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HI!
I know this may seem silly, but no matter where I go on the internet, I can never find my last name! I have been extreemely curious as to what it might mean or where it comes from. if anyone has any info, it would be greatly appreciated.
I hope to hear from you soon!
P+L+H (peace,love,happiness) always
-Amber >^._.^<
I know this may seem silly, but no matter where I go on the internet, I can never find my last name! I have been extreemely curious as to what it might mean or where it comes from. if anyone has any info, it would be greatly appreciated.
I hope to hear from you soon!
P+L+H (peace,love,happiness) always
-Amber >^._.^<
1
Replies
A tough one for me because the ending doesn't necessarily match the beginning ... but sometimes they are indeed from different origins ...more often not ...
I'll take a stab at it though (always willing to at least try ...)
It looks English, certainly the first syllable ...Wilt- can be related to names like William, meaning ultimately strength (or strong will) or like Wilton, it may mean "well" as in a 'spring' ...
The -gen part is more difficult for me (maybe less so for others?), but at least one possibility is the Latin root "Genus" meaning 'kind' or 'type' (and often evolved into "born")... and Latin was used in England for a long time so maybe it's a hybrid word ...
So ultimately maybe it means something along the lines of "born of the strong-willed one" or "born near the well or spring" ...
Again, just a drunken' guess ...from a guy who drinks too much and reads too much etymology ...
I'll take a stab at it though (always willing to at least try ...)
It looks English, certainly the first syllable ...Wilt- can be related to names like William, meaning ultimately strength (or strong will) or like Wilton, it may mean "well" as in a 'spring' ...
The -gen part is more difficult for me (maybe less so for others?), but at least one possibility is the Latin root "Genus" meaning 'kind' or 'type' (and often evolved into "born")... and Latin was used in England for a long time so maybe it's a hybrid word ...
So ultimately maybe it means something along the lines of "born of the strong-willed one" or "born near the well or spring" ...
Again, just a drunken' guess ...from a guy who drinks too much and reads too much etymology ...
1
Thank You!
Hey!
Thank you so much for helping me. I know that my last name is kind of weird, but it is nice to have an idea of what it all might mean.
I wish that i could say this personally, but you get the idea!
TTFN!
-Amber
Hey!
Thank you so much for helping me. I know that my last name is kind of weird, but it is nice to have an idea of what it all might mean.
I wish that i could say this personally, but you get the idea!
TTFN!
-Amber
1
I typed "wiltgen german+surname" into my browser, and it produced some results. Luxembourg seems to be one home of the name and there is a Luxembourgeois(?) composer named Roland Wiltgen. There is a website for Americans of Luxembourg origin, and there were several references to that. There was also an Austrian professor of that name. As to the meaning, maybe Andy's Duden Lexicon has an explanation.
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Wiltgen
I'm afraid the Duden Lexikon fails here. All I could find, is WILT, a contraction of WILLHARDT.
There are several german surnames ending with -GEN, but my dictionary doesn't have a reverse index (this would take too much space) and the ones I could think of (Fremgen, Hergen) aren't in it. All I can imagine is a variant of -KEN, a deminutive suffix.
Andy ;—)
I'm afraid the Duden Lexikon fails here. All I could find, is WILT, a contraction of WILLHARDT.
There are several german surnames ending with -GEN, but my dictionary doesn't have a reverse index (this would take too much space) and the ones I could think of (Fremgen, Hergen) aren't in it. All I can imagine is a variant of -KEN, a deminutive suffix.
Andy ;—)
1