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Winkle History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Winkle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The distinguished surname Winkle 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 Winkle family originally lived in the settlement of Wynkel in Flanders. The surname Winkle 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 Winkle family

The surname Winkle 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 Winkle family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Winkle 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 Winkle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Winkle 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 Winkle family

Prominent in the family at this time was William Winkel of Cheshire.Thomas Wintle (died 1814), was a Member of the University of Oxford having matriculated on 26 March, 1753, aged...
Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Winkle Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Winkle Ranking

In the United States, the name Winkle is the 8,333^rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6

Migration of the Winkle family to Ireland

Some of the Winkle 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.

Winkle migration to the United States +

Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Winkle were

Winkle Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Xpian Winkle, who arrived in Virginia in 1656 7

Winkle Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Joseph Winkle, who arrived in Ohio in 1860 7
William Winkle, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1862 7
Frank Winkle, who landed in Arkansas in 1887 7

Winkle migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Winkle Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Hamlet Winkle, (b. 1808), aged 20, English convict who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for life for house breaking, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 25th June 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8

Winkle migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Winkle Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Daniel Winkle, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Blairgowrie" in 1875

Contemporary Notables of the name Winkle (post 1700) +

Marshall Van Winkle (1869-1957), American politician, U.S. Representative from New Jersey
Travis Van Winkle (b. 1982), American actor
Peter Godwin Van Winkle (1808-1872), American politician, United States Senator from West Virginia
Marshall Van Winkle (1869-1957), American Republican politician, U.S. Representative from New Jersey 9th District, 1905-07 9
Lee Van Winkle (1862-1928), American Democratic Party politician, Mayor of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1899-1901, 1903-05 9
John S. Van Winkle, American politician, Secretary of State of Kentucky, 1866-67 9
J. M. Van Winkle, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Oklahoma Territory, 1900 9
Isaac H. Van Winkle (d. 1943), American Republican politician, Oregon State Attorney General, 1920-43; Appointed 1920; Candidate in primary for justice of Oregon State Supreme Court, 1938 9
Harold Van Winkle, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Philippine Islands, 1936 9
E. L. Van Winkle, American politician, Secretary of State of Kentucky, 1863-66 9
... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Winkle family +

Bismarck

Roland Winkle (1922-1941), German Matrosengefreiter 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/
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 10) . 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