Surname Böhnack - Meaning and Origin

Böhnack: What does the surname Böhnack mean?

The last name Böhnack is a German surname found mainly in the region of Prussia and was most common during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The name is derived from the Low German root "boen" meaning “bent” or “crooked”, indicating that in the past this surname was likely to have been a nickname for an individual who had a crooked nose or otherwise slightly asymmetric features.

Initially the name was used mainly in the areas around Mecklenburg, Pomerania, and Prussia, and is a relatively uncommon last name due to the emigration of many Bavarians and Germans to North America during the 19th century, as well as the destruction of various records during World War II. In the United States, there are currently an estimated 3,000 people with the Böhnack surname, with the highest concentration found in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin.

The modern Böhnack family is believed to have originated from a single Prussian clan, with the earliest known records of the surname appearing in the 17th century in the form of Johann Hermann Böhnack’s Baptismal record from Koeslin, Prussia. Since then, the Böhnack family has spread throughout Europe and North America, with multiple branches of the family developing in countries such as Australia, Canada, and the United States.

Overall, the Böhnack family name has a rich history that dates back hundreds of years and is likely to continue to evolve in many different countries around the world.

Böhnack: Where does the name Böhnack come from?

The last name Böhnack is most commonly found in the former East German region of Thuringia. Böhnack is a variant form of the name Bohne and is derived from a Middle High German personal name onomastics. It was first recorded in Obermaßfeld in 1239, likely as a patronymic name derived from the given name Bovo.

The modern-day use of the Böhnack surname can be found today in many German-speaking countries including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and the Czech Republic. It isn't considered an uncommon name in any of these regions, although its frequency does vary from one region to another.

In Germany, the Böhnack surname is particularly concentrated in the state of Thuringia. The other states in Germany that embrace the highest proportion of people with the Böhnack surname are Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg, and North Rhine-Westphalia. In Austria, the surname is concentrated in the states of Tyrol, Lower and Upper Austria, Carinthia, and Vienna.

People with the Böhnack surname also continue to live in East Prussia, East Brandenburg, Prussian Silesia, and Vorpommern, which were parts of the former East Germany. It is in this region that the surname Böhnack is most likely to be found today.

Variations of the surname Böhnack

The surname Böhnack has several variants, spellings, and names derived from it. Some of the most common variants are Böhnke, Bohneke, Boehnke, Beehnke, Bohnke, Böhnk, Bohnk, Bohnack, and Böhnack. Other spellings of the surname include Bohnake, Bohneck, Boehnack, Boehnken, Beohneck, Beohnken and Beohnkken.

In some cases, the surname has even been adapted to fit other languages such as English and German. In English, it has been adapted to forms such as Bayneke, Baineke, Beinke, Beanke, Bohneck and Bohnake. In German, it has been adapted to forms such as Böhnch, Bohnkh, Baynke, Bayncke, Beinckh, Beynke and Böhnkon.

The variants of Böhnack can be traced back to Boeni or Booni, an old Germanic root. It was first recorded in 1218 as Böhnec in the region of Lower Saxony. The name was also used for a village, now known as Bohnack, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany in 1566.

Böhnack is the main variant of the surname, with many other variants derivative from this root. It is a sign that the surname has an old Germanic origin, and despite changes to its spelling over time, the surname has kept its distinct identity.

Famous people with the name Böhnack

• Torben Böhnack: a former German footballer who played as a defender, most notably for VfL Bochum and MSV Duisburg.
• Jens Böhnack: a German journalist, author and TV producer. He is the author of the book "The Magic from the Netherlands: Dutch Soccer History".
• Anne Böhnack: a German politician who served as a Member of the Bundestag from 1994 to 1998 for the Free Democratic Party.
• Reinhard Böhnack: a German politician who served as a Member of the Bundestag from 1998 to 2005 for the Christian Democratic Union.
• Bernhard Böhnack: a German physician and politician who was a Member of the Bundestag from 2002 to 2009 for the Social Democratic Party.
• Ursula Böhnack: a former German politician who served as the State Secretary for Women, Family and Health from 2005 to 2009, and subsequently as a Member of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2009 to 2017.
• Jens Böhnack Jr.: a German screenwriter, film director and producer who has been producing the cult television program "Club 2" since 2017.
• Heiner Böhnack: a German artist and author who is best known for his caricatures of famous people, as well as his published books about renowned artist Salvador Dali.
• Alfred Böhnack: a German photographer who specialized in nude photography, primarily of women, though he was known for his male nudes as well.

Other surnames

Bohnacker