"Wolfgang"

       Of course, most of us have come across the name "Wolfgang," but it hasn't before occurred to me to wonder what it meant, German, but . . .

       In a piece in the N.Y. Times Sunday Magazine for February 8, 2015 by Alex Hoyt, a weekly "last words" page under the rubric Lives, Hoyt wonders about a strange and interesting uncle of his who passed away named "Wolfgang."

       As Hoyt comes to know more about his mysterious uncle, he writes "the more appropriate the name Wolfgang seems--his solitude; his status as our family's Mozartian genius; his lupine, booze-fueled midnight mood swings."

       The word means "wolf" "going."

       It is sometimes chosen by English speakers to honor the musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.  It is not among the 1000 most commonly chosen names for a boy.