Ulva - Etymology

Etymology

The derivation of "Ulva" is not certain, but is probably from the Old Norse for "wolf isle". Samuel Johnson deduced that it was probably not Gaelic in origin:

"The name is supposed to be a depravation of some other; for the Earse language does not afford it any etymology.".

The English name "Ulva" is from the Scottish Gaelic, Ulbha, but this may have been corruption of Old Norse. It is debatable whether the Norse root Ulfr refers to an individual's name, or to the animal itself (possibly because of the shape of the island). The island's official website and guide book claims -

"A scout, sent ashore from the longboat is alleged to have reported, "Ullamhdha", Viking for "Nobody home".

However ullamhdha is not Norse, but appears to be the Scottish Gaelic for "ready for it". Munro and MacQuarrie (1996) state that the scout said "ullamh dha" in Gaelic, meaning the island "was ready for occupation".

The Old Statistical Account of Scotland mentions an alternative folk etymology, namely that Ulva comes from ullamh-àth meaning 'ready ford' in Gaelic, that could refer either to the tidal stretch with Gometra, or the Sound of Ulva over which cattle were sometimes swum.

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