Ulf, or Ulv is a masculine name common in Scandinavia and Germany. It derives from the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

word for "

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 ...

" (''úlfr'', see Wulf). The oldest written record of the name's occurrence in Sweden is from a

runestone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic alphabet, runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition of erecting runestones as a memorial to dead men began in the 4th centur ...

of the 11th century. The female form is Ylva. The given name Ulf was relatively popular during the 20th century, but by the 21st century mostly fell out of fashion.

Notable people

* Ulf the Earl, brother-in-law of

Cnut the Great Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rul ...

and regent of Denmark * Ulf Adelsohn, Swedish politician, former leader of Moderata Samlingspartiet and county governor of Stockholm *

Ulf Andersson Ulf Andersson (born 27 June 1951) is a leading Swedish chess player. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 1970 and the Grandmaster title in 1972. Chess career At his peak, Andersson reached number four on the FIDE rating list. ...

, Swedish chess player * Ulf Björlin (1933-1993), Swedish conductor, composer, pianist, arranger, music producer * Ulf Dahlén, Swedish ice hockey player * Ulf Dextegen (born 1960), Swedish hypnotherapist and champion freediver * Ulf Ekberg, Swedish pop musician * Ulf Ekman, Swedish pastor, leader of Livets Ord * Ulf Eriksson, Swedish footballer *

Ulf von Euler Ulf Svante von Euler (7 February 1905 – 9 March 1983) was a Swedish physiologist and pharmacologist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1970 for his work on neurotransmitters. Life Ulf Svante von Euler-Chelpin was born in S ...

, Swedish physiologist *

Ulf Fase Ulf Fase (died 1247) was the jarl of Sweden from until his death in 1247. Biography Ulf Fase was probably the son of jarl Karl the Deaf (''Karl Döve'') and member the House of Folkung (''Folkungaätten''). After jarl Karl had been killed d ...

Swedish jarl during the Middle Ages * Ulf Friberg (born 1962), Swedish actor and film director * Ulf Georgsson (born 1962), Swedish songwriter * Ulf Gustafsson (born 1937), Swedish rower * Ulf Hamrin (born 1946), Swedish writer * Ulf Hohmann, German ethology researcher * Ulf Isaksson (1954–2003), Swedish ice hockey player *

Ulf Kristersson Ulf Hjalmar Kristersson (; born 29 December 1963) is a Swedish politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Sweden, prime minister of Sweden since 2022. He has been the leader of the Moderate Party (M) since 2017 and a Member of Parliamen ...

, Swedish politician *

Ulf Kirsten Ulf Kirsten (born 4 December 1965) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed ''Der Schwatte'' (dialect for ''Der Schwarze'', 'The Black One'), he is the first player in history to reach a total 100 caps play ...

, German soccer player *

Ulf Kortesniemi Ulf Kortesniemi (born 28 March 1966) is a Finnish former football player who played as a goalkeeper. During his career, he made 27 total appearances in Finnish top-tier Veikkausliiga for Jaro and VPS. In addition, he played for Ljungskile SK ...

(born 1966), Finnish former footballer *

Ulf Larsson Ulf Sigfrid "Uffe" Larsson (1 July 1956 – 28 September 2009) was a Swedish actor, revue artist, comedian and stage director. Ulf Larsson was born in Bromma, Stockholm, in 1956. In the early 1980s, he appeared in numerous television shows and ...

, Swedish actor and TV host *

Ulf Linde Ulf Harald Linde (15 April 1929 – 12 October 2013) was a Swedish art critic, writer, jazz musician, museum director and a member of the Swedish Academy. Biography Linde was born in the Östermalm district of Stockholm. Interested in jazz musi ...

, Swedish art critic, writer, museum director *

Ulf Lohmann Ulf Lohmann is a German electronic music producer most popular for his releases on Kompakt Kompakt ( Labelcode: LC 12012) is a Cologne-based electronic music independent record label and vinyl/CD distributor, owned by Wolfgang Voigt, Mich ...

, German electronic music producer *

Ulf Lönnqvist Ulf Lönnqvist (26 June 1936 – 24 June 2022) was a Swedish social democratic politician who held several government posts and was a member of the Swedish Parliament. Biography Lönnqvist was born in Malmö on 26 June 1936. He was a graduate o ...

, Swedish politician * Ulf Lundell, Swedish author and rock musician * Ulf Lundkvist, Swedish comic creator, illustrator, and painter * Ulf Merbold, German astronaut (retired) and glider pilot * Ulf Nilsson, Swedish ice hockey player * Ulf Olsson, Swedish murderer * Ulf Ottosson, Swedish soccer player, Mål-Otto * Ulf Palme, Swedish film actor * Ulf Pilgaard, Danish actor * Ulf the Quarrelsome, brother (or sometimes identified as stepson) to

Brian Boru Brian Boru (; modern ; 23 April 1014) was the High King of Ireland from 1002 to 1014. He ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill, and is likely responsible for ending Vikings, Viking invasio ...

* Ulf Samuelsson, Swedish ice hockey player * Ulf Schmidt, Swedish tennis player *

Ulf Timmermann Ulf Béla Timmermann (, ; born 1 November 1962 in East Berlin) is a German former shot putter who broke the world record several times during the 1980s, and is the first and one of only four people to ever throw over 23 metres (along with Rand ...

, East German shot putter

Notable people

See also