# Watkins (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/watkins/  
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) | 127,083 |
| US rank (2010) | 240 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 2,429 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.8% (122,447 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From a medieval diminutive of the given name Walter + the patronymic suffix -s.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Watkins 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) | 62% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 32% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.4% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 2.6% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Watkins in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Confederate States of America.

## People named Watkins

- Tuc Watkins, American actor
- Tionne Watkins, American singer
- Michaela Watkins, American actress
- Jason Watkins, British actor
- Calvert Watkins, American linguist and philologist (1933-2013)
- Maurine Dallas Watkins, American journalist (1896–1969)
- Sara Watkins, American musician
- Frank Watkins, American musician (1968-2015)
- Carleton Watkins, American photographer (1829–1916)
- Arthur Vivian Watkins, American politician
- Linda Watkins, American actress (1908-1976)
- Emma Watkins, Australian musician

and 13 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Wadkins, Watson, Woodson, Whitson, Whitcomb, Weitzman.

## 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.