Wentzel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany-Alt
Germany

Etymology of Wentzel

What does the name Wentzel mean?

The surname Wentzel 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 Wentzel family

The surname Wentzel 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 Wentzel family

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

Wentzel 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 Wentzel family

Otto Wentzel, a minister in Darmstadt

Wentzel Ranking

the United States, the name Wentzel is the 9,757^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1 However, in South Africa, the name Wentzel is ranked the 871^st most popular surname with an estimated 8,027 people with that name. 2

Wentzel migration to the United States +

Wentzel Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Johan Wilhelm Wentzel, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1738 3
Lorentz Wentzel, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1748
Catherine Wentzel, who settled in New York in 1749
Catherine Wentzel, who arrived in New York, NY in 1749 3
Philip Wentzel, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1752 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Wentzel Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Anthony Wentzel, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1834 3
Karl Wentzel, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1846 3
Heinrich Wentzel, who arrived in New York, NY in 1850 3
Bruno Wentzel, who landed in Mississippi in 1859 3
John Wentzel, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1867 3

Wentzel migration to Canada +

Wentzel Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Wilhelm Wentzel, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1757
Lorentz Wentzel, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1757
Maria Wentzel, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1757
Jacob Wentzel, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1757
Conrad Wentzel, who settled in Nova Scotia in 1757

Contemporary Notables of the name Wentzel (post 1700) +

Volkmar Wentzel (1915-2006), German-born American photographer and cinematographer who worked for nearly 50 years for the National Geographic Society
Stan Wentzel (1917-1991), American Major League Baseball player who played for the Boston Braves in 1945
Frank J. Wentzel, American politician, Burgess of Ashland, Pennsylvania, 1933-37 4
Dan Wentzel, American politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 8th District, 2000, 2002 5
Emil August Edward Wentzel (1817-1892), German immigrant from Bremen, Germany to the colony of South Australia in 1847 where he became a timber merchant and politician, MHA for Encounter Bay (1870-1871)
Sune Wentzel (b. 1971), Norwegian frisbeer who holds six world titles and two world indoor distance records
Gregor Wentzel (1898-1978), German physicist known for development of quantum mechanics, co-developer of the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin approximation in 1926
Jacob Johannes Greyling Wentzel, South African farmer and politician

Sources +

"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 South Africa." Forebears, https://forebears.io/south-africa/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, October 27) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html