Wilkins
A patronymic surname meaning “son or descendant of Wilkin,” with Wilkin itself a medieval pet form of William.
The #570 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 5,266 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Wilkins comes from the medieval personal name Wilkin, which was a familiar or diminutive form of William. The name therefore means “son of Wilkin” or more broadly “descendant of William.” In older English records, the surname also appears in variant spellings and shortened forms such as Wilkes and Wilkenson/ Wilkinson-related forms.
History
The surname is well attested in medieval English records, including 14th-century and 15th-century examples cited by older surname scholars. It became established across England and later spread widely in the English-speaking world. Some families also preserved or revived older associated forms such as De Winton, but Wilkins remained the common inherited surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname writers explicitly linked Wilks to Wilkins as a shortened form, showing how flexible medieval surname spelling could be.
From the historical record
“Abbey of Werden-an-der-Ruhr. WILKINS, Wilkin's (Son) 1 ,,,.,,. WILKINSON, Wilkin's Son / "■ '""Kin- Christopher Wilkyns. — MSS. Dn. & Ch. Wells, A.D. 1546-7. Adam Wylkynson. — Yorks Poll-Tax, A.D. 1379. Richard Wilkynson, baxter. Nicholas Wilkynson, sherman, alias Nicholas Shermon. —”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)