Volodymyr. Name The original Lithuanian name of this Grand Duke has puzzled many linguists and historians. Their reconstructions resulted in two credible variants Vaišvilkas, based on Woyszwiłk and Vaišelga, based on Vojšalk. The name Vaišvilkas was first reconstructed by Kazimieras Būga. In fact, the first part of the double-stemmed name vaiš- causes no dispute and is attested in many similar names. However, the second part -vilkas, meaning "wolf" is very rare to non existent in Lithuanian names. This led to the hypothesis that the initial form of the name should have been Vaišvilas. The variant Vaišelga/Vaišalga has gained more popularity in historical writings even though the origins of the element -alg and -elg are not entirely clear. Eventually, some researchers even suggest that he had two names, one of them being Vaišvilas. See also House of Mindaugas – family tree of Vaišvilkas List of Belarusian rulers List of Lithuanian rulers References 1268 deaths 13th-century Lithuanian nobility Grand Dukes of Lithuania Eastern Orthodox Christians from Lithuania Eastern Orthodox monarchs Year of birth unknown