# Wilkes (surname)

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

A surname originating as a patronymic.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 18,314 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,975 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 16,858 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.9% (17,797 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /wɪlkiːs/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | Wilk, Wilke, Wilkie, Wilkey, Wilks |

## Etymology

From Wilk, a back-formation from Wilkin + the patronymic suffix -s.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Wilkes 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) | 69% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 25% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.4% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Wilkes in the United States and the United Kingdom.

## People named Wilkes

- Maurice Wilkes, British computer scientist (1913–2010)
- Jamaal Wilkes, American basketball player (born 1953)
- Donna Wilkes, American film actress
- Del Wilkes, All-American college football player, professional wrestler (1961-2021)

## Similar surnames

Wilks, Wilgus, Wilkison, Wilcox, Walczak, Wilcoxson, Willcox, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxon, Walkowiak.

## 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.