Wilk is a surname of English origin (a back formation of Wilkin, a short form of William) and, more often, of Polish origin (meaning wolf). It has 35 thousand bearers in Poland and ranks about 60 in the list of the most popular Polish surnames (fifth in Podkarpackie Voivodeship). It is common in many parts of southern Poland, especially among the Lasowiacy ethnic group. In English, variants of the name Wilk include Wilkes, Wilke, Wilks, Wilkin, Wilkins and others. In Polish, its diminutive is surname Wilczek; another popular second name Wilczyński may also derive from it, but also from toponyms with the stem wilk.
The following people bear the surname:
Adam Wilk (born 1987), American baseball pitcher
Brad Wilk (born 1968), American musician
Cezary Wilk (born 1986), Polish footballer
Chester A. Wilk, American chiropractor
"General Wilk" (1895–1951), nom de guerre of Aleksander Krzyzanowski
Gerard Wilk (1944–1995), Polish dancer
Jakub Wilk (born 1985), Polish footballer
Kasia Wilk (born 1982), Polish singer
Maurice Wilk (died 1963), American violinist
Martin Wilk (1922–2013), Canadian statistician, co-author of the Shapiro–Wilk test
Max Wilk (1920–2011), American playwright, screenwriter and author
Michael Wilk (born c. 1952), American songwriter
Rafał Wilk (born 1974), Polish former speedway rider and Paralympic cyclist
Scott Wilk (born 1959), American politician
Selene Vigil-Wilk, American singer and musician
Vic Wilk (born 1960), American professional golfer
Wojciech Wilk (born 1972), Polish politician
Fictional characters include:
Jonathan Wilk, the main character in the film Compulsion (1959), played by Orson Welles
Patricia Wilk, a character in Scrubs
