2000
#532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 56,068
First available Census row
Per 100,000 20.78
Uncommon Last name
Wilkins
An English occupational surname referring to the son of Wilkin, a diminutive of William, meaning "resolute protector."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 64,165 Americans carry the last name Wilkins. That puts it at #586 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 18.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,342 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Wilkins 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 Wilkins with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
64K
1 in 5,342
Census rank
#586
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
18.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
56K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 55,955 bearers of the surname Wilkins in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 18.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 586th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Wilkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.3%. The next largest groups are Black (29.2%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Wilkins
The surname Wilkins is of English origin, derived from the personal name William combined with the diminutive suffix "-kin," essentially meaning "little William." This name can be traced back to the 12th century in various English counties, including Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Suffolk.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wilkins can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Willechin." This historical record, commissioned by William the Conqueror, provides valuable insights into the distribution and prevalence of surnames in England during the Norman period.
The name Wilkins has evolved over time, with various spellings such as Wilkyn, Wilkyne, and Wilkynson appearing in medieval records. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and the inconsistencies in spelling conventions during that era.
In the 13th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Wilkins was Sir John Wilkins (c. 1230-1292), a prominent English landowner and knight who served under King Edward I. He is mentioned in several historical documents, including the Patent Rolls of 1272.
Another significant individual with the surname Wilkins was John Wilkins (1614-1672), an English clergyman, natural philosopher, and one of the founders of the Royal Society. He was a prolific writer and is best known for his work "An Essay Towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language," which proposed a universal language based on philosophical principles.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Wilkins was also associated with several place names, such as Wilkins Green in Oxfordshire and Wilkins Farm in Gloucestershire. These place names likely derived from individuals bearing the surname Wilkins who owned or lived in those areas.
Another notable figure was Sir George Hubert Wilkins (1888-1958), an Australian explorer, aviator, and photographer. He was a pioneer in polar exploration and made significant contributions to the understanding of Arctic and Antarctic regions through his expeditions and aerial reconnaissance.
In the literary world, Maurice Wilkins (1916-2004), a British biophysicist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962 for his contributions to the discovery of the molecular structure of DNA, along with James Watson and Francis Crick.
The surname Wilkins has been carried by numerous individuals throughout history, spanning various fields and regions, and continues to be a prominent surname in English-speaking countries today.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Wilkins
Among Census respondents with the surname Wilkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.3%. The next largest groups are Black (29.2%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Wilkins 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 Wilkins surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.3% · 34,301
- Black or African American29.2% · 16,356
- Two or more races4.6% · 2,588
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 1,992
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 399
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 319
Timeline
Historical Census data for Wilkins
Wilkins 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
#570
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 58,634
+2,566 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 19.88
Rank movement Down 38 places
2020
#586
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 55,955
-2,679 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 18.72
Rank movement Down 16 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #532 | 56,068 | 20.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #570 | 58,634 | 19.88 | +2,566 bearers (+4.6%) | Down 38 places |
| 2020 | #586 | 55,955 | 18.72 | -2,679 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 16 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 Wilkins 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 | #570 | #586 | -2.8% |
| Count | 58,634 | 55,955 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 19.88 | 18.72 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Wilkins bearers went from 58,634 to 55,955 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 16 positions in the national ranking, going from #570 to #586.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Wilkins
FAQ
Wilkins surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Wilkins?
Name Census estimates that about 64,165 living Americans carry the surname Wilkins. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,342 residents.
How common is Wilkins?
Wilkins ranks #586 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 18.72 per 100,000 residents, which is about 19 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 55,955 people with the surname Wilkins. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (64,165), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 18.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 18.72 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 19 of them to have the surname Wilkins.
Has Wilkins become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Wilkins went from 58,634 recorded bearers to 55,955. That is a decrease of 2,679 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #570 to #586.
What does the Census say about the background of Wilkins?
Among Census respondents with the surname Wilkins, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.3%. The next largest groups are Black (29.2%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Wilkins in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.3% (34,301 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Wilkins appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (61.3%), Black (29.2%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Wilkins (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 Wilkins mean?
An English occupational surname referring to the son of Wilkin, a diminutive of William, meaning "resolute protector." 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 Wilkins (18.72 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 Wilkins?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Wilkins on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.