Maximilian Joseph (von Wittelsbach) von Bayern (1811 - 1864)

I certainly agree with the statement that he would have never used the name von Wittelsbach - a condition that would apply to the vast majority of members of ruling houses on WikiTree. Given the multitude of lines in this family I would also agree with doing away with Wittelsbach alltogether and using the names of the various lines instead. The family is descended from the counts of Scheyern and Wittelsbach is a rather late invention in the secondary literature for them. The name is given (in secondary literature) to only a handful of people: Otto VI von Scheyern-Wittelsbach (about 1117–1183), Otto VII von Wittelsbach, Pfalzgraf von Bayern (d. 1189), Otto VIII von Wittelsbach (before 1180; d. 7. März 1209), Konrad von Wittelsbach (about 1120/1125–1200), and then the out-of-wedlock son of Georg Franz Joseph Luitpold Maria, Prinz von Bayern, born Franz Hans Leopold Maria Zapletal (1919-1999), legitimated in Czechoslovakia and given the family name Wittelsbach, again later legitimated in Germany and given the family name Prinz von Bayern.

The German literature has used "von Wittelsbach" for members of the family as early as the 12th century, and if we stick with Wittelsbach, as unwieldy this may be, we might as well follow the German customs for this German family. But again, I have no problems doing away with Wittelsbach and using the different lines instead.