Surname Vincke - Meaning and Origin

Vincke: What does the surname Vincke mean?

The surname Vincke is a German and Dutch toponymic name that originated in northern Germany. It is derived from the Celtic name of a settlement or small village near modern day Friesland in Holland. This village was called ‘Vinkeveen’ and the toponym became ‘Vincken’ and then later ‘Vincke’ which was then later used as a surname by the Dutch and German residents of the village.

The original origin of the village name is the Dutch verb ‘vinke’ which means ‘to fight’ or ‘to struggle’, likely referring to a legendary battle fought in the village in the distant past. The Vincke surname was borne by a variety of people throughout the centuries, from knights in the Dutch and German nobility to soldiers fighting in the Thirty Years War, and today it is still a common surname throughout Friesland, the Netherlands and Germany.

Vincke is a unique surname that refers to an interesting history and events of the past. It is a reminder of the people of northern Europe who made their homes in a small village in the former medieval county of Friesland and has been in use in the region for centuries. In our modern world, the surname Vincke is a reminder of the people who once lived there and their unique relationship to the land.

Vincke: Where does the name Vincke come from?

The last name Vincke is most commonly found in Germany, Belgium, and East Flanders in particular. The name is also found in Denmark, South Africa, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada and the United States. In the United States, people with the last name Vincke are found mainly in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio and Illinois.

The surname Vincke is derived from the old Germanic personal name Winnik, which in turn was derived from a prehistoric Germanic root, winna. This root is believed to mean "friend" or "companion".

Today, the Vincke family still flourishes in East Flanders in Belgium. The family has its roots in Hooglede, a small rural municipality in this province. Additionally, many Vincke descendants have scattered across Belgium and beyond.

In the United States, the Vincke family is well-established. The earliest known Vincke ancestor in the US is Johann Paul Vincke, who career in the Union Army during the Civil War and later served as a US Marshall. Around the same time, the surname was recorded in the eastern provinces of Canada. The Vincke family is especially numerous in rural Wisconsin and Ohio, where descendants of those immigrants from east Flanders have been living for many generations.

Overall, the last name Vincke continues to be a well-known and well-established name across Europe and beyond.

Variations of the surname Vincke

The surname Vincke (also spelled as Vinken, Van Vinckelen, Vinckele, Vinckels, Vinkes, Vinkers, Vincken, Vinckens, Vinckel, Vinckels, Vinckers, Vinckelen, and Van Vinckele) is of Germanic origin. Meaning "younger son of Vincent" it is likely derived from the old German name Vankon. This surname developed as a patronymic, being derived from the personal name of the father of the original bearer of the name.

Vincke is a very common surname found in many Germanic countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, and the Czech Republic. It is also quite common in Scandinavian countries such as Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Norway. The various spellings of Vincke simply reflect the many ways people have spelled the name over the years.

Vankon is a diminutive form of the name Vincent, which means "conquering" in Latin. Prior to the 19th century, when surnames became more standardized, people often adapted their names to fit the regional cultures they lived in. As a result, variations of the surname Vincke were found throughout Europe in different forms and spellings as families traveled and migrated.

Vincke is one of the many surnames found in Germanic cultural records, indicating that the surname was inherited by families who were established in these countries before the dawn of the 19th century. Despite the regional spellings, the surname Vincke is instantly recognizable, and all of its variants are united under their common Germanic root.

Famous people with the name Vincke

• Emilie Vincke: Television Host and businesswoman from Belgium
• Pia Vincke: German painter/visual artist
• Alexander Vincke: German actor
• Adolphe Vincke: Belgian pianist, composer and conductor
• Albert Vincke: Belgian soldier and recipient of the Order of Leopold
• Jeff Vincke: Belgian chess grandmaster
• Victor Vincke: Belgian politician
• Guillaume Vincke: Belgian cyclist
• Henk Vincke: Dutch football coach and manager
• Olga Vincke: Belgian organist
• Jan Vincke: Belgian modern pentathlete
• Evelyne Vincke: Belgian middle-distance runner
• Jan Peter Vincke: Dutch sculptor
• Francis Vincke: Belgian film producer
• Frank Vincke: Belgian poet and children's author

Other surnames

VinckVincken