The surname Wagner is derived from the Germanic surname Waganari, meaning 'wagonmaker' or 'wagon driver.' The surname is German but is also well-established in Scandinavia, the Netherlands, eastern Europe, and elsewhere as well as in all German-speaking countries, and among Ashkenazi Jews.
The Wagner surname was first found in Saxony, where the family became a prominent contributor to the development of the area from ancient times. The alternatively spelled surname Wegner has its origin in Silesia.
This common occupational surname was often given to one who transported produce or other goods via high-sided wagons or carts. Among some German populations, especially the Pennsylvania Germans, Wagner also denoted a wagon-maker, wainwright, or cartwright.
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People with the surname Wagner
Aamil Wagner (born 2003), American football player
Adolph Wagner (1835–1917), German economist
Agnieszka Wagner (born 1970), Polish actress
Alan Wagner (1931–2007), American television executive, radio personality, writer, opera historian and critic
Alan Wagner (golfer) (born 1989), Argentine professional golfer
Alex Wagner (born 1977), American television host, liberal journalist and author
Allan Wagner (disambiguation)
Amber Wagner (born 1980), American soprano
Andreas Wagner (disambiguation)
Anna Wagner (1914–2026), Austrian supercentenarian
Ann Wagner (born 1962), American politician, U.S. Representative from Missouri
Annett Wagner-Michel (born 1955), German chess master
Anthony Wagner (1908–1995), British Garter Principal King of Arms
Wagner (footballer, born 1966) (born Antonio Wagner de Moraes in 1966), Brazilian football forward
Arthur Wagner (1824–1902), English clergyman from Brighton
Ashley Wagner (born 1991), American figure skater
Audrey Wagner (1927–1984), American baseball player (1943–1949), obstetrician and gynecologist
Austin Wagner (born 1997), Canadian professional ice hockey player playing for United States teams
Ben Wagner (born 1980), American radio sportscaster
Billy Wagner (born 1971), American Major League Baseball player
Blake Wagner (born 1988), American soccer coach
Bobby Wagner (born 1990), American NFL football player
Boyd Wagner (1916–1942), an American aviator and the first United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighter ace of World War II.
Bruce Wagner (born 1954), American novelist and screenwriter
Carl-Ludwig Wagner (1930–2012), German politician
Carolin Wagner (born 1982), German politician
Charles Wagner (1852–1919), French pastor and author who was invited to preach at the White House
Chris Wagner (born 1991), American National Hockey League player
Christean Wagner (1943–2025), German politician
Chuck Wagner (born 1958), American actor, director, musical theater historian and teacher
Cosima Wagner (1837–1930), director of the Bayreuth Festival, daughter of Liszt and widow of Richard Wagner
Dajuan Wagner (disambiguation)
Dalton Wagner (born 1998), American football player
Daniela Wagner (born 1957), German politician
Daniel Wagner, several people
David Wagner (disambiguation), several people
Denisa D. Wagner, American biologist and professor of pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Dennis Wagner (disambiguation), several people
Dietrich Wagner (1945–2023), German engineer
Dinara Wagner (born 1999), German chess woman grandmaster
Donald P. Wagner (born 1960), American politician
Dr. Wagner (disambiguation), multiple people
Eberhard Wagner (born 1938), German academic, linguist and author
Eduard Wagner (1894–1944), quartermaster-general of the German Army in World War II
Eric Wagner (1959–2021), American heavy metal vocalist
Florence Wagner (disambiguation)
Floyd E. Wagner (1898–1983), American politician
Franz Wagner (disambiguation)
Friedelind Wagner (1918–1991), German writer and broadcaster, daughter of Siegfried and Winifred Wagner
Fridolin Wagner (born 1997), German footballer
Gabriel Wagner (c. 1660 – c. 1717), a radical German philosopher
Gary Wagner, multiple people
George Wagner, several people
Gerhard Wagner, multiple people
Gillian Wagner (1927–2025), British writer and social administrator
Gottfried Wagner (born 1947) writer and critic of the Wagner family, son of Wolfgang Wagner
Gudrun Wagner (1944–2007), second wife of Wolfgang Wagner
Günter P. Wagner (born 1954), Austrian biologist
Guillermo Wagner (disambiguation)
Gustav Wagner (disambiguation), several people
Hans Wagner, multiple people
Harvey M. Wagner (1931–2017), American management scientist and professor
Haylie Wagner (born 1993), American softball player in the National Pro Fastpitch league
Heinrich Wagner (disambiguation)
Henry Wagner, multiple people
Ina Wagner (born 1946), Austrian scientist and university professor
