Find out how popular the last name Atkins is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Atkins.

Atkins, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Atkins surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Atkins in America

Atkins is the 662nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Atkins surname appeared 51,671 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 18 people would have the surname Atkins.

We can also compare 2010 data for Atkins to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Atkins

The surname Atkins is an English name that originated in the early medieval period. It is an occupational name derived from the Old English words "atte kine," meaning "at the cow shed." The name likely referred to a cowherder or someone who worked with cattle.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Atkins appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Adechinus" and "Adekinus." This suggests that the name was present in England shortly after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

In the 13th century, the name was recorded as "Atekyn" and "Atkyn" in various documents, such as the Hundred Rolls of 1273 and the Subsidy Rolls of 1327. These early spellings reflect the evolution of the name from its Old English origins.

Notable individuals with the surname Atkins include Sir Thomas Atkins (c. 1545-1639), an English Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of London in 1644. Another prominent bearer of the name was Reverend Henry Atkins (1644-1692), an English clergyman and author of several religious works.

In the 18th century, the name Atkins was associated with the Atkins family of Firville, a notable English gentry family. One of their members, Sir Jonathan Atkins (1720-1794), served as Governor of the British Leeward Islands from 1770 to 1776.

Moving into the 19th century, we find John Atkins (1813-1900), a British architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Holborn Restaurant and the Royal College of Organists.

Another significant figure with the Atkins surname was Sir Robert Atkins (1838-1910), an English judge and legal scholar who served as Lord Justice of Appeal and authored several influential legal texts.

Throughout history, variations of the name Atkins have been found in various places across England, such as Atkynson, Atkyns, and Atkinson. These variations often reflected regional dialects and orthographic preferences.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Atkins

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Atkins.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Atkins was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Atkins has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Atkins was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Atkins, please contact us.

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