2000
#12,458
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,285
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Atkin
Derived from Middle English meaning "son of Atkin", a diminutive of the given name Adam.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,698 Americans carry the last name Atkin. That puts it at #12,566 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 127,040 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Atkin surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Atkin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.7K
1 in 127,040
Census rank
#12,566
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,353 bearers of the surname Atkin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12566th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Atkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Atkin
The surname Atkin has its origins in England, traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English personal name Ada or Adam, with the diminutive suffix "-kin" added, meaning "little." Therefore, Atkin essentially means "little Adam" or "son of Adam."
One of the earliest known instances of the name Atkin can be found in the Curia Regis Rolls of Yorkshire from 1212, which mentions a person named William Adekyn. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 also recorded individuals named Adekin and Atekyn in various counties of England.
During the Middle Ages, the name was often associated with places like Atkin's Green in Staffordshire, Atkin's Farm in Gloucestershire, and Atkin's Ley in Worcestershire. These place names likely originated from individuals with the surname Atkin who owned or resided in those locations.
In the 14th century, the Atkin surname appeared in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire, where a man named John Attekin was recorded in 1379. The name also appeared in the Poll Tax returns of Howdenshire in 1379, where Richard Atekyn was listed.
Notable individuals throughout history who bore the surname Atkin include:
1. Robert Atkin (c. 1590 - c. 1655), an English clergyman and scholar who served as the Master of Corpus Christi College, Oxford.
2. Edmund Atkin (1701 - 1776), an English surveyor and architect who designed several buildings in London, including the Church of St. George in the East.
3. John Atkin (1736 - 1811), an English clergyman and mathematician, known for his work on spherical trigonometry.
4. Sarah Atkin (1827 - 1911), an English watercolor painter and illustrator, renowned for her depictions of rural life and landscapes.
5. Joseph Atkin (1837 - 1910), a British architect who designed several notable buildings in Manchester, including the Royal Exchange Theatre.
The Atkin surname has been present in various parts of England for centuries, with concentrations in counties like Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Staffordshire. While its origins can be traced back to the Middle Ages, the name has continued to be used by families throughout the centuries, contributing to the rich tapestry of English surnames.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Atkin
Among Census respondents with the surname Atkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Atkin bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Atkin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.8% · 2,159
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 76
- Two or more races2.3% · 54
- Black or African American1.4% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Atkin
Atkin appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#13,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,353
+68 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 591 places
2020
#12,566
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,353
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Up 483 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,458 | 2,285 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,049 | 2,353 | 0.80 | +68 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 591 places |
| 2020 | #12,566 | 2,353 | 0.79 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Up 483 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Atkin surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #13,049 | #12,566 | 3.7% |
| Count | 2,353 | 2,353 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.79 | -1.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Atkin bearers went from 2,353 to 2,353 (+0.0% change). The surname moved up 483 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,049 to #12,566.
FAQ
Atkin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Atkin?
Name Census estimates that about 2,698 living Americans carry the surname Atkin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 127,040 residents.
How common is Atkin?
Atkin ranks #12,566 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,353 people with the surname Atkin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,698), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.79 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Atkin.
Has Atkin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Atkin went from 2,353 recorded bearers to 2,353. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,049 to #12,566.
What does the Census say about the background of Atkin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Atkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Atkin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.8% (2,159 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Atkin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.8%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (2.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Atkin (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Atkin mean?
Derived from Middle English meaning "son of Atkin", a diminutive of the given name Adam. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Atkin (0.79 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Atkin?
Find out how many people have the last name Atkin on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.