Atkins History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Among the the peoples of ancient Scotland, the first to use the name Atkins were the Strathclyde-Britons. Atkins was a name for someone who lived in Lanarkshire. The name and all it’s variants are double diminutives of Adam, formed from ‘Ad,’ the diminutive of Adam + ‘kin’ [1]

Early Origins of the Atkins family

The surname Atkins was first found in Lanarkshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Lannraig) a former county in the central Strathclyde region of Scotland, now divided into the Council Areas of North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, and the City of Glasgow, where they originated in the old barony of Akyne. Some of the first records of the name were Atkyn de Barr in 1340 [2] and later in 1405, “John of Akyne, a Scottish merchant petitioned for the return of his ship and goods illegally seized in England.” [1]

Early History of the Atkins family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Atkins research.

Atkins Spelling Variations

Medieval Scottish names are rife with spelling variations. This is due to the fact that scribes in that era spelled according to the sound of words, rather than any set of rules. Atkins has been spelled Aitken, Aiken, Atkin, Atkins and others.

Early Notables of the Atkins family (pre 1700)

Notable amongst the family at this time was James Aitkine, Atkins or Etkins (1613?-1687), Scottish prelate, Bishop of Moray (1676), Bishop of Galloway (1680-1687.) He was born at Kirkwall about 1613, was the son of Harie Atkine, Sheriff of Orkney. [3] Arthur Aikin (1773-1854), chemist and scientific writer, was the eldest son of John Aikin, M.D., and was thus the brother of Lucy Aikin and nephew of Mrs. Barbauld. He was born at Warrington on 19 May 1773, and went at an early age to the free school there, and afterwards to Mr. Barbauld’s school at Palgrave in Suffolk. [3] Charles Rochemont Aikin… 
Another 100 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Atkins Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Atkins World Ranking

In the United States, the name Atkins is the 500^th most popular surname with an estimated 57,201 people with that name. [4] However, in Australia, the name Atkins is ranked the 356^thmost popular surname with an estimated 10,176 people with that name. [5] And in New Zealand, the name Atkins is the 469^th popular surname with an estimated 1,464 people with that name. [6] The United Kingdom ranks Atkins as 394^th with 16,356 people. [7]

 Migration of the Atkins family to Ireland

Some of the Atkins family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.

 Atkins migration to the United States +

Many Scots were left with few options other than to leave their homeland for the colonies across the Atlantic. Some of these families fought to defend their newfound freedom in the American War of Independence. Others went north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. The ancestors of all of these families have recently been able to rediscover their roots through Clan societies and other Scottish organizations. Among them: 

Atkins Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

• Thomas Atkins, who landed in Maine in 1607 [8]
• Silvester Atkins, who landed in Virginia in 1621 [8]
• Richard Atkins, who arrived in Virginia in 1621 [8]
• Ritchard Atkins, who arrived in Virginia in 1622 [8]
• Mr. Atkins, who landed in Virginia in 1622 [8]

Atkins Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

• Jonathan Atkins, who landed in Virginia in 1701 [8]
• Eliza Atkins, who landed in Virginia in 1714 [8]
• Edmund Atkins, who arrived in Charleston, South Carolina in 1734 [8]
• Joseph Atkins, who arrived in Connecticut in 1739 [8]
• Bartlett Atkins, who arrived in Virginia in 1779 [8]

Atkins Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

• Hugh Atkins, aged 31, who arrived in New York in 1812 [8]
• Samuel Atkins, aged 26, who landed in Washington, DC in 1828 [8]
• W T Atkins, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 [8]
• G Atkins, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 [8]
• John R Atkins, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 [8]

 Atkins migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were: 

Atkins Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

• Humphrey Atkins, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750
• James Atkins, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
• John Atkins, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
• Mary Atkins, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750
• Andrew Atkins, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750

Atkins Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

• Guy Jerome Atkins, who arrived in Canada in 1835

Atkins Settlers in Canada in the 20th Century

• H Atkins, who landed in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1907