Collins
A common surname with several origins, most often linked to Nicholas, but also to Col(l)in as a pet form of names like Colin or to place-based French forms in some cases.
The #59 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 936 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Collins is usually explained as a patronymic surname meaning "son of Colin" or "son of Nicholas," since Colin was long used as a pet form of Nicholas in England and Scotland. In some cases it may also reflect French or Norman surnames such as Collin or de Colince, or, in Ireland, an anglicized form of Gaelic surnames that were later rendered as Collins. The name therefore does not have a single universal source; several similar-looking names merged into one common spelling over time.
History
Bardsley notes Collins alongside other surnames formed by adding an -s patronymic ending, and Barber points to both English and Norman-French possibilities. In Britain the surname became widespread early and eventually very common, especially in English-speaking countries through migration. In Ireland, Collins also became established through anglicization of native Gaelic surnames, which helped boost its frequency.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same basic name-family behind Collins also produced related surnames like Collin and Collings, and medieval scribes often spelled them in several different ways.
From the historical record
“Register of the Freemen of the City of YoA, vol. i, 1973-1358. (Snrtees Society. 1 Edited by Dr. Francis Collins, 1897. (Quoted as Freemen of York.) Rudder's (S, 5 History of Gloucestershire, 1779. Rylands' (J. P.) Lay Exchequer Subsidy Rolls, co. Lane, 1339.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances