Dinkins
A surname most likely from a medieval pet form of a personal name, with the ending -kins meaning "little" or "son of."
The #5,570 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 49,463 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Dinkins is most plausibly an English surname built from a nickname or pet form, plus the suffix -kins, which often formed diminutives or patronymic-style surnames in Middle English. The first element is likely a shortened form of a personal name such as Duncan, Denis, or another old given name that produced a diminutive in local speech. Taken together, the name would originally have meant something like "little Dink" or "descendant of Dink."
History
Surnames in -kins are common in England and later became well established in Britain and North America. Dinkins is now best known in the United States, where it appears in relatively modest numbers and has been carried by several local families of likely English origin. Because the base name behind Dink- is not certain, the surname’s exact origin may vary by family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The ending -kins is one of the clearest clues in the name: it usually points to a diminutive or family-relationship surname built from an older nickname or given name.