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

Inks, 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 Inks surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Inks in America

Inks is the 26949th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Inks surname appeared 900 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Inks.

We can also compare 2010 data for Inks 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 Inks

The surname INKS is of English origin and derives from the Old English word "inke," which means "ink" or "dark-colored liquid." This occupational surname was likely first adopted by someone who worked as an ink maker or seller during the medieval period.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname INKS date back to the 13th century in various English county records and tax rolls. One notable early bearer of the name was John Inkes, who was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275.

The surname INKS can also be traced back to various place names in England, such as Inkpen in Berkshire and Inkberrow in Worcestershire. These place names are derived from the Old English words "inke" and "berg," meaning "ink hill" or "dark hill."

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of land ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror, the name is recorded as "Ingepenne," which is believed to be the earliest documented spelling of the place name Inkpen.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname INKS in literature appears in the 14th-century poem "The Vision of Piers Plowman" by William Langland, where a character named "Inkedrawere" is mentioned, likely referring to an ink maker or seller.

Notable historical figures with the surname INKS include:

1. Richard Inks (1590-1662), an English clergyman and author who served as the Rector of Stanford Rivers in Essex.
2. Thomas Inks (1670-1738), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Malmesbury from 1702 to 1708.
3. Elizabeth Inks (1725-1792), an English philanthropist and founder of the Inks Charity School in Wiltshire.
4. John Inks (1786-1861), an English inventor and engineer who patented several improvements to printing presses and ink-making processes.
5. William Inks (1820-1895), a British explorer and naturalist who led expeditions to the Amazon rainforest and authored several books on the region's flora and fauna.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Inks

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

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

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

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