Hankins last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Hankins

An English toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "son of Hankin" or "son of Hancock."

Hankins, 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 Hankins surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hankins in America

Hankins is the 1675th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hankins surname appeared 21,532 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Hankins.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hankins 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 1675 1561 7.05%
Count 21,532 21,138 1.85%
Proportion per 100k 7.30 7.84 -7.13%

The history of the last name Hankins

The surname Hankins is of English origin, derived from the medieval given name "Hankin" or "Hanekyn," which were diminutive forms of the name John. The name first appeared in the 13th century and was initially concentrated in the counties of Cheshire and Lancashire in northwest England.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Cheshire Pipe Rolls of 1260, where a "Hanekinus de Baguley" is mentioned. This indicates that the name was already in use in the region during the Middle Ages.

By the 14th century, the surname had begun to spread to other parts of England, with various spellings such as Hankyns, Hankyn, and Hankin appearing in historical records. In the 1379 Poll Tax Returns for Yorkshire, a certain "Johannes Hankyn" is listed.

The name Hankins is also associated with several place names in England, such as Hankin in Lancashire and Hankin Farm in Cheshire. These locations likely derived their names from early bearers of the surname who resided there.

Notable individuals throughout history who bore the surname Hankins include:

  1. Thomas Hankins (c. 1567 - 1616), an English clergyman and writer who authored several religious works.
  2. John Hankins (1615 - 1687), an English lawyer and Member of Parliament for Taunton during the reign of Charles II.
  3. William Hankins (1725 - 1808), a British Army officer who served in the American Revolutionary War and later became a Member of Parliament.
  4. Henry Hankins (1786 - 1857), an English painter known for his landscapes and portraiture.
  5. Charles Hankins (1840 - 1916), a British engineer and inventor who patented several improvements in steam engine design.

While the surname Hankins is not among the most common in England, it has a long and rich history, with bearers of the name playing various roles in religious, political, military, and artistic spheres over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hankins

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

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 Hankins was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 74.87% 16,121
Non-Hispanic Black Only 19.20% 4,134
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.59% 127
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.54% 116
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 2.27% 489
Hispanic Origin 2.52% 543

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 Hankins has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 74.87% 76.23% -1.80%
Black 19.20% 19.42% -1.14%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.59% 0.40% 38.38%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.54% 0.66% -20.00%
Two or More Races 2.27% 1.76% 25.31%
Hispanic 2.52% 1.53% 48.89%

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 Hankins was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Hankins last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 15, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/hankins-surname-popularity/.

"Hankins last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/hankins-surname-popularity/. Accessed 15 October, 2024

Hankins last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/hankins-surname-popularity/.

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