Show ContentsWiens History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Wiens

What does the name Wiens mean?

Noble surnames, such as Wiens, evoke images of the ancient homeland of the Austrian people. The original bearer of the name Wiens, which is a local surname, once lived, held land, or was born in the beautiful Vienna region of Austria. In this region as hereditary surnames began to be adopted in the late Middle Ages, names that were derived from localities became increasingly widespread. Local names originally denoted the proprietorship of the village or estate.The Wiens family originally lived in Vienna. Citizens of Vienna were known as Wieners. The name of the city comes from Vindabona, a Roman camp which originally occupied the site.

Early Origins of the Wiens family

The surname Wiens was first found in Austria, where the family made a considerable contribution to the feudal society which shaped modern Europe. The family branched into several houses, all of which played an important role in the local political conflicts which forged the nation. The first appearance of this name occurs in ancient chronicles of the city Basel in the year 1275. It was originally taken on by numerous branches living in and around the city Vienna. Later, many families within Jewish settlements also took on the name of their patron city. Vienna, Austria's capital, was originally a Celtic settlement, and the name goes back to Vindabona, a Roman camp belonging to their line of fortresses along the Rhine and Danube rivers. The house of Habsburg, rulers of the Empire, made Vienna the cultural center of Europe, that survived sieges by the Turks in 1529 and 1683. Here the mansions of the nobility were built in the elaborate Baroque style, as well as the fabulous imperial residences of the Hofburg and Schloss Schoenbrunn.

Early History of the Wiens family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wiens research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1534, 1606, 1683, 1737, 1741 and 1745 are included under the topic Early Wiens History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wiens Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Wiener, Wiene, Weiner, Wien, Wieners, Wienen, Viener, Veaner, Vieners and many more.

Early Notables of the Wiens family

During this period prominent bearers of the name Wiens were Wenrich of Trier, a German ecclesiastical political writer of the 11th century; Simon Weinmann, the Elder (1534-1606), Mayor of Heilbronn; and Johann Wilhelm Weinmann (1683-1741)...
Another 34 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wiens Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wiens Ranking

In the United States, the name Wiens is the 10,689th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1 However, in Canada, the name Wiens is ranked the 904th most popular surname with an estimated 5,952 people with that name. 2


Wiens migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Wiens Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Abraham Wiens, aged 28, who arrived in New York, NY in 1874 3
  • Sara Wiens, aged 27, who landed in New York, NY in 1874 3
  • Suzanne Wiens, aged 6, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1876 3
  • Katharine Wiens, aged 15, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1876 3
  • Agatha Wiens, aged 4, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1876 3
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Wiens migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Wiens Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Johan Wiens, who landed in Manitoba in 1874
  • Peter Wiens, who landed in Manitoba in 1876
  • David Wiens, who landed in Manitoba in 1876
  • Heinrich Wiens, who arrived in Manitoba in 1876
  • Isaac Wiens, who arrived in Manitoba in 1876

Contemporary Notables of the name Wiens (post 1700) +

  • Dr. John A. Wiens, American ecologist, the 2005 recipient of the Cooper Ornithological Society’s Loye and Alden Miller Research Award
  • Douglas Paul Wiens, Canadian statistician and professor in the Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at the University of Alberta, Fellow of the American Statistical Association (2005)
  • David Wiens, American cyclist, a 2000 inductee to the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame, inaugural Director of the Mountain Sports Program at WSCU (2012)
  • Tom Wiens, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Colorado, 2008 4
  • Rylan Wiens (b. 2002), Canadian bronze medalist diver in the platform (10 metre) event at the 2024 Summer Olympics
  • Bernhard Henry "Berny" Wiens (b. 1945), Canadian former politician who represented Rosetown-Elrose, Saskatchewan from 1991 to 1995


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. "Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
  3. 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)
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 10) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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