Explore the Family Name Wenk
The meaning of Wenk
1. North German, East Frisian, and North Frisian: from a shortened form of the Frisian-Low German personal name Weneke, itself a pet form of an ancient Germanic compound name beginning with wini ‘friend’. This surname is very rare in North Frisia. 2. German: topographic name for someone who lived by a turning or bend, Middle High German wenke. 3. North German: from Middle Low German wenke, wenneke ‘wide woolen dress’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of such garments. 4. German: nickname from Middle High German wenken ‘to waver’, for an indecisive person. 5. Sorbian (Ẃenk, Wěnk): from a pet form of the Old Sorbian personal name Wěcsław (Latinized as Wenceslaus; see Vaclav). Some characteristic forenames: German Otto, Ernst, Erwin, Maximilian, Theodor.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Wenk in the United States?
Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Wenk has experienced a slight decrease in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In the year 2000, Wenk ranked as the 21,727th most popular surname, but slid to 23,817th position by 2010, translating into a downward change of 9.62 percent. The count of individuals carrying the Wenk surname also decreased by 5.01 percent during this period, dropping from 1,117 people in 2000 to 1,061 in 2010. This resulted in a proportional decrease of 12.2 percent, with roughly 0.36 persons per 100,000 bearing the surname in 2010, down from 0.41 a decade earlier.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #21,727 | #23,817 | -9.62% |
| Count | 1,117 | 1,061 | -5.01% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.41 | 0.36 | -12.2% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Wenk
In terms of ethnicity, again based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, there were notable shifts among those who carry the surname Wenk between 2000 and 2010. The proportion identifying as White saw a minimal decrease of 0.94 percent over the decade, reducing from 97.05 percent to 96.14 percent. However, the Hispanic representation within the Wenk name-bearers increased notably by 57.76 percent, rising from 1.61 percent to 2.54 percent. Interestingly, the census data for 2010 also recorded a small percentage (0.57) of Wenk surname bearers identifying as Asian or Pacific Islander, a category that wasn't represented in the 2000 data. Conversely, those reporting two or more races as their ethnic identity fell by nearly half from 0.90 percent to 0.47 percent. The categories of Black and American Indian and Alaskan Native remained constant at zero percent across both census years.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 97.05% | 96.14% | -0.94% |
| Hispanic | 1.61% | 2.54% | 57.76% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0% | 0.57% | 0% |
| Two or More Races | 0.9% | 0.47% | -47.78% |
| Black | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0% | 0% |