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

Jerkins, 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 Jerkins surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Jerkins in America

Jerkins is the 17142nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Jerkins surname appeared 1,653 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Jerkins.

We can also compare 2010 data for Jerkins 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 Jerkins

The surname JERKINS is of English origin, originating in the late 16th century. It is derived from the Middle English word "jerkin," which referred to a short, close-fitting jacket or coat worn by men during that period. The name likely emerged as an occupational surname for someone who made or sold these garments.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the JERKINS surname dates back to 1587 in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Hertfordshire, England, where a Thomas Jerkins was mentioned. The surname also appears in the 1642 Protestation Returns of Gloucestershire, indicating its presence in that region during the English Civil War era.

In the late 17th century, the surname JERKINS is found in various records across England, including the Hearth Tax Rolls of 1673 for Buckinghamshire, where a John Jerkins is listed as a taxpayer. This suggests that members of the JERKINS family had established themselves in different parts of the country by that time.

One notable individual with the JERKINS surname was Sir Thomas Jerkins (1633-1694), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Worcestershire in the late 17th century. Another was William Jerkins (1768-1847), a renowned architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London during the early 19th century.

Other historical figures bearing the JERKINS surname include John Jerkins (1802-1876), a prominent British businessman and industrialist who founded the Jerkins Ironworks in Staffordshire, and Mary Jerkins (1824-1898), an influential educator and advocate for women's rights in the United States.

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the JERKINS surname can be found in various parish records, census records, and other historical documents across England, Wales, and Scotland, suggesting its continued presence and spread across the British Isles during that period.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Jerkins

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

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

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

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