''Wulf'' (

Common Germanic Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages. Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic bra ...

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

") was one of the most prolific elements in early

Germanic name Germanic given names are traditionally dithematic; that is, they are formed from two elements ( stems), by joining a prefix and a suffix. For example, King Æþelred's name was derived from ', meaning "noble", and ', meaning "counsel". The i ...

s. It could figure as the first element in dithematic names, as in '' Wulfstan'', but especially as second element, in the form ''-ulf, -olf'' as in ''

Cynewulf Cynewulf (, ; also spelled Cynwulf or Kynewulf) is one of twelve Old English poets known by name, and one of four whose work is known to survive today. He presumably flourished in the 9th century, with possible dates extending into the late 8th ...

'', '' Rudolph'', ''

Ludolf Ludolf is a Germanic surname or given name. It is derived from two stems: Hlud meaning "fame" and olf meaning "wolf". An alternate spelling of the name is Ludolph. People with the name include: * George Philipp Ludolf von Beckedorff (1778-1858), pr ...

'', ''

Adolf Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo, and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name with German origins. The name is a compound derived from the Old High German ''Athalwolf'' (or ''Hadulf''), a composition of ''athal'', or ''adal'', mean ...

'' etc., it was extremely common. Förstemann explains this as originally motivated by the wolf as an animal sacred to

Wodanaz Odin (; from ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Ro ...

, but notes that the large number of names indicates that the element had become a meaningless suffix of male names at an early time (and was therefore not anymore considered a "

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

" element at the time of

Christianisation Christianization (or Christianisation) is a term for the specific type of change that occurs when someone or something has been or is being converted to Christianity. Christianization has, for the most part, spread through missions by individu ...

. Some early missionaries among Germanic folk still used it, like bishop

Wulfilas Ulfilas (; – 383), known also as Wulfila(s) or Urphilas, was a 4th-century Gothic preacher of Cappadocian Greek descent. He was the apostle to the Gothic people. Ulfila served as a bishop and missionary, participated in the Arian controver ...

however his family had been adopted earlier by the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

. By the tenth century, there was clearly no "pagan" connotation left with such names, and saints and bishops bore names such as Wulfstan or Wolfgang). Förstemann counts 381 names in ''-ulf, -olf'', among which only four are feminine.

Hypocorisms

The numerous names in ''-wulf, -ulf, -olf'' gave rise to

hypocorisms A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek ; sometimes also ''hypocoristic''), or pet name, is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as ''Izzy'' for Isabel or '' Bob'' for Robert, or it m ...

from an early time, which were later also treated as given names in their own right. Among such names are the Anglo-Saxon ''Offa'', ''Yffe'', ''Uffa'', ''Wuffa''. Corresponding continental forms are ''Uffo, Uffi''. The name of the ancient tribe of the

Ubii 350px, The Ubii around AD 30 The Ubii were a Germanic tribe first encountered dwelling on the east bank of the Rhine in the time of Julius Caesar, who formed an alliance with them in 55 BC in order to launch attacks across the river. They were ...

may also be related.

Offa of Angel Offa (nickname for Wulf) is a semi-legendary king of the Angles in the genealogy of the kings of Mercia presented in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. He is the son of Wermund and the father of Angeltheow. His name is also mentioned in the O ...

is a legendary king of the Angles recorded in the 9th-century genealogical tradition of the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

''. Most of this tradition is spurious, but in the case of Offa, a case for possible historicity of a 5th-century figure has been made because of a matching account by

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark. He is the author ...

Offa of Essex Offa was King of Essex. D. H. Kirby dates his reign as 705 to 709. Simon Keynes dates it c.694 to 709, when he went on a pilgrimage to Rome, where he died as a monk, along with Cenred, King of Mercia. He may have been co-king with Swæfred. ...

and

Offa of Mercia Offa ( 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death in 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of ...

are two historical Anglo-Saxon kings. Offa of Mercia is said to have had been named Winfreth originally, and to have been the son of an ealdorman named Tingfrith. Because he miraculously recovered from a state of lameness and blindness as a child, he was called "the second Offa", after Offa of Angel, whose legend states that he underwent a similar recovery.Johann Martin Lappenberg, trans. Benjamin Thorpe, ''A History of England Under the Anglo-Saxon Kings: From earliest times to 800'', 1845, p. 227.

Wuffa Wuffa (or Uffa, ) is recorded in the Anglo-Saxon genealogies as an early king of East Anglia. If historical, he would have lived in the 6th century. By tradition Wuffa was named as the son of Wehha and the father of Tytila, but it is not known ...

is recorded as an early kings of the East Angles, eponymous of the

Wuffingas The Wuffingas, Uffingas or Wiffings were the ruling dynasty of East Anglia, the long-lived Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. The Wuffingas took their name from Wuffa, an early East Anglian kin ...

dynasty. The Scandinavian form is ''

Ulf Ulf, or Ulv is a masculine name common in Scandinavia and Germany. It derives from the Old Norse word for "wolf" (''úlfr'', see Wulf). The oldest written record of the name's occurrence in Sweden is from a runestone of the 11th century. The f ...

