Schenk is a German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) occupational surname derived from (aus)schenken (to pour out or serve) referring to the medieval profession of cup-bearer or wine server (later also to tavern keeper). At one time, only Jews were allowed to sell alcohol in the Russian empire, which is why Shenk (Russian) and its later surname variants are very common.
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People with the surname Schenk
People with this surname include:
Adam Schenk (born 1992), American golfer
Ard Schenk (born 1944), Dutch speed skater
August Schenk (1815–1891), German botanist and paleobotanist
Beatrice Schenk de Regniers (1914–2000), American children's writer and illustrator
Bel Schenk (born 1975), Australian poet
Bert Schenk (born 1970), German boxer
Berthold von Schenk (1895–1974), American Lutheran pastor
Christian Schenk (born 1965), East German decathlete
Dieter Schenk (born 1937), German author and police officer
Francis Joseph Schenk (1901–1969), American Catholic prelate
Franziska Schenk (born 1974), German speed skater
Fritz Schenk (1930–2006), German journalist
Georg Schenk von Limpurg (1470–1522), Prince-Bishop of Bamberg
Gretchen Knief Schenk (1901–1989), American librarian
Hanne Schenk (born 1984), Swiss bobsledder
Hans Schenk (athlete) (1936–2006), German javelin thrower
Hans Schenk (economist), Dutch economist
Heinz Schenk (1924–2014), German television moderator
Henk Schenk (born 1945), Dutch-born American wrestler
Isobel Schenk (1898–1980), Australian Christian missionary
Jakab Schenk (1876–1945), Hungarian ornithologist
Jakob Schenk (1921–1951), Swiss cyclist
Johan Schenk (1660 – after 1712), Dutch musician and composer
Johann Baptist Schenk (1753–1836), Austrian composer
Josephus Schenk (born 1980), Dutch darts player
Juliane Schenk (born 1982), German badminton player
Juraj Schenk (born 1948), Slovak government minister
Karl Schenk (1823–1895), Swiss pastor and politician
Katharina Schenk (born 1988), German politician
Leopold Schenk (1840–1902), Austrian embryologist
Lynn Schenk (born 1945), American politician from California
Nick Schenk (born 1965), American screenwriter
Otto Schenk (1930–2025), Austrian actor, theater and opera director
Otto Schenk (cyclist), German racing cyclist
Pavel Schenk (1941–2025), Czech volleyball player
Peter Schenk the Elder (1660–1712), German-born Dutch engraver and cartographer
Peter Schenk the Younger (1693–1775), Dutch engraver and map publisher
Rodolphe Samuel Schenk (1888–1969), Australian Christian missionary
Rupert Schenk (born 2001), German bobsledder
Xandro Schenk (born 1993), Dutch footballer
Other versions of Schenk
Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg (1907–1944), German army officer, aristocrat and resistance member
For his relatives, see the Stauffenberg family family