The oldest known mentioning of the name is from the 15th century, when a Wisthof lived in the Soltau area (between Hamburg and Hannover) in Germany. Descendants of him can primarily be found in four countries: Germany, the Netherlands, the United States, and Canada.  

This part of the site contains information on the history and spreading of the family name:

- history of the German root: a newspaper clipping;

- the influx of German economic refugees to the Netherlands from the 17th century: transcript of a lecture.