Hinkle
A surname most often understood as a Germanic name, probably from a pet form of a personal name or a descriptive nickname.
The #1,565 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 13,434 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hinkle is generally treated as a German surname, often explained as a pet or reduced form of a personal name such as Heinrich (Henry), with the ending softened into a familiar nickname shape. In some cases it may also reflect a descriptive nickname built from a German word element, but the personal-name explanation is the most common. Because spellings were not fixed for centuries, the name could appear in several closely related forms.
History
The surname is found in German-speaking areas and later in North America, where immigration and spelling variation helped establish forms like Hinkle. In the United States it became especially visible in communities with German ancestry. The name is not rare, but it is concentrated enough to suggest several independent family lines rather than one single origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The spelling Hinkle can look very English, but its usual explanation points back to a German naming tradition rather than an English word.