This interesting and curious surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and derives from an Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Wulfgar", in Middle English "Wol(f)gar", which is composed of the elements "wulf", wolf, and "gar", spear. Pre 7th Century Anglo-Saxon and Norse baptismal names were usually distinctive compounds whose elements were often associated with the Gods of Fire, Water and War. The personal name itself is recorded as "Wlgar, Vlgar" in the Domesday Book of 1086, and one Wlfgarus de Cokesale is recorded in 1252, in the Records of the monastery of St. John, Colchester (Essex). The surname is first recorded in the late 12th Century (see below), while one Teobald Wolgar is mentioned circa 1250 in the Cartularium of the Monastery of Ramsey (Cambridgeshire). The following recordings are found in London Church Registers: the marriage of Jone Wollgar and William Chamber on June 20th 1540, at St. Stephan's, Coleman Street; the christening of Charells Wolgar in February 1543, at St. Margaret's, Westminster; and the marriage of Frances Woolgar to Ralph Browne on April 22nd 1663, at All Hallows, London Wall. The Church Registers of Sussex record the marriage of John Woolgar to Elizabeth Bruer at Sidlesham, Sussex, on January 20th 1571. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Brixi Wulgar, which was dated 1188, in the "Pipe Rolls of Norfolk", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. 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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