RhuinHruda Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 So, it's the understanding in my family that our name is German and comes from these three brothers who came over to America and their last name was translated. But we've never been able to figure out what it means, so I'm looking for someone who could translate it for us. U.S. Version: Woolslayer Believed German Version (phonetically): Vullschlager We've always assumed it had something to do with sheep, because of the English version, but we don't really know. Can anyone help? Link to post Share on other sites
cal_gui Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Okay, so my german is pretty rusty, but by what the google was also able to help, maybe your last name was originally Wollschläger, which according to Duden online german dictionary and Wikipedia is a (old) job that consists in preparing the wool to get processed further. http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Wollschlaeger https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wollschläger_(Beruf) The links are in German, but maybe google translate could do a (poor) helping to understand the concept. And I'm sure some native speaker will give you a better response. By the phonetical description, Vull kinda seems like Voll (making an stretch), which would mean full and Schlager could mean either "beat" in a musical sense or "hit" from a hit song. It also describes an music genre of post-WW2 popular mostly in Germany, Sweden, Finnland, Netherlands, Austria and others. But I really doubt that it would make any sense. Wollschläger seems like a pretty usual german last name, so that's the most certain guess. Are you sure that's German? German is similar (in some extent) to Dutch, Swedish and Norwegian. So maybe your last name has some meaning in one of those language. Again, probably a native speaker will be a bigger help, so I wish you good luck ^_^ Link to post Share on other sites
Sisky Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Okay, so my german is pretty rusty, but by what the goole was also able to help, maybe your last name was originally Wollschläger, which according to Duden online german dictionary and Wikipedia is a (old) job that consists in preparing the wool to get processed further. http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Wollschlaeger https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wollschläger_(Beruf) The links are in German, but maybe google translate could do a (poor) helping to understand the concept. And I'm sure some native speaker will give you a better response. This sums it up pretty well. :) It's also the name of a noble family of German descent, so I'd say the name is indeed German. All famous people listed on Wikipedia are also German... More articles for the Google Translate massacre: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wollschlaeger Link to post Share on other sites
Hardly any Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Not a native German speaker, but did spend 8 years studying it. Well, "woll" (probably where voll would come from) means "woolen", and "schlaeger" means "puncher" (essentially "thug") so Woolslayer sounds about right to me. SHEEP PUNCHER. Jk, those above me are probably right about the wool preparation thing. Link to post Share on other sites
RhuinHruda Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 Not a native German speaker, but did spend 8 years studying it. Well, "woll" (probably where voll would come from) means "woolen", and "schlaeger" means "puncher" (essentially "thug") so Woolslayer sounds about right to me. SHEEP PUNCHER. Jk, those above me are probably right about the wool preparation thing. Lol, we have a family joke of telling people to think of "Sheep killer" to remember our name. I've tried "Sweater murderer" too, and that gets a laugh, but it's harder to say. Okay, so say that it is Wollschlaeger, which seems right with what we've been told. And taking that too mean "wollen thug/puncher," we were right that it had to do with sheep. And apparently old-school nobility. Rock on. Thanks guys!!! Link to post Share on other sites
Autumn Sunrise Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 The German word for "slayer" is "Mörder"; "schlagen" means to hit/strike/beat. "Vull" doesn't appear to be German, but it could have originally been "Wolle", which means wool. So maybe your family name relates to a wool-related trade, maybe some kind of beating process needed to soften the hide, as cal-gui suggested, or even maybe rug/carpet beater :lol: I'll see what else I can find out about wool processing. Link to post Share on other sites
RhuinHruda Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 As I said, the "voll" is phonetic since I wasn't sure how it would be spelled in German, woll or wull. And I remember enough German to know that "w"s are pronouced as "v"s Link to post Share on other sites
Autumn Sunrise Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I found some information about wool processing in mediaeval times, that included the following: "Felting of wool occurs upon hammering or other mechanical agitation because the microscopic barbs on the surface of wool fibers hook together, somewhat like Velcro." Maybe the person who carried out this process could have been described as a "Wollschlager" ?? Link to post Share on other sites
snvke Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Wollschläger is actually a not so unusual german surname. It's also a job, Wollschläger are people who "after the shearing, clean and prepare coarsely clumped and dirty raw wool for weaving". (That's the best translation I could make from a german description, please bear with me) Link to post Share on other sites
Autumn Season Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Yes, there are a couple of people called Wollschläger, if you google it. But I'll honestly admit that I've never heard of this last name before. It's interesting that many companies are called Wollschläger, including this one http://www.wollschlaeger.de/en/. Also, you might like this site: https://www.houseofnames.com/wollschlager-family-crest. Link to post Share on other sites
scarletlatitude Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Yes, there are a couple of people called Wollschläger, if you google it. But I'll honestly admit that I've never heard of this last name before. It's interesting that many companies are called Wollschläger, including this one http://www.wollschlaeger.de/en/. Also, you might like this site: https://www.houseofnames.com/wollschlager-family-crest. I second that family crest website. I learned so much about my family names and what they mean by looking the names up on websites like that. Or, if you ever have the opportunity to travel to Germany, there are sometimes shops that can look up your family name history and print it for you. Link to post Share on other sites
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