This interesting name has two distinct possible origins, the first being a locational name from Wolvey in Warwickshire. This placename, recorded variously as Ulveia in the Domesday Book of 1086, as Wulfeie in the 1195 Pipe Rolls of that county and as Wulfheia in the Assize Court Rolls of 1221, is so called from the Old English pre 7th Century, "wulf-hege" i.e., "an enclosure to protect flocks from wolves or to trap wolves". The surname from this source was first recorded at the beginning of the 13th Century, (see below). One, Maurice ate Wolfaghe mentioned in the 1327 "Subsidy Rolls of Sussex" derived his name from residence at a "wulf-hege". The second possibility is that the surname derives from the Old English personal name Wulfgifu meaning "Wolf-gift". Early recordings include Robertus filius (son of) Wulvere, (Norfolk, 1193) and Hardwin Wuluiue, (Norfolk, 1205). The modern spelling Wolvey is so rare that it doesn't even appear in the London TelephoneDirectory of 1985. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert de Wlueia, which was dated 1200 - "The Pipe Rolls of Warwickshire", during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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