-field”.

Other related spellings and surnames of this origin include Wöstela, Wöstel, Wösteiner, Wöstling, and Wösthoff. These variants and spellings are likely derived from the Middle High German “ebra” and “west” elements, meaning “dweller of the marsh-field” and “dweller of the west-field” respectively.

Wöstenfeld is a surname with many variants and spelling variations that are all derived from its Middle High German roots. All of these variants can be traced back to this common origin in Germanic language and culture.

Famous people with the name Wöstenfeld

• Heide Wöstenfeld– German actress
• Christina Wöstenfeld: German judoka
• Xenia Wöstenfeld: German long-distance runner
• Bernhard Wöstenfeld: German chess master
• Reinhold Wöstenfeld: German art historian
• Hubert Wöstenfeld: German sociologist
• Hartmut Wöstenfeld: German-British mathematician
• Derck Wöstenfeld: German physicist
• Anneliese Wöstenfeld: German singer-songwriter
• Renate Wöstenfeld: German figurative painter
• Friedrich Wöstenfeld: German philologist
• Günter Wöstenfeld: German theatrical director
• Claus Wöstenfeld: German football defender
• Wilhelm Wöstenfeld: German evangelical theologian
• Johannes Wöstenfeld: German medievalist
• Heiko Wöstenfeld: German philanthropic entrepreneur
• Wilhelm Dittmar Wöstenfeld: German engineer ace and flying ace

Other surnames

Wöstenfeldt