Directly from the animal name, or short for Germanic compound names like Wolfgang meaning 'wolf path'.
Wolf is one of the oldest given names in the Germanic tradition, with roots reaching back to the Proto-Germanic *wulfaz, the word for the wolf, one of the most mythologically charged animals in northern European culture. The wolf figured centrally in Norse cosmology — Odin's companions Geri and Freki were wolves, and the monstrous Fenrir would swallow the sun at Ragnarök — and Germanic warriors prized wolves as totems of cunning, ferocity, and pack loyalty. From this deep cultural soil grew an entire family of wolf-names: Wolfgang, Adolf, Rudolf, Beowulf, and the stripped-down, elemental Wolf itself.
As a standalone given name, Wolf has been used in German-speaking and Ashkenazi Jewish communities for centuries. In Jewish naming tradition, it frequently served as the vernacular equivalent of the Hebrew Benjamin or Ze'ev (wolf), creating a bridge between Hebrew religious identity and German cultural life. Notable bearers include Wolf Blitzer, the American journalist, whose first name marks this Ashkenazi tradition precisely.
In German high culture, Wolfgang — the compound form adding 'gang' meaning 'path' or 'going' — produced Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, perhaps the most famous bearer of any wolf-name in history, a fact that gave the element renewed prestige. Today Wolf as a standalone name is experiencing a notable revival, particularly among parents drawn to short, strong, animal names with deep historic roots. It sits alongside Bear, Fox, and similar choices but carries far greater etymological antiquity. Wolf is not trying to be interesting — it simply is, by virtue of what it has always been: a name that conjures wildness, intelligence, and ancient northern skies.