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Plank History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Plank History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany

From the historical and enchanting region of Austria emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Plank family. Originally, the Austrian people were known only by a single name. The process by which hereditary surnames were adopted in Austria is extremely interesting. Surnames evolved during the Middle Ages when people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. Often they adopted names that were derived from nicknames. Nickname surnames were derived from an eke-name, or added name. They usually reflected the physical characteristics or attributes of the first person that used the name. The name Plank is a nickname type of surname for a person with blond hair or a pale complexion having derived from the German word blanc, which means white or light.

Early Origins of the Plank family

The surname Plank was first found in Austria and southern Bavaria, where this family made important contributions toward the development of the district from ancient times. Always prominent in social and political affairs, the family forged alliances with other families within the nation. Chronicles first mention Nicholas Plank of Bruenn in 1345, and the brothers Joerg and Ulrich Plank of Ulm in 1460.

Early History of the Plank family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Plank research. Another 114 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1622, 1733 and 1751 are included under the topic Early Plank History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Plank Spelling Variations

One can encounter great variation in the spelling of surnames: in early times, spelling in general, and thus the spelling of names was not yet standardized; and later, spellings would change with branching and movement of families. Variations of the name Plank include Planck, Planckh, Plank, Plankl, Plankel, Plenk, Blanck and many more.

Early Notables of the Plank family

Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Plank Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Plank Ranking

In the United States, the name Plank is the 5,022^nd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1

Plank migration to the United States +

Austria was made a republic after the First World War. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was broken up by the Treaty of Versailles and many of its people found themselves in the new nation of Czechoslovakia. Many other Austrians and expatriate Austrians made their way to North America in the 20th century. Most landed in Philadelphia, later continuing on to the states of Ohio, Texas, Illinois, California, New York, and Maryland. Some Austrian settlers also went to western Canada and Ontario. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Plank or a variant listed above:

Plank Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Adam Plank, who landed in New York in 1771 2

Plank Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Mr. Alfred Thomas Plank, (b. 1875), aged 29, Cornish labourer, from Truro, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "St Paul" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 20th November 1904 en route to Oglesby, Illinois, USA 3
Mr. Edward Plank, (b. 1872), aged 33, Cornish engine driver travelling aboard the ship "St Louis" arriving at Ellis Island, New York in 1905 en route to Oglesby, Illinois, USA 3

Plank migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Plank Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

John Plank, who settled in Canada in 1836
John P Plank, who arrived in Canada in 1836

Plank migration to Australia +

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

Plank Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Thomas Plank, English convict from Wiltshire, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on April 1st, 1822, settling in New South Wales, Australia 4
Mr. Joseph Plank, (b. 1789), aged 43 who was convicted in Wiltshire, England for life for house breaking, transported aboard the "Circassian" on 4th November 1832, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1833 aboard the ship 5

Plank 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:

Plank Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Emmanuel Plank, aged 34, who arrived in Hawkes Bay aboard the ship "Bebington" in 1874
Anne Plank, aged 33, who arrived in Hawkes Bay aboard the ship "Bebington" in 1874
Allan Plank, aged 5, who arrived in Hawkes Bay aboard the ship "Bebington" in 1874
Angelina Plank, aged 4, who arrived in Hawkes Bay aboard the ship "Bebington" in 1874
James Plank, aged 3, who arrived in Hawkes Bay aboard the ship "Bebington" in 1874
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Plank (post 1700) +

Major-General Ewart Gladstone Plank (1897-1982), American Commanding General New York Port of Embarkation (1946-1949) 6
Scott Chapman Plank (1958-2002), American film and television actor
Kevin A. Plank (b. 1972), American CEO and founder of Under Armour, Inc
Douglas Walter "Doug" Plank (b. 1953), former American NFL football safety and coach, creator of the 46 defense, his original play number
Edward Stewart "Eddie" Plank (1875-1926), nicknamed "Gettysburg Eddie", American Major League Baseball pitcher, inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946
Mrs. Raymond Plank, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Minnesota, 1960 7
Milton H. Plank, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania 18th District, 1920 7
Milo W. Plank, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Michigan State House of Representatives from Van Buren County, 1956 7
Jeffrey W. Plank, American Republican politician, Mayor of Warsaw, Indiana, 1984-96 7
Jayne H. Plank, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Maryland, 2004 7
... (Another 6 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Plank family +

RMS Lusitania

Mrs. Harriet Plank, English 2nd Class passenger residing in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and Survived the sinking but later died 8

Citations +

"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)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1822 with 190 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1822
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 8th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/circassian
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2014, March 26) Ewart Plank. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Plank/Ewart_Gladstone/USA.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/