How common is the surname Wilkens?

4,086 people in the United States had the surname Wilkens in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 75,562 Americans. It ranked 8,114th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Wilkens?

Lenny Wilkens, American basketball player and coach (1937–2025).

Where is the surname Wilkens most common?

Wikidata records people named Wilkens in the United States.

Is the surname Wilkens getting more or less common?

More common. 3,954 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 4,086 in 2010, up 3.3%.

The surname Wilkens

An English patronymic surname, carried by 4,086 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex W425

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Wilkens is more common than 95% of them.

Origin

English origin

Variant of Wilkin, from a Middle English pet form of William + patronymic suffix -s.

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

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 4,086 people named Wilkens in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 75,562 Americans. That is up 3.3% since 2000, when the Census counted 3,954.

#8,114

rank among US surnames

4,086

people in 2010

1.4

per 100,000 Americans

+3.3%

change since 2000 (was #7,747)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#8,106	Llanos	4,089	75,506
#8,110	Dunson	4,088	75,525
#8,113	Deans	4,087	75,543
#8,114	Rosenblum	4,086	75,562
#8,119	Mastin	4,085	75,580
#8,121	Klassen	4,084	75,599

Who is named Wilkens

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

85% of people named Wilkens identified as white (not Hispanic), 9.8% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 85%
Black (not Hispanic) 9.8%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
Two or more races 1.5%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Wilkenss

1 notable person on Wikidata, most written-about first

Lenny Wilkens
American basketball player and coach (1937–2025)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Wilkens

Wilkens has the Soundex code W425, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code W425.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Wilkens come from?: Variant of Wilkin, from a Middle English pet form of William + patronymic suffix -s.
How common is the surname Wilkens?: 4,086 people in the United States had the surname Wilkens in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 75,562 Americans. It ranked 8,114th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Wilkens?: In the 2010 Census, 85% of people named Wilkens identified as white (not Hispanic), and 9.8% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Wilkens?: Lenny Wilkens, American basketball player and coach (1937–2025).
Where is the surname Wilkens most common?: Wikidata records people named Wilkens in the United States.
What type of surname is Wilkens?: Wilkens is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Wilkens getting more or less common?: More common. 3,954 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 4,086 in 2010, up 3.3%.