Eadwulf

Eadwulf is a masculine given name of Old English origin. It is formed from the elements ead, meaning wealth, fortune, or prosperity, and wulf, meaning wolf. The combination fits the common pattern of Germanic personal names in early medieval England, pairing aPositive trait with an animal symbol.

In the surviving Anglo-Saxon sources, the name Eadwulf is attested in various forms (for example, Eaduulf, Eadulph, Edwulf) and is associated with individuals in the Northumbrian region of Bernicia. The records are fragmentary and often shorthand or Latinized, which makes it difficult to identify the precise identities and dates of all bearers. Nevertheless, Eadwulf appears as a name among nobles and clerics in the late 7th to early medieval period, illustrating the name’s use across different social groups in Anglo-Saxon England.

The usage of Eadwulf declined in later centuries as Old English names evolved and Latinized forms fell out of common use. In modern times, the name is considered archaic or historical, though it continues to appear in scholarly discussions of Anglo-Saxon onomastics and in reconstructed or fictional settings seeking historical authenticity.

See also: Old English given names; Germanic name elements; onomastics of Anglo-Saxon England.