Explore the Family Name Wulff

The meaning of Wulff

North German, Danish, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Wulf. Compare Woolf. In Denmark this is the more common spelling. Some characteristic forenames: German Kurt, Hans, Erwin, Fritz, Helmuth, Johann, Johannes, Klaus, Math, Otto, Siegfried, Ulrich.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Wulff in the United States?

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Wulff has slightly decreased in the United States between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 10,692nd most common surname, but by 2010 it had slipped to 11,423rd place, marking a decrease of approximately 6.84%. Despite this drop in ranking, the actual count of people with the surname Wulff increased marginally from 2,742 in 2000 to 2,758 in 2010, an increase of 0.58%.

20002010Change
Rank#10,692#11,423-6.84%
Count2,7422,7580.58%
Proportion per 100k1.020.93-8.82%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Wulff

The ethnicity associated with the surname Wulff also saw some shifts during the same ten-year period, according to the Decennial U.S. Census. The proportion of those identifying as White decreased from 94.93% in 2000 to 92.93% in 2010. Meanwhile, there were notable increases among those identifying as Hispanic (from 2.30% to 3.66%) and those identifying as Black (from 0.33% to 0.94%). There was only a slight change in the percentage of people with this surname who identify as Asian/Pacific Islander, Two or more races, and American Indian and Alaskan Native.

20002010Change
White94.93%92.93%-2.11%
Hispanic2.3%3.66%59.13%
Two or More Races1.42%1.41%-0.7%
Black0.33%0.94%184.85%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.77%0.73%-5.19%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.26%0.33%26.92%

Wulff ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Wulff is French & German, which comprises 36.5% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (31.3%) and Scandinavian (10.0%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Spanish & Portuguese, Ashkenazi Jewish, Chinese, and Italian.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
French & German36.5%
British & Irish31.3%
Scandinavian10.0%
Other22.3%
Wulff

Possible origins of the surname Wulff

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Wulff have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Glasgow City, United Kingdom76.70%
West Midlands, United Kingdom76.70%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom76.70%
Greater London, United Kingdom76.70%
Tyne And Wear, United Kingdom75.60%

What Wulff haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Wulff is I-M253, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup I-M253 is descended from haplogroup I-M170. Other common haplogroups include R-Z156 and R-M417, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Rohde, Hoppe, Ebel, Lindemann, Monson, Carlsen, Falk, Lundquist, Gilbertson, Schlueter.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Wulff surname are: N, H1, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

wulffPaternal Haplogroup Origins I-M170
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to the people of Doggerland

One of the places that was repopulated as the Ice Age waned no longer exists. During the Ice Age and for some time afterward, lower sea levels exposed much of the area that is now covered by the North Sea. Known as "Doggerland," the region must have been occupied by men bearing haplogroup I, because today it is abundant in all of the countries surrounding the North Sea.As the meltwaters of the retreating Ice Age glaciers caused sea levels to rise, the low-lying forests and wetlands of Doggerland gradually became inundated. The inhabitants of Doggerland retreated to the higher ground that is now the North Sea coast. I-M253 is especially common today in Scandinavia — it reaches levels of 33% in Denmark and Sweden — and is somewhat common in England, Germany and the Netherlands, where it is found in about 15% of men.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Wulff have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Wulff

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Wulff" Surname 38.7%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Wulff

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Wulff" Surname 27.3%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Wulff

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Wulff" Surname 20.9%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Wulff

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Wulff" Surname 27.3%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Wulff?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Wulff are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

French & German 60.8%

23andMe Users 57.2%