Ylva

For the sailboat class, see Ylva (keelboat).

Ylva

Gender	Female
Language	Swedish, Norwegian
Name day	April 11 (Sweden, Norway) September 13 (Finland (Swedish language))
Other gender
Masculine	Ulf
Origin
Language	Swedish
Meaning	she-wolf

Ylva is a Swedish female given name meaning "she-wolf". It is the feminine form of the masculine given name Ulf. ^{[1] [2]} The name is also used in Norway. ^[3]

Notable bearers

• Ingrid Ylva (c. 1180s–1250s), Swedish noblewoman
• Ylva Eggehorn (born 1950), Swedish poet and writer
• Ylva Ivarsson (born 1964), Swedish archer
• Ylva Johansson (born 1964), Swedish politician
• Ylva Lindberg (born 1976), Swedish ice hockey player
• Ylva Lööf (born 1958), Swedish actress
• Ylva Nowén (born 1970), Swedish former alpine skier
• Ylva Thörn (born 1954), Swedish politician and former trade unionist

In fiction

• Ylva, mother of Vicke Viking
• Ylva Haraldsdotter is a character in The Long Ships (original Swedish: Röde Orm) by Frans Gunnar Bengtsson ^{[ citation needed ]}
• A character in Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura
• In the American movie Alex and Emma, Alex (a novelist) and Emma (his paid stenographer) get into an argument about whether Ylva (a character in his story) is a real name or not (which sends some American viewers to the internet to see whether it really is a name).

References

1. "Namnens ursprung och betydelse" [The origin and meaning of the name] (in Swedish). Swedish Academy . Retrieved 2023-09-09.
2. "Vad betyder namnet?". Historiska museet . Retrieved 2025-08-09.
3. "Ylva". Behind the Name. Retrieved 2025-08-09.