Wulf

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Wulf (var. Wulff) is a German family name.

History of name

There are several possible explanations as to the origin of the surname.

The first explanation for German origin of this name: It may be patronymic in origin being derived from the first name of a father. In this case, Wulf is associated with the very popular German first name Wolfgang and simply means "son of Wolfgang". In fact, here Wulf has derived from the "kurzform" of the first name. In this case, the kurzform of Wolfgang is "Wolf" so the surname in fact means "son of Wolf".

The second theory - applying both to German and English origins - is that Wulf is of the nickname origin this time being derived from the physical or personal characteristics of the original bearer. Today, the exact meaning of the nickname "Wulf" is unclear but in Medieval times it was common practice to assign the names of birds, animals or fish to people in order to identify them. The initial bearer of the name would noted for their qualities of strength and power, hence their name was associated with an animal with similar qualities. Variants of this surname are Wolf, Wolff, Wülf (f), and Wulff with the latter and Wulf representing the oldest forms of the name. When the name 'Wulf' was established as the name of the animal. Other different surnames occurred such as the German surname 'Wulfkrieger' which when translated means warrior with the attributes of a wolf (animal). Although spellings with the 'u' are more common in modern German, etymology implies that the 'u' spelling has German (East Germanic) roots, whereas the 'o' spelling has English (West Germanic) roots.

Early instances of this surname in Germany include one Tyle Wulf who lived in Treuenbrietzen in the year 1375 (Archiv for Sippenforschung und alle verwandten Gebiete) and one Nivelung Wolf who was a citizen of Cologne in 1135 (Kolner Schreinsurkunden). A notable bearer of this type of surname is Max Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf (1863–1932), a German astronomer who introduced astronomical photography and discovered Wolf's Comet. Another is the philosopher Christian Wolff (1679-1754), the most eminent German philosopher between Leibniz and Kant.

People with the family name Wulf

• Christian Wulff - German politician, former President of Germany
• Marie Wulf, Danish pietist preacher
• Theodor Wulf - German physicist and Jesuit priest
• William Wulf - American computer scientist
• Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff - Danish philosopher and author
• Wilhelm Wulff - Nazi Occult Astrologer
• Steve Wulf - Sports writer/editor
• Andrea Wulf - English biographer

This page or section lists people with the surname Wulf. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.