# Tonkin (surname)

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

A surname transferred from the given name.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 1,900 |
| US rank (2010) | 15,418 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 162,498 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.2% (1,860 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈtɒŋkɪn/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Tonquin |

## Etymology

From a medieval diminutive form of the given name Thomas.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Tonkin 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) | 95% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.9% |
| Two or more races | 1.8% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Tonkin in Australia.

## People named Tonkin

- Phoebe Tonkin, Australian actress (born 1989)
- David Tonkin, Australian politician, Liberal Party, Premier of South Australia 1979-1982

## Similar surnames

Tomkins, Townsend, Thomson, Thomason, Thomsen, Thomasson, Tennyson, Tennison, Townson, Tinkham, Tangen, Tanguma.

## 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.