2000
#11,287
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,570
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.95
Rare Last name
Winkel
An occupational surname referring to a shopkeeper or store owner, derived from the German word for "shop" or "store."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,801 Americans carry the last name Winkel. That puts it at #12,173 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.82 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 122,369 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Winkel surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 122,369
Census rank
#12,173
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,443 bearers of the surname Winkel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.82 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12173rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Winkel, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Winkel
Among Census respondents with the surname Winkel, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Winkel bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Winkel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.3% · 2,280
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 63
- Two or more races2.4% · 59
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 12
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Winkel
Winkel appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#12,068
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,584
+14 bearers (+0.5%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 781 places
2020
#12,173
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,443
-141 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Down 105 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,287 | 2,570 | 0.95 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,068 | 2,584 | 0.88 | +14 bearers (+0.5%) | Down 781 places |
| 2020 | #12,173 | 2,443 | 0.82 | -141 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 105 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Winkel surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #12,068 | #12,173 | -0.9% |
| Count | 2,584 | 2,443 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.88 | 0.82 | -7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Winkel bearers went from 2,584 to 2,443 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 105 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,068 to #12,173.
FAQ
Winkel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Winkel?
Name Census estimates that about 2,801 living Americans carry the surname Winkel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 122,369 residents.
How common is Winkel?
Winkel ranks #12,173 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.82 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,443 people with the surname Winkel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,801), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.82 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.82 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Winkel.
Has Winkel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Winkel went from 2,584 recorded bearers to 2,443. That is a decrease of 141 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,068 to #12,173.
What does the Census say about the background of Winkel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Winkel, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.6%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Winkel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (2,280 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Winkel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.3%), Hispanic (2.6%), Two or More Races (2.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Winkel (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Winkel mean?
An occupational surname referring to a shopkeeper or store owner, derived from the German word for "shop" or "store." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Winkel (0.82 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Winkel?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.