Wilkie
A Scottish and English surname meaning “little Will,” from the name William.
The #4,947 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 43,388 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Wilkie is a diminutive surname built on Will, the common short form of William. The ending -kie / -ky reflects a pet or familiar suffix, so the name originally meant something like “little William” or “Will’s little one.” In older surname books it is grouped with the Wilkin/Wilkins family of names, all ultimately from William.
History
The name is especially associated with Scotland, where it became established as a familiar surname form. English and Scottish surname writers of the 19th century consistently treated it as a diminutive of William rather than as a separate root. It remains in use today, though it is not especially common in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Nineteenth-century surname dictionaries often place Wilkie alongside Wilkin, Wilkins, and Wilkinson as part of the same William-based name family.
From the historical record
“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. -k-{n\ We find the form Uuillikin in a loth - nth cent. 'Index Bonorum ' of the Abbey of…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)