Woulfe — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: de Bhulbh
Meaning: 'wolf' (Norman personal name)
Traditional stronghold: Kildare, Limerick
Pronunciation: WULF; Irish de Bhulbh: deh WOOL-uv
History of the Woulfe name
Woulfe derives from the Norman personal name and nickname Wolf, borne by settler families who came to Ireland in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and were gaelicised de Bhulbh. Two main branches took root: one in Kildare, the other in west Limerick around Athea and Templeglantine, where the distinctive spelling Woulfe survives strongly to this day; plainer Wolfe is found in Cork and elsewhere. The Limerick Jesuit David Wolfe served as papal legate to Ireland in the 1560s. Fittingly, the name's greatest contribution to Irish genealogy is Fr Patrick Woulfe of Limerick, whose 1923 work Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall remains a foundation text on Irish surnames themselves.
Variants: Wolfe · Wolf · Woulf
Famous bearers of the name
- Fr Patrick Woulfe — Limerick priest and scholar, author of the standard reference Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall (1923).
- David Wolfe — Limerick Jesuit sent to Ireland as papal legate in 1561.
- Séamus Woulfe — Attorney General of Ireland and judge of the Supreme Court.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: O'Brien · Ryan · Collins · Fitzgerald · Hayes · Sheehan · O'Riordan · O'Donovan