The Winkler surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 21,993 people carried this name — #1,640 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 13,400 people counted. That is up 1% from 21,783 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Winkler surname
A surname originating as an occupation, from the Low German for 'shopkeeper'.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Winkler» (German), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
2,960 people named Winkler live in Switzerland.
They live in 25 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Poland’s population register
2,815 people named Winkler have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 3,605 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in all 16 of Poland’s voivodeships, most of all in Silesian.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 622 people named Winkler live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Santa Fe.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 413 people named Winkler.
102 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 34 départements, most often Moselle.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In the Nordic population registers
571 people named Winkler are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Winkler in American newspapers,
1889–1963.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 250,657 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Winkler,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Andreas Winckler 1498–1575 · printer -
Anthony Winkler Prins 1817–1908 · translator -
Tiberius Cornelis Winkler 1822–1897 · writer -
Andrej Winkler 1825–1916 · politician -
Emil Winkler 1835–1888 · engineer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 180 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Winkler.
- Wine 4,327 · U.S. census
- Wingert 3,383 · U.S. census
- Wingerter 1,328 · U.S. census
- Winiarski 959 · U.S. census
- Wininger 2,590 · U.S. census
- Winkel 2,584 · U.S. census
- Winne 742 · U.S. census
- Winninger 110 · U.S. census
- Winstel 291 · U.S. census
- Winter 31,310 · U.S. census
- Winterberger 139 · U.S. census
- Winterhalter 775 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Winkler is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.