How common is the surname Atkinson?

53,376 people in the United States had the surname Atkinson in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 5,784 Americans. It ranked 637th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Atkinson?

Gemma Atkinson, British actress and model, followed by Nathaniel Atkinson.

Where is the surname Atkinson most common?

Wikidata records people named Atkinson in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 2 other countries.

How do you pronounce Atkinson?

Atkinson is /ˈætkɪnsən/, 3 syllables.

Is the surname Atkinson getting more or less common?

More common. 51,489 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 53,376 in 2010, up 3.7%.

The surname Atkinson

A patronymic surname, carried by 53,376 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈætkɪnsən/ 3 syllables Soundex A325

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Atkinson is more common than 99.6% of them.

Origin

From Atkin or Atkins + -son.

Atkinson is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 53,376 people named Atkinson in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 5,784 Americans. That is up 3.7% since 2000, when the Census counted 51,489.

#637

rank among US surnames

53,376

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+3.7%

change since 2000 (was #592)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#628	Bradford	54,015	5,716
#629	Richard	53,893	5,729
#630	Galvan	53,822	5,736
#631	Wall	53,794	5,739
#632	Boone	53,792	5,740
#633	Kirby	53,767	5,742
#634	Wilkinson	53,739	5,745

Who is named Atkinson

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

79% of people named Atkinson identified as white (not Hispanic), 14% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.9% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 79%
Black (not Hispanic) 14%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.9%
Two or more races 1.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Atkinsons

22 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Gemma Atkinson
British actress and model, born 1984
Nathaniel Atkinson
Australian association football player, born 1999
Jayne Atkinson
British actress, born 1959
Anthony Barnes Atkinson
British economist (1944–2017)
Ti-Grace Atkinson
American feminist author, born 1938
Kenny Atkinson
American basketball coach, born 1967
Bill Atkinson
American computer engineer, programmer, and photographer (1951–2025)
Chris Atkinson
Australian rally driver, born 1979
Louisa Atkinson
Anglo-Australian writer, illustrator and botanical collector (1834-1872)
George Francis Atkinson
American botanist (1854-1918)
Brooks Atkinson
American critic (1894–1984)
Ashlie Atkinson
American actress, born 1977

Notable Atkinsons come mostly from the United States (13), the United Kingdom (4) and Australia (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Atkinson

Atkinson has the Soundex code A325, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code A325.

Questions

Where does the surname Atkinson come from?: From Atkin or Atkins + -son.
How common is the surname Atkinson?: 53,376 people in the United States had the surname Atkinson in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 5,784 Americans. It ranked 637th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Atkinson?: In the 2010 Census, 79% of people named Atkinson identified as white (not Hispanic), and 14% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Atkinson?: Gemma Atkinson, British actress and model, followed by Nathaniel Atkinson.
Where is the surname Atkinson most common?: Wikidata records people named Atkinson in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 2 other countries.
How do you pronounce Atkinson?: Atkinson is /ˈætkɪnsən/, 3 syllables.
What type of surname is Atkinson?: Atkinson is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Atkinson getting more or less common?: More common. 51,489 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 53,376 in 2010, up 3.7%.