Wilkin
A masculine name derived from the English surname meaning "son of William".
Name Census estimates that about 109 living Americans carry the first name Wilkin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wilkin today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wilkin births was 2020 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wilkin. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
109
~ 1 in 3,144,535 Americans
Peak year
2020
10 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2023 SSA rank
#14,074
Tracked since 1922
Popularity
Wilkin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wilkin from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 27 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Wilkin by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Wilkin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Wilkin
Wilkin is an English given name derived from the Old English words "wil" meaning "will" or "desire" and "cyn" meaning "kin" or "family". It originated in the Anglo-Saxon period, around the 5th to 11th centuries AD, when Old English was the language spoken in what is now England.
The name Wilkin likely emerged as a descriptive name, referring to someone who had a strong will or desire within their family or community. It may have also been used as a nickname or diminutive form of longer names like Wilcombe or Wilkinson.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wilkin can be found in the Domesday Book, a great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Wilchin" in this historical record.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Wilkin remained in use, though it was not as common as some other English names. One notable bearer of the name was Wilkin de Wakefield, an English poet and chronicler who lived in the 13th century.
In the 16th century, a variation of the name, "Wilkie", gained some popularity in Scotland. This was likely due to the influence of the Flemish immigrants who settled in Scotland during this period and brought with them similar names.
One of the most famous bearers of the name Wilkin was Wilkin of Bassevelde, a Flemish leader and statesman who played a key role in the Flemish uprising against the French in the late 13th century (c. 1245-1312).
Another notable figure was Wilkin van de Velde, a Dutch painter and draughtsman who was active in the early 17th century (c. 1592-1642). He is renowned for his marine paintings and drawings.
In the 19th century, the name Wilkin was borne by Wilkin Updike, an American printer and typographer who is regarded as one of the greatest book designers of his time (1860-1941).
Finally, Wilkin Brumleve was a German-American architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in St. Louis, Missouri, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (1868-1952).
While not as widely used as some other English names, Wilkin has a long and interesting history, with bearers of the name making contributions in various fields throughout the centuries.
People
Wilkin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wilkin as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Wilkin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wilkin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 109 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wilkin going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 3,144,535 US residents.
Is Wilkin a common name?
We classify Wilkin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 122 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wilkin most popular?
The single biggest year for Wilkin was 2020, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wilkin is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Wilkin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wilkin in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.