The Winkle surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,077 people carried this name — #8,131 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 72,500 people counted. That is up 5% from 3,896 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Winkle surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Wincle’ — the first of the origins he gives.

An early record he cites: John le Wenchel, Buckinghamshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 818 · public domain.

In print

Winkle in American newspapers,
1890–1907.

Newspaper page from The Portland Daily Press carrying the name Winkle
The Portland Daily Press 1898-01-29
Newspaper page from Hattiesburg Daily News carrying the name Winkle
Hattiesburg Daily News 1907-06-18
Newspaper page from The Grenada Sentinel carrying the name Winkle
The Grenada Sentinel 1890-05-10

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 215,599 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Winkle in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

6,050 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Winkle. The most, 1,593, date from the 1940s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Queensland, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,894
Queensland 1,760
Victoria 1,210
South Australia 634
Western Australia 304
Tasmania 192
ACT (Canberra) 31
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Winkle.

Who carried it

People named Winkle,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Matthew Van Winkle 1910– · writer

Wikidata (CC0) · 2 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Winkle,
in the records of 6 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States361 records

361 records of the Winkle name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 141
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 91
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 49
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 47
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 16
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 9
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 6
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Charles E. Winkle

    Born 1916 in New York. Enlisted 1941 at Jamaica; bartender from Queens County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1953, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Madelaine Winkle

    Arrived at New Orleans in 1853 aboard the Heidelberg from Havre, aged 19; farmer. From Wurtemberg, Germany.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record David Ryan Winkle

    Born 1950; from Bountiful, Utah. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1971 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 361 records for Winkle in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia75 records

75 records of the Winkle name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 35
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 28
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 4
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 4
  • Tasmanian Names Index 3
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Mary Winkle

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Greenlaw, sailing from Dublin in 1844. Native of Galway. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1847.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Thos Winkle

    Arrived in Victoria in 1859 aboard the Tudor, aged 35; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Johanna Winkle

    Laundress of Clifton Hill, Victoria; died 1888.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 75 records for Winkle in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Germany15 records

15 records of the Winkle name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Karl Winkle

    From Allmersbach, Backnang. Reported wounded in the Württemberg casualty list of 10 July 1916 (Infantry Regiment No. 121).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 1 of 15 records for Winkle in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the Winkle name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record R. Winkle

    Middlesex Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record H. F. Winkle

    Royal Sussex Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. Winkle

    Shropshire Light Infantry. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Winkle in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Netherlands3 records

3 records of the Winkle name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Bernardina Josephine Winkle

    In the population register of Amsterdam; born 1809 in Hanover.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Amsterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Bernarda Josepha Winkle

    In the population register of Amsterdam; born 1809 in Steinfurt Hanover.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Amsterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Reinadiena Josephina Winkle

    In the population register of Amsterdam; born 1809 in Germany.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Amsterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Winkle name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Aage Winkle

    Buried in 1987 at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Adelaide Winkle

    Married 1866 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Winkle.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Winkle is.
A volume says what happened to it.

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