'', e.g.

Ulf the Earl Ulf Thorgilsson, commonly known as Ulf Jarl or Earl Ulf, was a Danish jarl of Skåne and regent of Denmark. Ulf was the son of Thorgil Sprakling and the father of King Sweyn II of Denmark and thus the progenitor of the House of Estridsen, which w ...

(d. 1026). The ''ylva'' in the name of

Ingrid Ylva Ingrid Ylva ( – –1255) was a Swedish noblewoman, the wife of Magnus Minnesköld of Bjälbo and the mother of regent Birger Jarl. The exact years of her birth and death are unclear; a traditional year quoted for her death is 26 October 1252; it ...

(13th century) is presumably an epithet and not a hypocorism of a dithematic name (i.e. "Ingrid the she-wolf").

Surname

The surname Wulf (and variants) is a typical example of a surname derived from a given name, often a

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

in origin. These names by their nature can occur repeatedly and independently just based on the prevalence of the given name from which it is derived. Anglo-Norman variants include Wolfes, Woolf, Woolfe, Woulf, Wulff, Woof, Wooff, etc. Early instances of this surname in Germany include one Tyle Wulf who lived in

Treuenbrietzen Treuenbrietzen () is a town in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district of Brandenburg, Germany. Geography The municipality Treuenbrietzen is situated 32 km northeast of Wittenberg and includes the localities * city of Treuenbrietzen with its agglom ...

in 1375 () and one Nivelung Wolf who was a citizen of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

in 1135 (). Other people with the surname include: * Andrea Wulf (born 1972), English biographer * Berthold Wulf (1926–2012), German priest, poet and philosopher *

Christoph Wulf Christoph Wulf (born 4 August, 1944, in Berlin, Germany) is a German professor of Anthropology and Education at the Free University of Berlin. Education and career Wulf completed his studies of history, education sciences, philosophy, and lite ...

(born 1944), German anthropologist *

Georg Wulf Georg Wulf (1895-1927) was a German aviation pioneer and aircraft manufacturer. Biography Wulf was born 17 May 1895 in Bremen. He was the son of a customs agent. He attended the high school on Dechanat Street. Around 1910, Henrich Focke, with th ...

(1895–1927), German aviation pioneer and aircraft manufacturer * Hermann Wulf (1915-1990), German World War II officer and post-war Generalmajor * Joseph Wulf (1912–1974), German-Polish-Jewish historian and Holocaust survivor *

Mareike Wulf Mareike Lotte Wulf (born 15 November 1979) is a German politician (Christian Democratic Union of Germany, CDU) who has been serving as a Member of the German Bundestag, member of the German Bundestag since 2021. From 2017 to 2021, she was a member ...

(born 1979), German politician *

Marie Wulf Marie Wulf (August 1685 – January 27, 1738), was a Danish preacher; a pietist and later a follower of the Moravian Church. Life Wulf moved to Copenhagen to keep household for her brother Conrad, a clerk at the royal court, from the border to Ger ...

(1685–1738), Danish pietist preacher *

Maurice De Wulf Maurice Marie Charles Joseph De Wulf (1867–1947), was a Belgian Thomist philosopher, professor of philosophy at the Catholic University of Leuven, was one of the pioneers of the historiography of medieval philosophy. His book ''History of Me ...

(1867–1947), Belgian philosopher and professor * Oliver R. Wolf (1897–1987), American chemist, physicist, and meteorologist *

Rudi Wulf Rudi Wulf (born 2 February 1984) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for Lyon in the French Top 14. He previously played for Toulon and Castres Olympique. Wulf has also played for North Harbour in the Air New Zealand Cup and the Auckl ...

(born 1984), New Zealand rugby union player *

Rudolf Wulf __NOTOC__ Rudolf Wulf (12 December 1905 Elmshorn / Schleswig-Holstein – 14 November 1972 Breitbrunn / Bavaria) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded the 319th Infantry Division on the island of Guerns ...

(1905–1972), German Generalmajor during World War II *

Steve Wulf Steven Ira "Steve" Wulf (born December 4, 1950) is an American magazine journalist, editor, and book writer. A former executive editor at ''ESPN The Magazine'', Wulf continues to write for ''ESPN The Magazine'' as well as ESPN.com. Before j ...

(born 1950), American sports writer and editor * Theodor Wulf (1868–1946), German physicist and Jesuit priest *

William Wulf William Allan Wulf (December 8, 1939 – March 10, 2023) was an American computer scientist notable for his work in programming languages and compilers. Early life and education Born in Chicago, Wulf attended the University of Illinois Urbana ...

(born 1939), American computer scientist * Vincent Wulf (born 1973), French rugby league footballer

References

* Franz Stark, ''Die Kosenamen der Germanen: eine Studie'', 1868
p. 23

Hypocorisms

Surname

References

See also