A common term among the Men of Beleriand for bands of roaming outlaws was Gaurwaith or 'Wolf-men'. After Túrin exiled himself from Doriath, he fell in with such a band, and became one of the Wolf-men for a time. At first he did not fully comprehend how ruthless such folk could be, and unwittingly foiled an attack by his fellow outlaws. The woman that the outlaws had been chasing offered a reward for 'wolf-heads', the heads of slain Wolf-men. Túrin did not take the heads of his companions, but after this incident he ensured that they did not again attack their fellow Men, and instead fought against the Orcs in the wilderness.

As used in the tale of Túrin, 'wolf-heads' is used euphemistically to describe the literal heads of the Wolf-men. Tolkien's choice of the name was perhaps influenced by the medieval word 'wolfshead' (from Latin caput lupinum), used to describe outlaws such as the Gaurwaith who wandered the wild places of Beleriand.