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Winkel History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Winkel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany
Israel
Ireland

The distinguished surname Winkel emerged among the industrious people of Flanders, which was an important trading partner and political ally of Britain during the Middle Ages. As a result of the frequent commercial intercourse between the Flemish and English nations, many Flemish migrants settled in Britain. In early times, people were known by only a single name. However, as the population grew and people traveled further afield, it became increasingly necessary to assume an additional name to differentiate between bearers of the same personal name. The manner in which hereditary surnames arose is interesting. Local surnames are derived from where the original bearer lived, was born, or held land. Flemish surnames of this type frequently are prefixed by de la or de le, which mean of the or from the. The Winkel family originally lived in the settlement of Wynkel in Flanders. The surname Winkel belongs to the category of habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads, or other places. Alternatively the name could have been a nickname referring to "the winkle" as in a periwinkle.

Early Origins of the Winkel family

The surname Winkel was first found in Cheshire at Wincle, a chapelry, in the parish of Prestbury, union and hundred of Macclesfield. 1 The parish dates back to c. 1190 when it was known as Winchul and literally meant "hill of a man called Wineca or by a bend," from the Old English personal name or "wince" + "hill." 2

On of the first records of the name was "Winchul" c. 1200 in East Cheshire. 3 Later, we found John le Wenchel listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1271 in Buckinghamshire. 4

"The Wintles of Gloucester and its neighbourhood probably possess an ancestor in Christopher Windle, who was incumbent of the parish of Side in 1592 (A.). The Wintles were influential Gloucester citizens last century; at the same time there was a family of the name in Long Hope. This surname may hail originally from the north, Windle being the name of a Lancashire township and Windhill of a district in the West Riding." 5

Early History of the Winkel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Winkel research. Another 41 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1753, 1756, 1759, 1767, 1768, 1774 and 1814 are included under the topic Early Winkel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Winkel Spelling Variations

Flemish surnames are characterized by a large number of spelling variations. One reason for this is that medieval English lacked definite spelling rules. The spellings of surnames were also influenced by the official court languages, which were French and Latin. Names were rarely spelled consistently in medieval times. Scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to specific spelling rules, and people often had their names registered in several different forms throughout their lives. One of the greatest reasons for change is the linguistic uniqueness of the Flemish settlers in England, who spoke a language closely related to Dutch. The pronunciation and spelling of Flemish names were often altered to suit the tastes of English-speaking people. In many cases, the first, final, or middle syllables of surnames were eliminated. The name has been spelled Winkler, Winkle, Windle, Winkel, Wynkler, Wynkle and others.

Early Notables of the Winkel family

Prominent in the family at this time was

William Winkel of Cheshire

Winkel Ranking

In the United States, the name Winkel is the 12,701^st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6 However, in Netherlands, the name Winkel is ranked the 624^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,909 people with that name. 7

Migration of the Winkel family to Ireland

Some of the Winkel family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Winkel migration to the United States +

Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Winkel or a variant listed above:

Winkel Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Henrig Winkel, who arrived in New York in 1709 8

Winkel Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

M H Winkel, aged 40, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1807 8
Mrs. Marg. Winkel, (nee Sievers), from Germany who arrived in Galveston, Texas aboard the ship "Hercules" in 1844
Mr. Fried. Winkel, from Germany who arrived in Galveston, Texas aboard the ship "Hercules" in 1844
Mr. Hein. Winkel, from Germany who arrived in Galveston, Texas aboard the ship "Hercules" in 1844
Mr. Wilh. Winkel, from Germany who arrived in Galveston, Texas aboard the ship "Hercules" in 1844
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Winkel (post 1700) +

Rick Winkel (b. 1956), American politician and lawyer, Member of the Illinois Senate (2003-2007)
Gary Winkel (b. 1938), American environmental psychologist
Nathaniel "Nate" Winkel (b. 1978), retired American soccer midfielder
Adrian Paul Winkel (1915-1994), American politician, High Commissioner of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
Adrian Winkel, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Minnesota, 1960 9
Paul van Winkel (b. 1953), Belgian wheelchair racer and multiple Paralympic gold medalist
Petrus Wijtse Winkel (1909-2012), Dutch colonial administrator in the Dutch East Indies
Torsten de Winkel (b. 1965), German musician, composer, and philosopher
Leo Winkel (1885-1981), German architect
Lambert Allard te Winkel (1809-1868), Dutch linguist and lexicographer
... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Winkel family +

Bismarck

Artur Winkel (1891-1941), German Angestellter who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking 10

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Most Common Last Names in Netherlands." Forebears, https://forebears.io/netherlands/surnames
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Bismarck & Tirpitz Class - Crew List Bismarck. (Retrieved 2018, February 06). Retrieved from https://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/crew/bismarck_crew.html#crew_details