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 ''Wulf'' (Common Germanic "wolf") was one of the most prolific elements in early Germanic names. 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 ...

). 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 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 ...

, 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 Ulf Adelsohn (born 4 October 1941) is a Swedish politician, leader of the Moderate Party from 1981 to 1986 and Governor of Stockholm County from 1992 to 2001. He was a member of the Riksdag from 1982 to 1988 and served as Chairman of the Board of ...

, 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 Mats Ulf Stefan Björlin (21 May 1933 – 23 October 1993) was a Swedish composer and conductor. Bjorlin was known for being one of the most active opera composers in the 20th century. Biography Björlin was born in Stockholm in 1933. He studi ...

(1933-1993), Swedish conductor, composer, pianist, arranger, music producer *

Ulf Dahlén Ulf Reinhold Dahlén (born 21 January 1967) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player, and former head coach for HV71 and Frölunda HC in the Swedish Hockey League. His son Jonathan Dahlén was drafted 42nd overall in the 2016 NHL Entry ...

, Swedish ice hockey player *

Ulf Dextegen Ulf Dextegen (born 16 November 1960) is a Swedish hypnotherapist and champion freediver (national records in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 with 8 minutes 43 seconds in static apnea, and bronze medals in 2009 and 2011 world championships. Personal ...

(born 1960), Swedish hypnotherapist and champion freediver *

Ulf Ekberg Ulf Gunnar Ekberg (born 6 December 1970), also known as Buddha, is a Swedish musician, producer and songwriter best known as a founding member of the pop group Ace of Base, along with siblings Jonas Berggren, Linn Berggren and Jenny Berggren. Ca ...

, Swedish pop musician *

Ulf Ekman Ulf Ekman (born 8 December 1950) is a former charismatic pastor and the founder of the Livets Ord (Word of Life) organization in Sweden, which brought the Word of Faith movement to that country. Ekman is now a Catholic. Ekman is married to B ...

, 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 Ulf Sven Friberg (born 4 October 1962) is a Swedish actor, screenwriter, theatre and film director. Friberg studied in Malmö 1986–89. After that, he was engaged at Stockholm City Theatre. He has also worked at the Orion Theatre in Stockholm ...

(born 1962), Swedish actor and film director *

Ulf Georgsson Ulf Georg Georgsson (22 April 1962 – 23 March 2024) was a Swedish songwriter, who participated at Melodifestivalen as a songwriter, and wrote songs recorded by, among others, Lasse Stefanz, Vikingarna, Playtones, Drifters, Zekes, CC & Lee, ...

(born 1962), Swedish songwriter *

Ulf Gustafsson Ulf Lindor Gustafsson (also ''Gustavsson''; born 13 December 1937) is a retired Swedish rower who won a bronze medal in the coxed fours at the 1959 European Championships. He competed in the coxed fours and the eights at the 1960 Summer Olympic ...

(born 1937), Swedish rower *

Ulf Hamrin Ulf Hamrin, born on 11 June 1946 in Östersund, Sweden is a Swedish writer and copywriter Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. Copywriting is aimed at selling produc ...

(born 1946), Swedish writer *

Ulf Hohmann Ulf Hohmann (born 9 July 1963, in Stuttgart) is a German ethologist, whose studies about the raccoon have played a significant role in the understanding of its social behavior and its distribution in Germany. Biography Studying at the univer ...

, German ethology researcher *

Ulf Isaksson Ulf Erik Isaksson (19 March 1954 – 25 December 2003) was a Swedish ice hockey player who played one season for the Los Angeles Kings in 1982–83. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1971 to 1988, was mainly spent with AIK IF in Sweden. ...

(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 Ulf Gerhard Lundell (born 20 November 1949) is a Swedish writer, poet, songwriter, composer, musician and artist. He made his debut in 1975 with the LP '' Vargmåne'' and was immediately hailed as "Sweden's Bob Dylan". In 1976 his first novel, ...

, Swedish author and rock musician * Ulf Lundkvist, Swedish comic creator, illustrator, and painter *

Ulf Merbold Ulf Dietrich Merbold (; born 20 June 1941) is a German physicist and astronaut who flew to space three times, becoming the first West German citizen in space and the first non-American to fly on a NASA spacecraft. Merbold flew on two Space Shu ...

, German astronaut (retired) and glider pilot * Ulf Nilsson, Swedish ice hockey player *

Ulf Olsson Ulf Olsson (19 December 1951 – 10 January 2010), also known as () was a Swedish murderer. He was convicted for the murders of 10-year-old Helén Nilsson and 26-year-old Jannica Ekblad in 1989. Found after a DNA test in 2004 (a test series inc ...

, Swedish murderer * Ulf Ottosson, Swedish soccer player, Mål-Otto *

Ulf Palme Ulf Henrik Palme (18 October 1920 – 12 May 1993) was a Swedish film actor. He was born in Stockholm and died in Ingarö. Partial filmography * '' Black Roses'' (1945) - Gunnar Bergström * '' The Serious Game'' (1945) - Ture Törne * ''M ...

, Swedish film actor *

Ulf Pilgaard Ulf Pilgaard (15 November 1940 – 28 October 2024) was a Danish actor. Life and career Pilgaard was born in Skive, Denmark on 15 November 1940. The son of a priest, he initially studied theology before transitioning to a career in acting. ...

, Danish actor *

Ulf the Quarrelsome Ulf the Quarrelsome, or Ulf Hreda, is described in Njals Saga as a brother to Brian Boru, High King of Ireland from 1002 to 1014. He is primarily mentioned in the saga's account of the Battle of Clontarf of 1014, during which he gruesomely k ...

, 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 Ulf Bo Samuelsson (born March 26, 1964) is a Swedish-American former professional ice hockey defenceman who formerly served as assistant coach of the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League. He played several seasons in the NHL with the Har ...

, Swedish ice hockey player *

Ulf Schmidt Ulf "Uffe" Christian Johan Schmidt (born 12 July 1934) is a former Swedish tennis player. He competed for AIK from Stockholm. He won 14 singles' tournaments, among them the International Swedish Championships in Båstad in 1957 and 1961. In 19 ...

, 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