Wilkerson
An English and Scottish surname that usually began as a patronymic meaning “son of Wilkin,” a pet form of William.
The #719 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 6,373 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Wilkerson is generally understood as a patronymic surname built on Wilker or Wilkin, both pet forms of William. The deeper root is William, ultimately from Germanic elements meaning roughly “will” or “desire” + “helmet” or “protection.” In older surname books, Wilkerson is often treated as a variant or corruption of Wilkinson, though the same family of short forms also overlaps with Wilke, Wilkes, Wilkie, and Wilkin.
History
The name is recorded in older English surname scholarship as part of a cluster of William-based surnames, especially Wilkin and Wilkinson. In Britain and later in North America, spellings often shifted, so Wilkerson could appear alongside Wilkinson and related forms in the same family line. The surname is now especially familiar in the United States, where it became established through immigration and later regional spread.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century surname dictionaries often grouped Wilkerson with Wilkinson rather than treating it as a fully separate origin.
From the historical record
“WILKENS = Wilkins, q.v. WILKERSON for Wilkinson, q.v. WILKES, WiLK(E)'s (Son) : v. Wilk(e. WILKEYl = Wilk(e (q.v.) + the E. dim. suff. WILKIE ] -{e)y, -ie. WILKIN (Eng.) the I3th-cent. Wylekin, Wilekin, late- I2th- cent. Wil{l)ekin, Wilechin, a double dim. of William, q.v. [£. (double) dim. suff. -kin, O.L. Teut.…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)