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

Killins, 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 Killins surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Killins in America

Killins is the 67126th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Killins surname appeared 294 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 Killins.

We can also compare 2010 data for Killins 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 Killins

The surname Killins has its origins in the Scottish Highlands, dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Gaelic words "cill" meaning church or chapel, and "innis" meaning island or meadow, likely referring to a place where an early bearer lived near a church on an island or meadow.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from 1264, which mention a "William de Kylinnis" as a landowner in the county of Ayrshire. The name appears to have been concentrated in the western regions of Scotland, particularly around the Isle of Arran and the Argyll peninsula.

In the 16th century, the Killins surname is documented in various Scottish parish records, with variations in spelling such as Killines, Killynes, and Killynnes. One notable individual was John Killins, born around 1550 in Bute, who was a prominent merchant and landowner on the island.

The Killins name also appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of homage rolls submitted to King Edward I of England, which includes a "William de Killynys" from the county of Lanark. This suggests that the name had spread across central Scotland by the late 13th century.

In the 17teenth century, several Killins families were recorded in the parish of Rothesay on the Isle of Bute, including a James Killins who was born in 1620 and served as a local magistrate. Another notable figure was Robert Killins, born in 1678 in Arran, who was a renowned seafarer and trader in the West Indies.

The 18th century saw the migration of some Killins families to North America, particularly to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, where they continued their seafaring traditions and established new roots in the maritime communities.

Throughout history, the Killins surname has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including farmers, merchants, sailors, and tradesmen, with a strong association to the coastal regions of western Scotland.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Killins

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

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!