Vuk ( sr-Cyrl, Вук) () is a male
Slavic given name, predominantly recorded among
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...
as well as
Bosnians,
Croatians,
Macedonians,
Montenegrins, and
Slovenes
The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( ), are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, Slovenian culture, culture, and History of Slove ...
. The name is also found as a surname.
Etymology and history
The name literally means "
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 ...
".
, 19th-century Serbian
philologist
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...
and
ethnographer, explained the traditional,
apotropaic use of the name: a woman who had lost several babies in succession would name her newborn son Vuk because it was believed that the witches, who "ate" the babies, were afraid to attack the wolves. In the
Serbian epic poetry, the wolf is a symbol of fearlessness.
[ Vuk was the 3rd most popular name for boys in ]Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
in 2021.[ There are also female names derived from ''vuk'': Vuka, Vukana, Vujana, Vukava, Vučica, Vukadinka, Vujadinka, Vukmira, Vukomirka, Vukomanka, and Vukosava.][ All the derivatives from ''vuk'' were regarded as apotropaic names. In the period 2003–2005, Vukašin was the 30th and Vukan the 82nd most popular name for boys in Serbia.][
The name Vuk is recorded in Serbian sources dating before 1400 in the form of Vlk ( Old Cyrillic: ), with a syllabic ''l''. Through a sound change in Serbian that took place after 1400, the syllabic ''l'' turned into the vowel ''u''. In this way Vlk became Vuk, and by the same process the initial ''Vuk-'' and ''Vuč-'' in the derivatives developed from ''Vlk-'' and ''Vlč-''; e.g., Vukašin from Vlkašin. The names Vujo and Vule are the bases for the derivatives starting with ''Vuj-'' and ''Vul-''. They are formed from ''vuk'' on the same pattern as the pet names ''Brajo'' and ''Brale'' are formed from ''brat'' "brother".][
The given name Vlk and its derivatives,Vlkoš, Vlkoň, Vlček, and Vlčata or Vok for males, and Vlkava and Vlčenka for females, were recorded among the ]Czechs
The Czechs (, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common Bohemia ...
, while Wilkan was recorded among the Poles
Pole or poles may refer to:
People
*Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland
* Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name
* Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist
...
. Janusz, the Archbishop of Gniezno (1374–1382), was nicknamed ''Suchy Wilk'' or ''Suchowilk'' "dry wolf".[ Serbian surnames Belovuk and Bjelovuk mean "white wolf".]
Notable people with the given name
* Vuk Orle (fl. 1330), Serbian military commander
*Vuk Kosača
Vuk ( sr-cyrl, Вук; 1317–1359), sometimes also called ''Hran'' in sources, was a 14th century magnate and a powerful nobleman in service to the Serbian king Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–55). Vuk is considered to be a progenitor of Bosnian noble f ...
(d. 1359), Bosnian military commander
* Vuk Kotromanić (died after 1374), Bosnian Ban
* Vuk Branković (1345–1398), Serbian nobleman
* Vuk Lazarević (d. 1410), Serbian royalty
* Vuk Grgurević (1440–1485), Serbian ''despot''
* Vuk Krsto Frankopan (1578-1652), Croatian nobleman
* Vuk Mandušić (d. 1648), Morlach army commander in Dalmatia
* Vuk Isaković (fl. 1696–1759), Serb military commander in Austrian service
* Vuk Stefanović Karadžić (1787–1864), Serbian linguist and reformer of Serbian language
Serbian (, ) is the standard language, standardized Variety (linguistics)#Standard varieties, variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of ...
* Vuk Marinković (1807–1859), Serbian scholar
* Vuk Vrčević (1811–1882), Serbian writer and companion of Vuk Karadžić
* Vojvoda Vuk (1881–1916), Serbian military commander, real name Vojin Popović
* Vuk Vrhovac (1903–1952), Croatian diabetologist
* Vuk Kalaitović (1913–1948), Yugoslav military officer and Chetnik commander
* Vuk Kulenović (1946–2017), Bosnian-American composer and teacher
* Vuk Drašković (b. 1946), Serbian political leader
* Vuk Obradović (1947–2008), Serbian general and politician
* Vuk Ćosić (born 1966), Slovenian contemporary artist of Serbian origin
* Vuk Mandić (born 1975), Serbian-American astrophysicist
* Vuk Jeremić (b. 1975), former Serbian Minister of Foreign affairs
* Vuk Kostić (born 1979), Serbian actor
* Vuk Radivojević (born 1983), Serbian basketball player
Notable people with the surname
* Goran Vuk (born 1987), Slovenian football player of Bosnian origin
* Gordan Vuk (born 1987), Croatian football player
* Matej Vuk (born 2000), Croatian football player
* Rudolf Vuk (1913–1962), Croatian sports shooter
* Slobodan Vuk (born 1989), Slovenian football player of Bosnian origin
See also
*
References
{{given name
Slavic masculine given names
Serbian masculine given names
Slovene masculine given names
Croatian masculine given names
Masculine given names
Bulgarian masculine given names
Bosnian masculine given names
Macedonian masculine given names
Montenegrin masculine given names
Slavic mythology
European witchcraft