Wilks
Usually a shortened patronymic meaning “son of Wilk/Wilkin,” ultimately from William.
The #3,962 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 34,412 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Wilks is generally understood as a reduced form of Wilkins, meaning “son of Wilkin,” with Wilkin itself a pet form of William. The ending -s often marks a patronymic in English surnames. Some older writers also connected Wilk to the Old English personal name Willa, but the Wilkin/William explanation is the standard one here.
History
English surname writers in the 19th century regularly treated Wilks as a clipped form of Wilkins. It appears in records as a hereditary surname in England and later spread through ordinary English-language migration, especially to North America. The name is now established but not especially common.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley explicitly grouped Wilks with other surnames shortened from longer names, like Perks from Perkins and Dawks from Dawkins.
From the historical record
“WILKS, Wilk's (Son) : v. Wilk. WILKSHIRE for Wiltshire, q.v. WILKSON, Wilk's Son : v. Wilk. WILL (Eng.) I a dim. of William, q.v. 2 the A.-Sax. pers. name Willa [f. O.E. willa, will, determination, pleasure, thing desired or valued] Here is Wil wolde wife [know], If wit koude teche hym. —”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)