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. No doubt the initial bearer of the name was noted for his qualities of strength and power. Variants of this surname are Wolf, Wolff, Wülf (f), and Wulff with the latter and Wulf representing the oldest forms of the name. Although spellings with the 'u' are more common in modern German, etymology implies that the 'o' spelling has German roots, whereas the 'u' spelling has English roots.

Early instances of this surname in Germany include one Tyle Wulf who lived in Treuenbrietzen

Treuenbrietzen

Treuenbrietzen is a town in the Bundesland of Brandenburg, Germany.-History:The town has existed since the Middle Ages and the first written evidence about it is from 1217. During the Reformation, Martin Luther came in 1537 to preach in the town, but his way to the church was blocked...

 in the year 1375 and one Nivelung Wolf who was a citizen of Cologne  in 1135 . 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

14P/Wolf

14P/Wolf is a periodic comet in our solar system.Max Wolf discovered the comet on September 17, 1884. It was later discovered, but not credited to, Ralph Copeland on September 23....

. Another is the philosopher Christian Wolff

Christian Wolff

Christian Wolff may refer to:* Christian Wolff , German actor* Christian Wolff , German composer* Christian Wolff , American composer of experimental classical music...

 (1679-1754), the most eminent German philosopher between Leibniz and Kant

KANT

KANT is a computer algebra system for mathematicians interested in algebraic number theory, performing sophisticated computations in algebraic number fields, in global function fields, and in local fields. KASH is the associated command line interface...

.

The poem "Wulf and Eadwacer

Wulf and Eadwacer

Wulf and Eadwacer is an Old English poem of famously difficult interpretation. It has been variously characterised, as an elegy, as a riddle, and as a song or ballad with refrain...

", and domesday book

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 references attest to the early origins of this name in England, particularly in the Danelaw

Danelaw

The Danelaw, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , is a historical name given to the part of England in which the laws of the "Danes" held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. It is contrasted with "West Saxon law" and "Mercian law". The term has been extended by modern historians to...

.

People with the family name Wulf

• Christian Wulff
  Christian Wulff
  Christian Wilhelm Walter Wulff is the President of Germany and a politician of the Christian Democratic Union. He was elected President on 2010 and publicly swore the oath of office on . A lawyer by profession, he served as Premier of the state of Lower Saxony from 2003 to 2010.-Early life and...
  
   - German politician, President of Germany
• Marie Wulf
  Marie Wulf
  Marie Wulf , was a Danish preacher; a pietist and later a follower of the Moravian Church.-Background:Wulf moved to Copenhagen to keep household for her brother Conrad, a clerk at the royal court, from the border to Germany, where pietism was strong. She married the builder Mathias Wulf in ca. 1714...
  
  , Danish pietist preacher
• Theodor Wulf
  Theodor Wulf
  Theodor Wulf was a German physicist and Jesuit priest who was one of the first experimenters to detect excess atmospheric radiation....
  
   - German physicist and Jesuit priest
• William Wulf
  William Wulf
  William Allan Wulf is a computer scientist notable for his work in programming languages and compilers.Born in Chicago, Illinois, he attended the University of Illinois, receiving a BS in Engineering Physics and an MS in Electrical Engineering, then achieved the first Ph.D. in Computer Science...
  
   - American computer scientist

• Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff
  Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff
  Erwin Neutzsky-Wulff is a Danish author and philosopher who has published within the genres of science fiction, science, horror, and prose.- Life :Neutzsky-Wulff is the son of Aage Neutzsky-Wulff...
  
   - Danish philosopher and author
• Wilhelm Wulff - Nazi Occult Astrologer
• Steve Wulf
  Steve Wulf
  Steven Ira Wulf is an executive editor at ESPN The Magazine. He was born in New York City, New York on December 4, 1950 and raised in Troy, New York. He attended high school at The Albany Academy and graduated from Hamilton College...
  
   - Sports writer/editor
• Andrea Wulf
  Andrea Wulf
  Andrea Wulf is an acclaimed biographer. She is the author of The Brother Gardeners, published in April 2008...
  
   - English biographer
• Peter Lipman-Wulf - German born sculptor
• Silveria Wulf - Granddaughter of a Samoan Chief