Jack Wagner, multiple people
James Wagner, multiple people
Jane Wagner (born 1935), American writer, director and producer
Jaques Wagner (born 1951), Brazilian federal government's Minister of Defence
Jasmin Wagner (born 1980), stage name Blümchen, German singer, actress, model and spokeswoman
Jenny Wagner (disambiguation)
Jens-Christian Wagner (born 1966), German historian
Jill Wagner (born 1979), American actress
Johann Wagner (disambiguation), multiple people
Johannes Wagner, multiple people
John Wagner (born 1949), American-born British comics writer
Josef Wagner (disambiguation), several people
Kai Wagner (born 1997), German footballer
Karl Wagner, multiple people
Katharina Wagner (born 1949), German opera director, daughter of Wolfgang and Gudrun Wagner
Katie Wagner (born 1964), American television personality and Hollywood reporter
Klaus Wagner (1910–2000), German mathematician
Kristina Wagner (born 1962), American actress
Kurt Wagner, multiple people
Lindsay Wagner (disambiguation), multiple people
Madge Morris Wagner (1862–1924), American poet and journalist
Marah Wagner (born 2000), American ice hockey player
Markus Wagner (born 1964), German politician
Martin Wagner (disambiguation), several people
Mary Wagner (born 1949), American politician and jurist
Mathias Wagner (born 1974), German politician
Matt Wagner (born 1961), American comics writer and artist
Melinda Wagner (born 1957), American composer
Michael Wagner, multiple people
Milt Wagner (born 1963), American former basketball coach and former basketball player
Mirel Wagner (born 1987) Ethiopia-born Finnish singer-songwriter
Moritz Wagner, multiple people
Nancy Wagner, American politician from Delaware
Nándor Wagner (1922–1997), Hungarian sculptor
Natasha Gregson Wagner (born 1970), American actress
Neil Wagner (disambiguation), multiple people
Nike Wagner (born 1945), German dramaturge, daughter of Wieland Wagner
Nikolai Wagner (1829–1907), Russian zoologist, writer and psychic researcher
Otto Wagner (1841–1918), Austrian architect and urban planner
Paul Wagner (born 1967), American baseball player
Paula Wagner (born 1946), American film and theatre producer and film executive
Pauline Wagner (1910–2014), American actress, dancer and glamour girl
Renan Wagner (born 1991), Brazilian footballer
René Wagner (born 1972), Czech footballer and manager
Richard Wagner (disambiguation), multiple people
Robert Wagner (disambiguation), multiple people
Robin Wagner, multiple people
Ruth Wagner (1940–2025), German politician
Ryan Wagner (born 1982), Major League Baseball player
Sandro Wagner (born 1987), German footballer
Sascha H. Wagner (born 1980), German politician
Siegfried Wagner (1869–1930), German composer and conductor, son of Richard and Cosima Wagner
Sofia Wagner (born 2010) paraguayan born in lambare city
Stanley Wagner (disambiguation), several people
Steve Wagner (disambiguation), several people
Sue Wagner (1940–2026), American politician
Susan Wagner (born 1961), American businesswoman
Thomas Wagner (disambiguation), several people
Tini Wagner (1919–2004), Dutch swimmer
Todd Wagner (born 1960), American entrepreneur, co-founder, founder and CEO
Tyler Wagner (born 1991), American Major League Baseball and Atlantic League of Professional Baseball player
Thomas Wagner, multiple people
Viktor Wagner (1908–1981), Russian mathematician
Vladimir Wagner (1849–1934), Russian psychologist and naturalist
Walter Wagner, multiple people
Warren Wagner, multiple people
Webster Wagner (1817–1882), American railroad inventor, manufacturer and politician
Wende Wagner (1941–1997), American actress
Wendy Wagner (1973–2025), American cross-country skier
Wieland Wagner (1917–1966), German opera director and producer, son of Siegfried Wagner and Winifred Wagner
Wilhelm Wagner, multiple people
Willi Wagner (born 1941), German Olympic athlete
William Wagner (disambiguation), multiple people
Winifred Wagner (1897–1980), British-born director of the Bayreuth Festival, wife of Siegfried Wagner and friend of Adolf Hitler
Wolfgang Wagner (disambiguation), several people
People with the surname Wagnerová
In Czech, the feminine form of the surname is Wagnerová. Notable people with the surname include:
Alena Wagnerová (born 1936), Czech author and journalist
Eliška Wagnerová (1948–2025), Czech judge and politician
Magdalena Wagnerová (born 1960), Czech writer
Petra Novotná (orienteer) (née Wagnerová, born 1966), Czech orienteering competitor
Fictional characters
Ivan Wagner, protagonist of Alexander Belyayev's series Professor Wagner's Inventions
Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler) from Marvel Comics
Talia Wagner (Nocturne) from Marvel Comics
Lucius Wagner, the main character in the game trilogy Lucius