2000
#408
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 71,528
First available Census row
Per 100,000 26.52
Uncommon Last name
Adkins
An English surname derived from the given name Adam, meaning "son of Adam."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 80,687 Americans carry the last name Adkins. That puts it at #462 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 23.54 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 4,248 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Adkins 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 Adkins with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
81K
1 in 4,248
Census rank
#462
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
23.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
70K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 70,363 bearers of the surname Adkins in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 23.54 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 462nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Adkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Adkins
The surname Adkins is of English origin and dates back to the late 12th century. It is an patronymic surname derived from the personal name Adam, which means "son of Adam." The name Adam comes from the Hebrew word "adamah," meaning "earth" or "red clay."
Adkins is a variant spelling of the surname Atkins, which was more common in the early medieval period. The earliest recorded instances of the Adkins surname can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275, where it appears as "Adekyn."
In the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1279, the name is recorded as "Adekyn de Bradewelle," indicating that the bearer was from the village of Bradwell. The Adkins surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Worcestershire, Oxfordshire, and Gloucestershire during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest known individuals with the Adkins surname was John Adkins, who was born around 1490 in Fyfield, Wiltshire. He was a prominent landowner and served as a Justice of the Peace in the county.
Another notable figure was Sir Robert Adkins (1585-1665), a wealthy merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1647. He was a staunch Royalist during the English Civil War and was knighted by King Charles I in 1641.
In the 17th century, the Adkins family established themselves in the American colonies. Thomas Adkins (1610-1678) was one of the first settlers in Virginia, arriving in the colony around 1635. He became a prosperous planter and landowner in York County.
During the Revolutionary War, Captain John Adkins (1733-1809) fought in the Virginia militia and participated in several battles against the British forces. He later received a land grant for his military service.
Another notable figure was Sarah Adkins (1829-1910), a pioneering educator and social activist from Ohio. She founded several schools for African American children and worked tirelessly to promote equal education opportunities during the post-Civil War era.
Throughout history, the Adkins surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Adkins Green in Buckinghamshire and Adkins Farm in Gloucestershire, reflecting the family's roots and influence in these regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Adkins
Among Census respondents with the surname Adkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Adkins 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 Adkins surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.2% · 59,269
- Black or African American7.8% · 5,455
- Two or more races4.2% · 2,942
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 1,751
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 581
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 365
Timeline
Historical Census data for Adkins
Adkins 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
#449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 73,599
+2,071 bearers (+2.9%)
Per 100,000 24.95
Rank movement Down 41 places
2020
#462
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 70,363
-3,236 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 23.54
Rank movement Down 13 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #408 | 71,528 | 26.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #449 | 73,599 | 24.95 | +2,071 bearers (+2.9%) | Down 41 places |
| 2020 | #462 | 70,363 | 23.54 | -3,236 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 13 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 Adkins 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 | #449 | #462 | -2.9% |
| Count | 73,599 | 70,363 | -4.4% |
| Per 100K | 24.95 | 23.54 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Adkins bearers went from 73,599 to 70,363 (-4.4% change). The surname moved down 13 positions in the national ranking, going from #449 to #462.
FAQ
Adkins surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Adkins?
Name Census estimates that about 80,687 living Americans carry the surname Adkins. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 4,248 residents.
How common is Adkins?
Adkins ranks #462 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 23.54 per 100,000 residents, which is about 24 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 70,363 people with the surname Adkins. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (80,687), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 23.54 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 23.54 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 24 of them to have the surname Adkins.
Has Adkins become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Adkins went from 73,599 recorded bearers to 70,363. That is a decrease of 3,236 (-4.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #449 to #462.
What does the Census say about the background of Adkins?
Among Census respondents with the surname Adkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Adkins in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.2% (59,269 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Adkins appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.2%), Black (7.8%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Adkins (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 Adkins mean?
An English surname derived from the given name Adam, meaning "son of Adam." 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 Adkins (23.54 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 have the surname Adkins?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.