Kitchens
An English surname most likely linked to a cook or kitchen servant, ultimately from the word for a kitchen or cookery work.
The #3,359 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 28,998 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Kitchens is generally understood as an occupational surname, tied to someone who worked in or was responsible for the kitchen. The deeper root is the word for a kitchen and, through that, the Latin cook-word that underlies several medieval forms. Older surname collections also compare it with forms like Kitchen, Kitchener, and Kitchenman, treating Kitchens as a later pluralized or possessive-looking surname form.
History
Medieval and early-modern records show many kitchen-related surnames for people connected with household service, especially in great houses and royal households. The plural-sounding ending in Kitchens may reflect later surname variation rather than a true plural meaning. The name is relatively uncommon but fits a broader English pattern of occupational surnames derived from domestic service roles.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some 19th-century surname writers noted playful or irregular forms such as 'de la Kitchens,' showing how fluid spelling could be before standardization.
From the historical record
“'Go, run, search, pry in every nook and angle of the kitchens, larders, and pastries' : The Woman Hater, i. a; v. Nangle, and cf. Heme and Wray. Henry in the Angle. C R., 8 Edw. t.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances