Wiggins
A surname most often understood as meaning “Wiggin’s son,” with some families also linked to the place-name Wigan.
The #685 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 6,145 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Wiggins is generally treated as a patronymic surname formed from the personal name Wiggin plus a genitive -s, literally “son of Wiggin” or “belonging to Wiggin.” The underlying name Wiggin is commonly connected with the older personal name Wigand, which shows up in medieval English forms and was later reduced in pronunciation and spelling. Some bearers may instead have a locational origin from Wigan in Lancashire, but that is usually considered a separate or secondary explanation.
History
19th-century surname scholars often grouped Wiggins with other English names built from short medieval personal names ending in -in or -en, and they noted that the final -s often marks descent or possession. The surname appears in several spellings, including Wiggin, Wiggens, Wiggans, and Wigginson. In some cases, writers also connected it with the town of Wigan, though this was not taken as the main explanation for every family.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname books pointed out that Wiggins and names like Williams or Jones use the same old English genitive -s to show “of” or “son of.”
From the historical record
“(Eng.) for Wigan, q.v. WIGGINS, WiGGiN's (Son) l^wyi^^in WIGGINSON, Wiggin's Son/ ""'esm- WIGGINTON (Eng.) Bel. to Wigginton (sev- eral), A.-Sax. *Wig(g)an-tun = Wig(g)a's Estate \Wig{g)ati-, genit. ot Wiglg)a (v. Wigg) -I- C3.E. tun, farm, estate, &c.] Wigginton, Staffs, was Wicgintun in the nth cent. ; also…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)