English (chiefly Berkshire): from Middle English planke
‘plank’ (Late Latin planca). It is not clear how this word was
applied as a surname: it may be a topographic name for someone who
lived near a plank bridge over a stream, a metonymic occupational name
for a carpenter, or a nickname for a thin person.North
German: nickname for a cantankerous person, from Middle Low German
plank ‘quarrel’, ‘discord’.North German: metonymic
occupational name from Middle Low German plank ‘measure for
liquids’.South German: topographic name from Middle High German
plank ‘plank’, ‘palisade’.South German: nickname for a
fair-haired person, from a variant of Middle High German blanc
‘light’, ‘shining’.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
157,222
Historical Documents & Family Trees with Plank
Click on a place to view Plank immigration records
The information for this chart came from the U.S. Immigration Collection at Ancestry.com.
You can find out where the majority of the Plank families were living before
they immigrated to the U.S and learn where to focus your search for foreign records.
Immigration records can tell you an ancestor's name, ship name, port of departure,
port of arrival, and destination.
Click on a circle in the chart to view Plank immigration records
You can find out when most of the Plank families immigrated
to the United States.
You can focus your search to immigration records dating from that era.
Immigration records can tell you an ancestor's name, ship name, port of departure,
port of arrival and destination.
Click on a circle in the chart to view Plank birth and death records
An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your ancestors lived in harsh conditions.
A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in
your family.
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