Wikova
The term Wikova appears across several unrelated domains: as a romanization of the Russian surname Vilkova, as a Czech engineering group, as a citrus cultivar, and as a Prague street name. Each usage traces to a distinct origin.
Vilkova (Вилкова) is a Russian surname most commonly found in Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan.[^c1] Its possible origins include the Russian word for "fork" (вилка) or a dialectal variant of Volkov ("of the wolf"). In Chinese-language sources, the surname is transliterated as 维柯娃 (pinyin: wéi kē wá), and this form is sometimes romanized as "Wikova."[^c2] Notable bearers include the actresses [[Ekaterina Vilkova]] and [[Taisiya Vilkova]].
The [[Wikov]] engineering group was founded in 1918 as Wichterle & Kovářík in Prostějov, Czechoslovakia, producing agricultural machinery, automobiles, and tractors before being nationalised after the Second World War.[^c3] [[Otto Wichterle]] (1913–1998), son of co-founder Karel Wichterle,[^c7] was a chemist who invented modern soft contact lenses[^c6] and later served as president of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.[^c8] The brand was revived in 2004 and has grown into an international manufacturer of industrial gearboxes and hydropower equipment. The Wichterle family's industrial legacy extends into glassmaking through the BMRC Group holding, which owns the [[Bomma]] and [[Rückl Crystal|Rückl]] glassworks and organises the [[Glass Cutting World Cup 2026|Glass Cutting World Cup]].
[[Wikova (citrus)]] is a sweet lemon cultivar equivalent to the Wekiwa tangelo, a hybrid of grapefruit and Sampson tangelo developed in Florida.[^c4] The name reflects a Persian-language transliteration of "Wekiwa," a Creek-Seminole word meaning "spring" after the Florida town Wekiwa Springs.[^c9]
Vikova Street in Prague 4, established in 1965, is named after the Czech painter and woodcut artist [[Karel Vik]].[^c5]