Hawkins
A surname that usually began as a pet form of Henry, later fixed in medieval England as a hereditary family name.
The #200 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 2,209 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hawkins is generally understood as a diminutive of Hawk or Hawkin, itself a pet form of Henry. The ending -kin was a common medieval diminutive, so the name literally means something like “little Hawk” or “son of Hawk,” with Hawk here standing in for Henry rather than the bird. The root ultimately goes back to the Germanic personal name Henry, via Old French and Middle English nickname forms.
History
The name appears in medieval English records and became well established as a hereditary surname. Older surname books often connected it with Henry through forms like Haw or Hawkin, and modern onomastic treatments usually keep that patronymic explanation. It has remained a common English-language surname and is also well represented in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same diminutive ending -kin shows up in many medieval surnames, such as Jenkins, Perkins, and Tompkins.
From the historical record
“The incomers from Brabant and Flanders gave a great impetus to this diminutive. They brought us Hankin (John), Lambkin (Lambert), and Bodkin (Baldwin). Of a large list I may mention Hawkins (Henry), Tompkins (Thomas), Simkin (Simon), Jenkins (John), Jeffkin (Jeffrey), Atkins, originally Adkins (Adam), Dawkins…”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances