Voss Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Voss last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Voss last name
Meaning of the Voss last name: fox. Voss is the northern German form of Fuchs, "fox". It was a nickname for a cunning or red-haired person, or a name taken from a house sign showing a fox. The name is most common along the north German coast, in Mecklenburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony. A curious detail: across the border in the Netherlands the same name is written Vos, and a poet called Johann Heinrich Voss gave Germans their classic translation of Homer.
Arms associated with the Voss name
German craftsmen often showed the tools of their trade on their shields, a down-to-earth tradition shared by many Voss families.
Get your full Voss family history
This is only a glimpse of the Voss story. The full Voss history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Voss coat of arms. Get the full Voss report.
Voss name FAQ
What does the Voss name mean?
Fox. Common variants include Vos, Voß, Fuchs.
Where does the Voss surname come from?
It originates in Germany, and is also found in the United States, the Netherlands and Norway.
Is there a Voss coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Voss coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Researched by Herald Lab Research Studio, since 1993. Sources: Duden Familiennamen; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).