# Wilks (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/wilks/  
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) | 8,972 |
| US rank (2010) | 3,962 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 34,412 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.3% (8,686 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | Wilk, Wilke, Wilkie, Wilkey, Wilkes |

## Etymology

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

## Who carries it

Share of people named Wilks 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) | 32% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.1% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.3% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3% |
| Two or more races | 2.1% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Wilks in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States.

## People named Wilks

- Mike Wilks, American basketball player (born 1979)
- Samuel Wilks, British doctor (1824–1911)
- Maurice Wilks, British automobile designer

## Similar surnames

Wilkes, Wilgus, Willis, Wills, Wiles, Wilke, Wilkie, Wilk, Wilkey, Wilsey, Willsey, Wallace.

## 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.