vuk

Vuk is a masculine given name of South Slavic origin, meaning "wolf." It is common in Serbia and Montenegro and widely used in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with bearers among the diaspora. The name is also encountered as a surname in some cases.

Etymology and usage: The name derives from the word for wolf in Serbo-Croatian and related South Slavic languages. It is cognate with other Slavic terms for wolf, and shares roots with similar names across the region.

Notable people: Vuk Karadžić (1787–1864) was a Serbian philologist, linguist, and reformer of the Cyrillic alphabet; he collected folk songs and tales, standardizing the Serbian language and contributing to 19th-century cultural development. Vuk Branković (1345–1397) was a medieval Serbian nobleman associated with Kosovo legend and historical sources describing the late medieval Balkans. The given name has been borne by various other authors, politicians, and athletes in the former Yugoslav states and their descendants.

See also: The name Vuk is a cultural marker in South Slavic naming traditions and appears in literature, folklore, and modern naming practices, reflecting the region’s linguistic and historical connections to the word for wolf. In contemporary use, Vuk remains a common regional given name and is found among diaspora communities around the world.