# Tomkins (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/tomkins/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

An English surname originating as a patronymic from the pet form of Thomas.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 1,260 |
| US rank (2010) | 20,910 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 245,036 people |
| Change since 2000 | +12% (1,129 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Tonkiss, Tomkin, Thomkin, Thomkins, Tompkin, Tompkins, Thompkin, Thompkins |

## Etymology

From Tom + -kin + -s. From the medieval diminutive Tomkin for Thomas and the patronymic suffix -s.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Tomkins in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 90% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 3.1% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 2.5% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Tomkins in the United States and Australia.

## People named Tomkins

- James Tomkins, Australian rower
- Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, American politician
- Silvan Tomkins, American psychologist (1911-1991)

## Similar surnames

Tonkin, Tomson, Tomasini, Temkin, Townsend, Thomson, Thomason, Thomsen, Thomasson, Tennyson, Tennison, Townson.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.