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Wilkins
How to Pronounce Wilkins
Pronounced WIL-kinz /ˈwɪl.kɪnz/High
Meaning: Wilkins is an English surname used as a given name. It means 'son of Wilkin,' where Wilkin is a medieval pet form of William (from Germanic 'wil,' 'will,' plus 'helm,' 'helmet, protection') - so effectively 'son of little Will.' It functions as a surname-name.Low
Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Wilkins is an English surname pressed into first-name use. It means 'son of Wilkin,' Wilkin being a medieval diminutive of William, from Germanic roots for 'will' and 'helmet' or 'protection.' Families adopted it as a given name in the surname-name tradition, and it stayed rare, cresting at only about fifteen boys a year around 1991 with a long thin earlier tail.
A Wilkins named at its modest peak would be a young adult today. Its crisp two-beat sound sits beside Watkins, Hawkins, and Jenkins - the -kins surname-names - and it reads as distinguished and preppy. It shortens naturally to Will or Wilk.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Wilkins mean?
Wilkins means 'son of Wilkin,' a pet form of William - so 'son of little Will.'
How do you pronounce Wilkins?
It is said WIL-kinz, two syllables with the stress on the first.
Is Wilkins a boy or a girl name?
Wilkins is used chiefly for boys as a surname-style name.
Is Wilkins a popular name?
No. Wilkins has always been rare as a first name, doing its modest best around the early nineteen-nineties.