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

Winkel, 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 Winkel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Winkel in America

Winkel is the 12068th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Winkel surname appeared 2,584 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Winkel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Winkel 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 Winkel

The surname Winkel has its origins in the German language, and it can be traced back to the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Old German word "winkel," which means "corner" or "angle." It was initially used as a descriptive surname, likely referring to someone who lived on a street or road that formed a corner or angle.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Winkel can be found in the medieval German city of Cologne. In a document dated 1296, a man named Johannes Winkel was mentioned as a resident of the city. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the late 13th century.

The Winkel surname is also found in various historical records from other parts of Germany, such as the Duchy of Bavaria and the Duchy of Saxony. In the 15th century, a man named Hans Winkel was recorded as a blacksmith in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, located in modern-day Bavaria.

As the surname spread across different regions, variations in spelling emerged. Some notable examples include Winkel, Winckel, Winkell, and Winckelmann. These variations often reflected local dialects and linguistic influences.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Winkel surname was Johann Joachim Winckelmann, a renowned German art historian and archaeologist born in 1717. He is considered one of the founders of modern art history and made significant contributions to the study of classical antiquity.

Another notable figure with the Winkel surname was Theodor Winkel, a German philologist and linguist born in 1817. He is best known for his work on the Dutch language and his contributions to the study of Germanic languages.

In the 19th century, a German-American artist named Johann Herman Winkel gained recognition for his landscape paintings depicting scenes from the American West. He was born in Germany in 1822 and later immigrated to the United States, where he became a prominent figure in the art world.

The Winkel surname can also be found in other parts of Europe, such as the Netherlands and Belgium, where it is spelled as "Winkel." One notable bearer of this variation was Frans Winkel, a Dutch linguist and author born in 1837. He is known for his work on the Dutch language and his contributions to the field of lexicography.

In the 20th century, a German-American engineer named Carl Winkel made significant contributions to the field of aeronautics. He was born in Germany in 1891 and later immigrated to the United States, where he worked on the development of aircraft engines and propeller designs.

While the Winkel surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and other countries with significant German immigrant populations. Today, the name continues to be a part of the diverse tapestry of surnames found across different cultures and regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Winkel

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

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 Winkel 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 Winkel 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 Winkel was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!