Akins
Akins is usually a patronymic surname meaning “son of Akin,” with Akin itself coming from a medieval personal name.
The #2,020 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 17,279 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Akins is generally understood as a surname built from the given name Akin, with the final -s marking “son of” or “belonging to.” The older name Akin is itself a shortened medieval form, likely related to names such as Adam or to related pet forms found in English record traditions. In practice, the surname means something like “descendant of Akin.”
History
The spelling appears in English records in several forms, including Akin, Akyn, and Akins, with the -s form becoming a fixed surname over time. Historical surname dictionaries also note Akins as a variant or derivative of Akin rather than a separate root. In modern usage it is found mainly in English-speaking countries, especially the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same surname family can show up in records both as Akin and Akins, because clerks often added or dropped the final -s when spelling names phonetically.
From the historical record
“J eakins became corrupted to J eakes. 177a. Married— John J akins and Mary Pettis : St. Geo. Han. Sq. L 223. 1806. — Robert Jeakins and Ehx. Wm- sail : ibid. ii. 352.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)