Wilk is a surname of English and Polish-language origin. In Poland, the surname means

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

and is pronounced . It has 35,000 bearers in Poland and ranks about 60th on the list of the most popular Polish surnames (fifth in

Podkarpackie Voivodeship Subcarpathian Voivodeship is a voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. Along with the Marshal, it is governed by the Subcarpathian Regional Assembly. The name deriv ...

). It is common in many parts of southern Poland, especially among the

Lasowiacy Lasovians (Polish language: ''Lasowiacy''; Lesser Poland dialect: ''Lesioki'') are a subethnic group of the Polish nation, who reside in Lesser Poland, at the confluence of the Vistula and the San rivers, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, southeaster ...

sub-ethnic group. Its variants include Wilczek (a diminutive meaning "little wolf") and

Wilczyński Wilczyński ( ; feminine: Wilczyńska; plural: Wilczyńscy) is a surname of Polish language, Polish-language origin. It derives either directly from ''Wilk'' (meaning "wolf") or from toponyms with this stem (Wilczyn (disambiguation), Wilczyn, Wilczy ...

, which may also derive from

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

s with the stem ''wilk''. In English, the surname is a back formation of Wilkin, which originated as a short form of

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

. English-language variants include Wilkes,

Wilke Wilke is a surname of German origin, which is medieval pet form of the personal name Wilhelm.''Dictionary of American Family Names''"Wilke Family History" Oxford University Press, 2013. Retrieved on 15 January 2016. A related English surname is W ...

, Wilks, Wilkin, and Wilkins. The following people bear the surname: *

Adam Wilk Adam Robert Wilk (born December 9, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles of Anaheim, New York Mets, and Minnesota Twins as well as in the KBO Leag ...

(born 1987), American baseball pitcher *

Brad Wilk Bradley Joseph Wilk (born September 5, 1968) is an American musician. He is best known as the drummer of the rock bands Rage Against the Machine (1991–2000, 2007–2011, 2019–2024), Audioslave (2001–2007, 2017), and Prophets of Rage (201 ...

(born 1968), American musician * Cezary Wilk (born 1986), Polish footballer * "General Wilk" (1895–1951), nom de guerre of Aleksander Krzyzanowski * Jakub Wilk (born 1985), Polish footballer *

Kasia Wilk Katarzyna Wilk (born 3 January 1982 in Lubin, Poland) is a Polish contemporary rhythm and blues singer, more commonly known as Kasia Wilk. In 2008, she began her solo career with the hit single "Pierwszy raz" which reached position 51 on the Pol ...

(born 1982), Polish singer *

Katarzyna Wilk Katarzyna "Kasia" Wasick (born Wilk; 22 March 1992) is a Polish competitive swimmer who specializes in sprint freestyle. Wasick represented Poland at the 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, London, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo ...

(born 1992), Polish swimmer * Maurice Wilk (died 1963), American violinist *

Martin Wilk Martin Bradbury Wilk, (18 December 1922 – 19 February 2013) was a Canadian statistician, academic, and the former chief statistician of Canada. In 1965, together with Samuel Shapiro, he developed the Shapiro–Wilk test, which can indicate ...

(1922–2013), Canadian statistician, co-author of the

Shapiro–Wilk test The Shapiro–Wilk test is a Normality test, test of normality. It was published in 1965 by Samuel Sanford Shapiro and Martin Wilk. Theory The Shapiro–Wilk test tests the null hypothesis that a statistical sample, sample ''x''1, ..., ''x'n'' ...

Max Wilk Max Wilk (July 3, 1920 – February 19, 2011) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author of fiction and nonfiction books. In all, Wilk was the author of 19 books, four films, three produced plays as well as many TV shows and magazine a ...

(1920–2011), American playwright, screenwriter and author * Michael Wilk (born c. 1952), American songwriter *

Rafał Wilk Rafał Wilk (born 9 December 1974 in Łańcut) is a Paralympic Handcycle, handcyclist and former Motorcycle speedway, speedway rider from Poland. Career Wilk won two gold medals at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.

(born 1974), Polish former speedway rider and Paralympic cyclist *

Scott Wilk Scott Thomas Wilk Sr. (born March 16, 1959) is an American politician who served as the California State Senate minority leader from January 20, 2021 until December 5, 2022. He is a Republican who previously represented the 21st district, encom ...

(born 1959), American politician *

Selene Vigil-Wilk In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Selene (; , meaning "Moon")''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη is the goddess and personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene (), she is traditionally the daughter ...

, American singer and musician *

Terry Wilk Terry is a unisex diminutive nickname for the given names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence, Terrance (masculine). People Male * Terry A. Canales, American politician * Terry A. Doughty (born 1959), American district judge * Terry A. ...

, American hardcore vocalist and songwriter *

Vic Wilk Vic Wilk (born August 30, 1960) is an American professional golfer Early life Wilk is a three time Junior World Golf Championships winning titles in 1969, 1971 and 1973 in two different age divisions. He was one of the dominant junior players in ...

(born 1960), American professional golfer *

Wojciech Wilk Wojciech Wilk (born 12 August 1972 in Kraśnik) is a Polish politician. He was elected to the Sejm on 25 September 2005, getting 5,501 votes in 6 Lublin district as a candidate from the Civic Platform list. See also * Members of Polish Sejm 2005- ...

(born 1972), Polish politician Fictional characters include: * Jonathan Wilk, the main character in the film ''

Compulsion Compulsion, Compulsive, Compelling, or Compulsory may refer to: Psychology * Compulsive behavior, a psychological condition in which a person does a behavior compulsively, having an overwhelming feeling that they must do so. * Obsessive–compul ...

'' (1959), played by

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

* Patricia Wilk, a character in ''

Scrubs Scrub(s) may refer to: * Scrub, low shrub and grass characteristic of scrubland * Scrubs (clothing), worn by medical staff * ''Scrubs'' (TV series), an American television program * Scrubs (occupation), also called "scrub tech," "scrub nurse," ...

References

{{surname, Wilk English-language surnames Polish-language surnames Surnames from given names Surnames from nicknames