Vuk (name)

The name literally means "wolf". Vuk Karadžić, 19th-century Serbian philologist and ethnographer, explained the traditional, apotropaic use of the name: a woman who had lost several babies in succession would name her newborn son Vuk because it was believed that the witches, who "ate" the babies, were afraid to attack the wolves. In the Serbian epic poetry, the wolf is a symbol of fearlessness. All the derivatives from vuk were regarded as apotropaic names. In the period 2003–2005, Vukašin was the 30th and Vukan the 82nd most popular name for boys in Serbia. The names Vujo and Vule are the bases for the derivatives starting with Vuj- and Vul-. They are formed from vuk on the same pattern as the pet names Brajo and Brale are formed from brat "brother". ==Notable people with the given name==

• Vuk Orle (fl. 1330), Serbian military commander • Vuk Kosača (d. 1359), Bosnian military commander • Vuk Kotromanić (died after 1374), Bosnian Ban • Vuk Branković (1345–1398), Serbian nobleman • Vuk Lazarević (d. 1410), Serbian royalty • Vuk Grgurević (1440–1485), Serbian despot • Vuk Krsto Frankopan (1578–1652), Croatian nobleman • Vuk Mandušić (d. 1648), Morlach army commander in Dalmatia • Vuk Isaković (fl. 1696–1759), Serb military commander in Austrian service • Vuk Stefanović Karadžić (1787–1864), Serbian linguist and reformer of Serbian language • Vuk Marinković (1807–1859), Serbian scholar • Vuk Vrčević (1811–1882), Serbian writer and companion of Vuk Karadžić • Vojvoda Vuk (1881–1916), Serbian military commander, real name Vojin Popović • Vuk Vrhovac (1903–1952), Croatian diabetologist • Vuk Kalaitović (1913–1948), Yugoslav military officer and Chetnik commander • Vuk Kulenović (1946–2017), Bosnian-American composer and teacher • Vuk Drašković (b. 1946), Serbian political leader • Vuk Obradović (1947–2008), Serbian general and politician • Vuk Ćosić (born 1966), Slovenian contemporary artist of Serbian origin • Vuk Mandić (born 1975), Serbian-American astrophysicist • Vuk Jeremić (b. 1975), former Serbian Minister of Foreign affairs • Vuk Kostić (born 1979), Serbian actor • Vuk Radivojević (born 1983), Serbian basketball player ==Notable people with the surname==

• Goran Vuk (born 1987), Slovenian football player of Bosnian origin • Gordan Vuk (born 1987), Croatian football player • Matej Vuk (born 2000), Croatian football player • Rudolf Vuk (1913–1962), Croatian sports shooter • Slobodan Vuk (born 1989), Slovenian football player of Bosnian origin ==See also==