At the time that Werner was born his father was about to progress from being a school teacher of classical languages to being appointed as a Privatdozent at the University of Würzburg. Anna's father, Nikolaus Wecklein, was the headmaster of the Maximilians Gymnasium in Munich and it was while August Heisenberg was a trainee teacher at that school that he had met Anna. August and Anna were married in May 1899. Werner had an older brother Erwin, born in March 1900, who was therefore nearly two years older than the subject of this biography. August Heisenberg was:
Max Planck nagmula sa isang academic pamilya, ang kanyang ama Julius Wilhelm Planck na Professor ng Constitutional Law sa University of Kiel sa panahon ng kanyang kapanganakan, at pareho ang kanyang lolo at lolo sa tuhod had been professors ng teolohiya sa Gottingen.