Find out how popular the last name Wilke is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Wilke.

Wilke, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Wilke surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wilke in America

Wilke is the 4386th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wilke surname appeared 8,106 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Wilke.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wilke to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Wilke

The surname Wilke is of German origin, derived from the Old German word "willio," meaning "will" or "desire." This name first appeared in the 12th century in various regions of Germany, particularly in the areas around modern-day Bavaria and Saxony.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wilke can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, dating back to the 13th century. The name is mentioned in a document from 1256, referring to a landowner named Wilke von Schönburg.

In the 14th century, the name Wilke was also documented in the Altenburg Manuscripts, a compilation of records from the city of Altenburg in modern-day Thuringia, Germany. These manuscripts mention a merchant named Wilke Hausmann, who lived in Altenburg during the late 1300s.

During the Renaissance period, a notable figure with the surname Wilke was Johannes Wilke, a German humanist scholar and philosopher born in 1483 in Nuremberg. He was known for his works on theology and his contributions to the intellectual discourse of the time.

Another prominent individual with this surname was Wilhelm Wilke, a German painter and engraver born in 1603 in Dresden. His works, which included portraits and religious scenes, were highly regarded during the Baroque period and can still be found in various museums and collections across Europe.

In the 19th century, a famous bearer of the Wilke surname was Carl Wilke, a German explorer and naturalist born in 1825. He is renowned for his expeditions to South America, where he documented numerous plant and animal species, contributing significantly to the field of natural history.

Other notable individuals with the surname Wilke include Johann Wilke, a German composer and organist born in 1594, and Friedrich Wilke, a German writer and journalist who lived from 1777 to 1854 and was known for his contributions to the development of German literature and journalism.

While the surname Wilke originated in Germany, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States, where it was brought by German immigrants. However, the earliest recorded instances and historical references to the name can be traced back to its German roots and the various regions within Germany where it first emerged and was documented.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wilke

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Wilke.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Wilke was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Wilke has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Wilke was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Wilke, please contact us.

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