The Wegelius family is originally from the county of Ilmajoki in Ostrobothnia, the family's forefather is considered to be Jakob Eriksson Uppa who was the master of the Seinäjoki-based Uppala house in the early 17th century. The Wegelius family consists of many famous individual political figures, bankers, engineers, musicians and sportsmen. The family name Wegelius derives from the name of the Finnish city Seinäjoki. Literally translated to Swedish, Seinäjoki is vägg-älv, or wegg-elf in former Swedish spelling, in Latin form Wegelius.