2000
#592
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 51,489
First available Census row
Per 100,000 19.09
Uncommon Last name
Atkinson
An English occupational surname referring to the son of Atkin, a diminutive of Adam.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 59,002 Americans carry the last name Atkinson. That puts it at #642 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 17.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,809 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Atkinson 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 Atkinson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
59K
1 in 5,809
Census rank
#642
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
17.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
51K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 51,453 bearers of the surname Atkinson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 17.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 642nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Atkinson, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.2%. The next largest groups are Black (13.7%) and Hispanic (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Atkinson
The surname Atkinson is of English origin, deriving from the Old English personal name "Atkin" or "Adkin," which was a diminutive form of the name Adam. This name was first recorded in the late 12th century in various regions of England, particularly in Yorkshire and Lancashire.
Atkinson is a patronymic surname, meaning it was originally formed by adding the suffix "-son" to the personal name Atkin or Adkin, essentially translating to "son of Atkin." This naming convention was common during the medieval period when surnames began to emerge as a way to distinguish individuals and families.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Atkinson can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, which mentions a person named Adam Atkinson. In the 13th century, the surname appeared in various spellings, such as Atkynson, Atkynsone, and Atkinsoun, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling at the time.
The Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive record of landowners in England, does not contain any direct references to the surname Atkinson. However, it does list individuals with the personal name Adam, which could have been the basis for the later development of the surname Atkinson.
Notable historical figures with the surname Atkinson include:
1. Thomas Atkinson (1546-1639), an English mathematician and Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge.
2. John Atkinson (1598-1628), an English writer and poet, best known for his work "The Passion of a Discontented Mind."
3. Joseph Atkinson (1743-1818), an English artist and engraver, known for his illustrations of Shakespeare's works.
4. Hannah Atkinson (1784-1859), an English Baptist missionary who served in India and played a significant role in promoting education for women.
5. Mary Atkinson (1836-1910), an English actress and playwright, renowned for her performances in various Shakespearean plays.
The name Atkinson has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Atkinson Close in Yorkshire and Atkinson's Bank in Lancashire, reflecting the historical presence of families with this surname in those regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Atkinson
Among Census respondents with the surname Atkinson, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.2%. The next largest groups are Black (13.7%) and Hispanic (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Atkinson 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 Atkinson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.2% · 39,219
- Black or African American13.7% · 7,072
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 2,601
- Two or more races3.8% · 1,957
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 335
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 269
Timeline
Historical Census data for Atkinson
Atkinson 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
#637
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 53,376
+1,887 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 18.09
Rank movement Down 45 places
2020
#642
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 51,453
-1,923 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 17.21
Rank movement Down 5 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #592 | 51,489 | 19.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #637 | 53,376 | 18.09 | +1,887 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 45 places |
| 2020 | #642 | 51,453 | 17.21 | -1,923 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 5 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 Atkinson 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 | #637 | #642 | -0.8% |
| Count | 53,376 | 51,453 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 18.09 | 17.21 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Atkinson bearers went from 53,376 to 51,453 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 5 positions in the national ranking, going from #637 to #642.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Atkinson
FAQ
Atkinson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Atkinson?
Name Census estimates that about 59,002 living Americans carry the surname Atkinson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,809 residents.
How common is Atkinson?
Atkinson ranks #642 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 17.21 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 51,453 people with the surname Atkinson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (59,002), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 17.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 17.21 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 Atkinson.
Has Atkinson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Atkinson went from 53,376 recorded bearers to 51,453. That is a decrease of 1,923 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #637 to #642.
What does the Census say about the background of Atkinson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Atkinson, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.2%. The next largest groups are Black (13.7%) and Hispanic (5.1%). 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 Atkinson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.2% (39,219 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Atkinson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.2%), Black (13.7%), Hispanic (5.1%). 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 Atkinson (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 Atkinson mean?
An English occupational surname referring to the son of Atkin, a diminutive 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 Atkinson (17.21 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 common is the surname Atkinson?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Atkinson, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.