Can anyone give me information on the surname Warneke? Is it of Jewish origin?

Answer 1

Raymond beat me to this, which is ok. I'll keep my post up anyway. Oh, check out the link in the main post body. Rootsweb genealogy board.

"What does the name mean?
Last Name: Warneke
German: variant spelling of Warnecke.

Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4" 1

"What does the name mean?
Last Name: Warnecke
North German: from a pet form of the personal name Warner, Low German form of Werner.

Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
First Name:" 2

"What does the name mean?
Last Name: Warnecke
North German: from a pet form of the personal name Warner, Low German form of Werner.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4" 3

"What does the name mean?
Last Name: Werner
German: from a personal name composed of the Germanic elements war(in) ‘guard’ + heri, hari ‘army’. Compare Warner.

Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4" 4

"What does the name mean?
Last Name: Warner
English (of Norman origin) and North German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements war(in) ‘guard’ + heri, hari ‘army’. The name was introduced into England by the Normans in the form Warnier.
English (of Norman origin): reduced form of Warrener (see Warren 2).
Irish (Cork): Anglicization of Gaelic Ó Murnáin (see Murnane), found in medieval records as Iwarrynane, from a genitive or plural form of the name, in which m is lenited.

Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4" 5

There are more links, but all I've down is given the information from the hyperlinks in each of the short surname origins, but there are more, if you want to look back and to the side.

The name might also be Scottish, there's some claim of that, but I believe it's more strongly German.

http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=surnames.warneke

Answer 2

German, don't see any evidence that it has any special Jewish ties.

warneke
German: variant spelling of Warnecke.

Warnecke
North German: from a pet form of the personal name Warner, Low German form of Werner.


Werner
German: from a personal name composed of the Germanic elements war(in) ‘guard’ + heri, hari ‘army’. Compare Warner.


Warner
English (of Norman origin) and North German: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements war(in) ‘guard’ + heri, hari ‘army’. The name was introduced into England by the Normans in the form Warnier.

Answer 3

Sounds and looks German - which COULD be Jewish, but certainly not definitive. Could also be Eastern European or Nordic or some ridiculous spelling of a name that got screwed up at Ellis Island.

Answer 4

I believe it's Scottish