# Wilkins (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/wilkins/  
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) | 58,634 |
| US rank (2010) | 570 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 5,266 people |
| Change since 2000 | +4.6% (56,068 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈwɪlkɪnz/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Wilkin |

## Etymology

In most cases, the surname derives from the Middle English Wilkin, from Will, diminutive of William, + -kin (“small”). However, in the case of a formidable number of those that bear the surname 'Wilkins', the name derives from an earlier form Welsh Wilkyn, itself from Middle English Wylcolyna or Witcoline, from Latin Wintona, compare Winton.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Wilkins 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) | 63% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 31% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.7% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.4% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.9% |
| Two or more races | 2.4% |

## Where

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

## People named Wilkins

- Dominique Wilkins, American basketball player (born 1960)
- Mac Wilkins, American athletics competitor
- Hubert Wilkins, Australian polar explorer (1888-1958)
- Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, American novelist, short story writer, poet, children's author (1852-1930)
- Louis Wilkins, athletics competitor (1882-1950)
- Roy Wilkins, African-American NAACP leader
- Damien Wilkins, American basketball player (born 1980)
- Gerald Wilkins, American basketball player (born 1963)
- Ernie Wilkins, American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and music arranger
- J. Ernest Wilkins Jr., American nuclear physicist
- Robert Wilkins, American country blues guitarist and singer (1896-1987)
- Christian Wilkins, American football player (born 1995)

and 2 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Wilkens, Wilson, Wilkinson, Willson, Wilken, Willison, Wilkin, Wilkening, Welcome, Wolken, Wilczynski, Wohlgemuth.

## 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.