Adkins Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Adkins last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Adkins last name
Meaning of the Adkins last name: son of little Adam. The Adkins surname is English and means "son of little Adam", from Adkin, a medieval pet form of Adam with the ending -kin. It is a spelling of the better-known Atkins. The last name is most frequent in the English Midlands. A curious detail of this family name meaning: Adkins became far more common in America than in England, especially in the Appalachian hills of West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia.
Arms associated with the Adkins name
In heraldry the full achievement adds a helmet, mantling and other parts around the shield, and coats of arms associated with the Adkins name are usually shown in that fuller form.
Get your full Adkins family history
This is only a glimpse of the Adkins story. The full Adkins history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Adkins coat of arms. Get the full Adkins report.
Adkins name FAQ
What does the Adkins name mean?
Son of little Adam. Common variants include Atkins, Adkin, Atkin.
Where does the Adkins surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States and Canada.
Is there a Adkins coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Adkins coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford); US Census Bureau 2010.