2000
#10,680
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,747
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.02
Rare Last name
Wilkin
Derived from a diminutive of William, meaning "son of Wilkin" or "little Will."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,102 Americans carry the last name Wilkin. That puts it at #11,183 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.90 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 110,495 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wilkin surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Wilkin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.1K
1 in 110,495
Census rank
#11,183
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,705 bearers of the surname Wilkin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.90 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11183rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wilkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Black (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wilkin
The surname WILKIN is of English origin and dates back to the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old English personal name Wilcyn, a diminutive form of Wilc, itself a pet form of the Germanic name Willelm or William. The name is thought to have originated in the southern counties of England, particularly in the areas around London and Kent.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire from 1195, which mentions a Robert Wilkin. The surname also appears in the Curia Regis Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1202, where a Richard Wilkin is listed as a landowner.
The Domesday Book, the great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the surname WILKIN. However, it does record the names of several individuals who may have been ancestors or precursors to the later bearers of the WILKIN surname, such as Willelm and Wilkin.
In the 13th century, the name WILKIN began to appear in various legal and administrative records across England. One notable example is John Wilkin, who was recorded as a taxpayer in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275.
The earliest recorded example of the surname WILKIN with a definitive date of birth and death is that of Robert Wilkin (c. 1360 - 1427), an English clergyman who served as the Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1418 to 1427.
Other notable individuals with the surname WILKIN include:
1. Sir John Wilkin (c. 1585 - 1649), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Middlesex during the reign of Charles I.
2. William Wilkin (1610 - 1672), an English Puritan clergyman and author, known for his work "A Discourse Concerning the Worship of God" published in 1691.
3. John Wilkins (1614 - 1672), an English clergyman and philosopher, who was one of the founding members of the Royal Society and served as the Bishop of Chester from 1668 until his death.
4. David Wilkin (1771 - 1835), a Scottish-American pioneer and surveyor who played a significant role in the early settlement of Ohio and Indiana.
5. John Wilkins (1824 - 1909), an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire and Marylebone Cricket Club in the mid-19th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wilkin
Among Census respondents with the surname Wilkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Black (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Wilkin bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Wilkin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.2% · 2,412
- Two or more races4.0% · 108
- Black or African American2.9% · 79
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 75
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wilkin
Wilkin appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#10,548
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,039
+292 bearers (+10.6%)
Per 100,000 1.03
Rank movement Up 132 places
2020
#11,183
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,705
-334 bearers (-11.0%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Down 635 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,680 | 2,747 | 1.02 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,548 | 3,039 | 1.03 | +292 bearers (+10.6%) | Up 132 places |
| 2020 | #11,183 | 2,705 | 0.90 | -334 bearers (-11.0%) | Down 635 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Wilkin surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #10,548 | #11,183 | -6.0% |
| Count | 3,039 | 2,705 | -11.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.03 | 0.90 | -12.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wilkin bearers went from 3,039 to 2,705 (-11.0% change). The surname moved down 635 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,548 to #11,183.
FAQ
Wilkin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wilkin?
Name Census estimates that about 3,102 living Americans carry the surname Wilkin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 110,495 residents.
How common is Wilkin?
Wilkin ranks #11,183 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.90 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,705 people with the surname Wilkin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,102), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.9 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.90 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Wilkin.
Has Wilkin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wilkin went from 3,039 recorded bearers to 2,705. That is a decrease of 334 (-11.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,548 to #11,183.
What does the Census say about the background of Wilkin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wilkin, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Black (2.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Wilkin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.2% (2,412 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wilkin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.2%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Black (2.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Wilkin (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Wilkin mean?
Derived from a diminutive of William, meaning "son of Wilkin" or "little Will." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Wilkin (0.90 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Wilkin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.