Wentz History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany

Etymology of Wentz

What does the name Wentz mean?

The surname Wentz is a patronymic surname; that is, it is derived from the personal name of the original bearer. Patronymic surnames arose out of the vernacular and religious given name traditions. The vernacular or regional naming tradition is the oldest and most pervasive type of patronymic surname. According to this custom, names were originally composed of vocabulary elements from the local language. Vernacular names that were derived from ancient Germanic personal names have cognates in most European languages. For example, the court of Charlemagne (742-814) was Christian and Latin-speaking, but the Frankish dialect of Old German was commonly used for personal names. Vernacular names were also widespread in Germany. As a result, many typical English and French names are of Germanic origin and have cognates in other European languages. In this instance, the surname is derived from the given name Wenzel, a diminutive of the German name Wenze. This personal name is related to the Hungarian name Wenceslas, the 10th century saint immortalized in the Christmas carol Good King Wenceslas.

Early Origins of the Wentz family

The surname Wentz was first found in Pomerania, where a member of the family was a knight in 1260. Many important members came from this family, such as Wenzel, a Bohemian king who died in 1305. From Pomerania, members of the family gradually migrated to different areas in Europe, such as Breslau, where the branch Wenczusch was recorded in 1345. The branch Wenczel Schickentanz was recorded in 1365 in Bruenn. A member of the branch Wenzel was an electorate in Sachsen and died in 1388. In 1414, the branch Wenczlab was recorded in Maehren.

Early History of the Wentz family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wentz research. Another 82 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1578, 1769, 1856 and 1868 are included under the topic Early Wentz History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wentz Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Wensel, Wenzel, Wentsel, Wentzel, Wensell, Wenzell, Wentsell, Wentzell, Wenczel, Wenczlab, Wenczusch, Wentzke, Wentske, Wentziehn, Wentzig, Wentzler, Wentze, Ventzke, Ventske, Venceke, Ventzel and many more.

Early Notables of the Wentz family

Prominent bearers of the name Wentz at this time were

Otto Wentzel, a minister in Darmstadt

Wentz Ranking

In the United States, the name Wentz is the 4,039^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 1

Wentz migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Wentz Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Balzer Wentz, who landed in New York in 1709 2
George Lewis Wentz, who arrived in Georgia in 1735 2
Valentine Wentz, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1743 2
Philip Wentz, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1743 2
Johan Diel Wentz, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1748 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Wentz Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Wentz, who arrived in Maryland in 1840 2
Joseph Wentz, aged 41, who landed in St Louis, Missouri in 1849 2
Jeremiah Wentz, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 2
Louis Wentz, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1868 2
Fredrick Wentz, who landed in America in 1873 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Wentz Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Anna Wentz, aged 4, who settled in America, in 1914

Contemporary Notables of the name Wentz (post 1700) +

John George "Jack" Wentz (1863-1907), American Major League Baseball right-handed second baseman who played one game for the Louisville Colonels in 1891
Jonathan Michael Wentz (1990-2012), American Paralympic equestrian competitor at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
Myron W. Wentz, American founder of USANA Health Sciences
Peter Lewis Kingston "Pete" Wentz III (b. 1979), American bassist and lyricist for the American rock band Fall Out Boy
Walter Yeeling Evans- Wentz (1878-1965), American anthropologist, writer and translator of The Tibetan Book of the Dead in 1927
Earl Wentz (1938-2009), American pianist, composer, and musical director
Lewis Haines Wentz (1877-1949), American oil businessman and philanthropist
J. P. Wentz, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from California, 1908 3
George A. Wentz, American politician, Mayor of Gilroy, California, 1913 3
Christian Wentz, American politician, Member of California State Assembly 7th District, 1881-83 3
... (Another 5 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 27) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html