Family name origins & meanings
- German : variant of Walz.
- German : habitational name for someone from Oberwölz (formerly Welz) on the border between Styria and Carinthia, in Austria; or from the German towns of Welz (near Aachen), Welze (near Hannover), or Wölls (near Landsberg; formerly recorded as Weltz and Welss).
- German : from Middle High German, Middle Low German wels ‘catfish’, hence probably a nickname for someone thought to resemble the fish.