Alternate spellings include Wolfe, Wolff, Wulf and Wolf.
Woolf is a name that is used as a surname, given name, and a name among Germanic-speaking peoples: see Wolf, Wulf. This name is particularly popular in England especially in the south due to strong Saxon influence: see Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. Historians on Anglo Saxon Britain such as Barbara Yorke, have commented that the Woolf name originated from Oswelf the 'Wolf', who was a famous Saxon lord who in legend fought King Horsa. He supposedly changed his name to 'Woolf' from the more Germanic spelling of Wolf. This is the first recording of the Woolf name, although according to Yorke it is most likely that other Saxon families changed their name to this translation.
Notable people with the name include:
Arthur Woolf, English engineer, best known for invention of a compound steam engine.
Benjamin Edward Woolf, British-American playwright, composer and journalist.
Daniel Woolf, Principal of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario
Edgar Allan Woolf (1881-1943), American playwright and co-author of the script for The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
Fiona Woolf, Lord Mayor of London
George Woolf, Canadian horse racing jockey
Harry Woolf (historian), (1923-2003), American historian of science, provost of The Johns Hopkins University and Director of the Institute for Advanced Study
Herbert M. Woolf, American businessman and racehorse owner
Jack Woolf, American academic
Jimmy Woolf (born 1916), South African footballer who played for Southampton F.C.
Leonard Woolf, author and husband of Virginia Woolf.
Lord Woolf, England and Wales Lord Chief Justice credited with making wide-ranging reforms to improve the effectiveness of the court system
Russell Woolf, Western Australian media personality
Virginia Woolf, English author and feminist
