Wilke Family

Is there such a family in Poland with that surname Wilke?

282 folks in Poland have that name.

Thanks.. you mean 282 people with that surname? We can't know if it is a single family or not, can we?

it's all here: /mapa/kompletny/wilke

By Google translation, it says "name", either first name or surname.
I was about surname only. Anyway, thanks again.

the provided link is for the surname.

if you want more info... wait for P3 to post.

WILKE: more likely than not this was an attempt to Germanise the Polish nickname-turned surname Wilk (meaning wolf). Surnames ending in -ke (Lipke, Janke, Rutke, Budke, etc.) usually emerged as a result of the Germanising of such names as Lipka, Janka, Rutka and Budka.

but it is an english name too which has nothing to do with germanization of anything.

It can be English or possibly somehing else: Dutch, Flemish, maybe Scandinavian. Calls to mind Pres. Lincoln's assassin Wilkes Booth. I woudl wager, however, the Polands' bearers of the Wilke surname are more likely to trace their ancestry to Germany, not GB.

Words and names in different langauegs sometimes coincide: eg posada in Polish is a good, well-paid job but in Spanish it is an inn.
In Polish and other Slavonic tongues the dur- root connotes foolishness (durny, dureń, durak, bajdurzyć, odurzający); in the Latin languages inlcuding English (duration, durable, endurance) dur- suggests something strong, steadfast long-lasting and in German the dürr root implies something lean, thin, meagre, whithered, parched, etc.

"Wilke" diminutive form of "Wilhelm"...

Sounds very plausible. Just shows to go the amount of ethnic interaction encompassing the field of name-building over the centuries.

my point was that this person may not be from poland at all..

It is surname. I found out. It is a family and from Silesia region, border region in Poland with Germany. So, it is quite possible that their root of this family is in Germany as Silesia is mostly Germany origin people in Poland, right? As Wroclaw wrote, there are 282 people with that surname. I wonder if it is one same big family or different families with same surname?

not necessarily at all.. there are many other and larger areas that have gone back and forth over the centuries..


either way.. i highly doubt it's just one family with that many members... if that number is actually accurate..