2000
#619
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 49,754
First available Census row
Per 100,000 18.44
Uncommon Last name
Atkins
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Adam, likely meaning "son of Atkin."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 56,594 Americans carry the last name Atkins. That puts it at #674 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 16.51 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 6,056 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Atkins 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 Atkins with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
57K
1 in 6,056
Census rank
#674
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
16.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
49K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 49,353 bearers of the surname Atkins in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 16.51 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 674th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Atkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.1%. The next largest groups are Black (25.7%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Atkins
The surname Atkins is an English name that originated in the early medieval period. It is an occupational name derived from the Old English words "atte kine," meaning "at the cow shed." The name likely referred to a cowherder or someone who worked with cattle.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Atkins appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Adechinus" and "Adekinus." This suggests that the name was present in England shortly after the Norman Conquest of 1066.
In the 13th century, the name was recorded as "Atekyn" and "Atkyn" in various documents, such as the Hundred Rolls of 1273 and the Subsidy Rolls of 1327. These early spellings reflect the evolution of the name from its Old English origins.
Notable individuals with the surname Atkins include Sir Thomas Atkins (c. 1545-1639), an English Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of London in 1644. Another prominent bearer of the name was Reverend Henry Atkins (1644-1692), an English clergyman and author of several religious works.
In the 18th century, the name Atkins was associated with the Atkins family of Firville, a notable English gentry family. One of their members, Sir Jonathan Atkins (1720-1794), served as Governor of the British Leeward Islands from 1770 to 1776.
Moving into the 19th century, we find John Atkins (1813-1900), a British architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Holborn Restaurant and the Royal College of Organists.
Another significant figure with the Atkins surname was Sir Robert Atkins (1838-1910), an English judge and legal scholar who served as Lord Justice of Appeal and authored several influential legal texts.
Throughout history, variations of the name Atkins have been found in various places across England, such as Atkynson, Atkyns, and Atkinson. These variations often reflected regional dialects and orthographic preferences.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Atkins
Among Census respondents with the surname Atkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.1%. The next largest groups are Black (25.7%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Atkins 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 Atkins surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.1% · 32,133
- Black or African American25.7% · 12,679
- Two or more races4.8% · 2,371
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 1,575
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 305
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 290
Timeline
Historical Census data for Atkins
Atkins 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
#662
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 51,671
+1,917 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 17.52
Rank movement Down 43 places
2020
#674
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 49,353
-2,318 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 16.51
Rank movement Down 12 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #619 | 49,754 | 18.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #662 | 51,671 | 17.52 | +1,917 bearers (+3.9%) | Down 43 places |
| 2020 | #674 | 49,353 | 16.51 | -2,318 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 12 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 Atkins 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 | #662 | #674 | -1.8% |
| Count | 51,671 | 49,353 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 17.52 | 16.51 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Atkins bearers went from 51,671 to 49,353 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 12 positions in the national ranking, going from #662 to #674.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Atkins
FAQ
Atkins surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Atkins?
Name Census estimates that about 56,594 living Americans carry the surname Atkins. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 6,056 residents.
How common is Atkins?
Atkins ranks #674 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 16.51 per 100,000 residents, which is about 17 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 49,353 people with the surname Atkins. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (56,594), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 16.51 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 16.51 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 17 of them to have the surname Atkins.
Has Atkins become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Atkins went from 51,671 recorded bearers to 49,353. That is a decrease of 2,318 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #662 to #674.
What does the Census say about the background of Atkins?
Among Census respondents with the surname Atkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.1%. The next largest groups are Black (25.7%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Atkins in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.1% (32,133 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Atkins appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (65.1%), Black (25.7%), Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Atkins (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 Atkins mean?
Derived from a diminutive of the given name Adam, likely meaning "son of Atkin." 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 Atkins (16.51 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 Atkins?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.