Wilke
A surname with Germanic roots, often a short form of names built on the old name element meaning “will” or “desire.”
The #4,386 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 38,089 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Wilke is generally understood as a diminutive or short form of older Germanic personal names beginning with Wil-, from the element meaning “will” or “desire.” In northern German and Dutch usage, it could function as a pet form of names like Wilhelm or related Wil- names, and some sources also connect it with forms such as Wilkin. In English records, it was sometimes treated as a surname derived from a given name rather than from a place or occupation.
History
The name is especially at home in Germanic-speaking regions, with strong northern German and Low German associations, and it also appears in Dutch contexts. English-language surname scholars have occasionally grouped it with other Wil- surnames such as Wilkes, Wilkerson, and Wilcox, though those are not always the same in origin. In modern times Wilke is found across Germany and in countries shaped by German immigration, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some 19th-century surname writers even treated Wilke as part of a larger family of “Wil-” names built from the old Germanic idea of will or wish.
From the historical record
“Wilko, Wilke, m. ; Wilken, fam. n. Wit, Wiet, dimin. Witje, Wietje, m.; Wits, Wiets, Witjes, Wietjes, fam. n.”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)