Wulf History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands
Germany

Etymology of Wulf

What does the name Wulf mean?

The Wulf surname is derived from the baptismal name for the son of Wolfgang, a popular personal name in Germany during medieval times. This personal name was originally derived from the Old German "wolf" which meant "wolf" and "ganc" meaning "battle."

Early Origins of the Wulf family

The surname Wulf was first found in the Rhineland, where the name emerged in mediaeval times as one of the notable families of the region. From the 13th century on the surname spread to nearly all parts of Germany, and was identified with the great social and economic evolution that contributed to the development of the nation. Chronicles mention Nivelung Wolf of Cologne as early as 1135, and Elbel Wolf of Bruenn in Moravia in 1365, showing the gradual eastward movement of the branches.

Early History of the Wulf family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wulf research. Another 209 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1491, 1498, 1499, 1527, 1573, 1679, 1683, 1739, 1754, 1759, 1786, 1790, 1824 and 1856 are included under the topic Early Wulf History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wulf Spelling Variations

In the medieval era, many different cultural groups lived in the German states. There are thus many regional variations of German surnames from that era. Westphalians spoke Low German, which is similar to modern Dutch. Many German names carry suffixes that identify where they came from. Others have phrases attached that identify something about the original bearer. Other variations in German names resulted from the fact that medieval scribes worked without the aid of any spelling rules. The spelling variations of the name Wulf include Wolf, Wolff, Wolfen, Wolfe, Wulf and others.

Early Notables of the Wulf family

Notables with the name Wulf during this period were Reginald or Reyner Wolfe (d. 1573), printer and publisher, a native of Strasburg. However, "in both France and Germany many early printers bore the same surname: George Wolfe of Baden, printed at Paris from 1491 to 1499; Nicholas Wolfe at Lyons, in 1498 and 1499; and Thomas Wolfe at Basle in 1527. But Reyner was probably most closely related to John Wolfe, a printer of Zurich...
Another 74 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wulf Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wulf Ranking

In the United States, the name Wulf is the 8,864^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Wulf migration to the United States +

The great European flow of migration to North America, which began in the middle of the 17th century and continued into the 20th century, was particularly attractive to those from the Rhineland who wished to escape either poverty or religious persecution. Many of those who left the Rhineland to seek their fortunes in the prosperous and free New World settled in the major urban centers of the United States and Canada. In the United States, the settlers from the Rhineland passed through immigration centers like that of Ellis Island, most of them moving on to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, California, and New York. In Canada, the majority of Rhinelanders settled in Ontario and the prairie provinces. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many important settlers to North America bearing the name Wulf, or one of its variants above:

Wulf Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Henry Wulf, aged 26, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1849 2
Hermann Wulf, aged 14, who landed in New York, NY in 1893 2
Theodor Wulf, aged 8, who arrived in New York, NY in 1893 2
Mr. Diedrich Wulf, aged 60, German settler who arrived in New York in 1893 aboard the ship "Weimar" 3
Mrs. Anna Wulf, aged 47, German settler who arrived in New York in 1893 aboard the ship "Weimar" 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Wulf Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Christian Wulf, who landed in Wisconsin in 1930 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Wulf (post 1700) +

Melvin L. Wulf (1927-2023), American constitutional lawyer and legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union from 1962 to 1977
William Allan Wulf (1939-2023), American pioneering computer scientist notable for his work in programming languages and compilers, President of the National Academy of Engineering from 1996 to 2007
John Wulf, American politician, Cigar maker; Delegate to Socialist National Convention from New Hampshire, 1920 5
Mrs. Chris Wulf, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Montana, 1972 5
Georg Wulf, German co-founder of Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG in 1923 which built civil and military aircraft before and during World War II
Theodor Wulf (1868-1946), German physicist and Jesuit priest who pioneered research into excess atmospheric radiation
Joseph Wulf (1912-1974), German-Polish-Jewish historian, author and Holocaust survivor, recipient of the Leo Baeck Prize (1961), the Carl von Ossietzky Medal (1964)
Jimmy De Wulf (b. 1980), Belgian professional football player
Daniel Wulf (b. 1980), Australian rules footballer
Rudi Wulf (b. 1984), New Zealand rugby union footballer from Auckland

The Wulf Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Virtutis praemium
Motto Translation: Virtues reward.

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Germans to America retrieved 21st October 2021. Retrieved from Glazier, Ira. A., and Filby, P. William. Germans to America: Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports. Vol. 62, Scholarly Resources Inc, 2138
Germans to America retrieved 21st October 2021. Retrieved from Glazier, Ira. A., and Filby, P. William. Germans to America: Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports. Vol. 62, Scholarly Resources Inc, 2139
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 21) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html