Surname Wischnewsky - Meaning and Origin
all surnames with 'W'
Wischnewsky: What does the surname Wischnewsky mean?
The last name Wischnewsky is of Polish and Jewish origin. The name is derived from the Yiddish word wischnov which translates to calf. This surname was likely given to individuals who had a physical resemblance to a calf, or if their line of business was related to animals, such as a herdsman.
Wischnewsky is also a Jewish patronymic name, meaning it is derived from a father's first name. Depending on the area of Central or Eastern Europe from which the family originated, the name may have been spelled several different ways, including Wischnowski, Wiszniewski, Wiszniewsky, and Wisznula.
The Wischnewsky surname appears in governmental records as early as the 18th century in Poland and Germany. It is likely that the first Wischnewsky family members immigrated to countries such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the 19th and 20th centuries, where the spelling of the name was further anglicized.
At present, people with the Wischnewsky surname can be found in various countries around the world, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Order DNA origin analysisWischnewsky: Where does the name Wischnewsky come from?
The last name Wischnewsky is of German origin and is found in present-day Germany, Austria, and other European countries. It has been suggested that the name Wischnewsky originated during the migration of Germanic-speaking people from central Europe to eastern Europe in the late Middle Ages.
In the 19th century, some Wischnewsky families in Germany and Austria moved to other parts of Europe, particularly to the United States and Canada. Today, people with the last name Wischnewsky can be found in both the US and Canada, with larger concentrations in the eastern part of the United States.
In the US, the name Wischnewsky can be found mostly in the northeast, such as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Massachusetts. A few Wischnewsky families can also be found as far west as California. In Canada, the last name Wischnewsky is more focused in the east: Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime Provinces.
Because of its German origin, Wischnewsky is a relatively rare surname in both the US and Canada. While exact numbers are unknown, the name is thought to account for less than one tenth of one percent of the population in both countries.
Variations of the surname Wischnewsky
The Wischnewsky surname is an Ashkenazi Jewish surname originating from the Central European region of the Russian Empire. This surname is an adaptation of the Germanic, Russian patronymic name Wiskensky. A patronymic name is a surname derived from the father's personal name, with "sky" meaning son of. It is believed that the Wischnewsky family first populated the area around the border of the Bessarabia and Podolia Governorates following the resettlement of Jews from the Pale of Settlement in 1793.
Variations in spelling of Wischnewsky may include Wischnewsky, Wisniewsky, Wiszensky, Wisznewsky, Vischnewsky, Wisznesky, and Wiszniewsky. This name is sometimes also found with either a W- or V- prefix.
Some of the most common surnames associated with Wischnewsky include Wischnewski, Viskensky, Wischunsky, Wischnugal, Wischnowsky, Wischniverse, and Vischnese. Wischnewsky is also a rare spelling of the popular Jewish-American surname “Wischnitzer”, and is probably an Americanized version of this surname.
Despite the name's relatively rare occurrence, Wischnewsky has many variants and associated surnames, which are likely the result of the Jewish population's frequent migrations throughout Europe and its later migration to the United States.
Famous people with the name Wischnewsky
- Fritz Wischnewsky, a German general and World War I military commander of the Austro-Hungarian army.
- Otto Johannes Wischnewsky, a German playwright and screenwriter who wrote for German television and film in the 1950s.
- Sophie Wischnewsky, a Russian poet, author, playwright and professor of aesthetics.
- Hubert Wischnewsky, a prominent German neurologist, as well as a founder and director of the Institute of Neurology at the University of Marburg.
- Friedrich Theodor Wischnewsky, a German physician, chemist, mathematician, and founder of the science of acoustics.
- Boris Wischnewsky, a prominent Russian landscape painter and member of the Wanderers movement in the 19th century.
- Leopold Wischnewsky, a prominent Austrian engineer, inventor, and chemist who was one of the founders of the modern food science.
- Jürgen Wischnewsky, a German-born theoretical physicist who made major contributions to solid state physics and condensed matter physics.
- Inge Wischnewsky, a German film and television actress who has appeared in numerous films.
- David Wischnewsky, a Danish film director, screenwriter, editor, and cinematographer.