# Akins

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**Akins** (/ˈeɪkɪnz/ or /ˈɑːkɪnz/) is a Scottish surname and northern Irish family name.

## Origins

### Scotland

The name has several possible origins, although it is generally considered to be a variant of *[Aikens](/source/Aikens)*,[1] which is considered to be a patronymic form of the name *[Aiken](/source/Aiken_(surname))*.[2] These names are considered to be derived from the [Scots](/source/Scots_language) personal name *[Aitken](/source/Aitken_(surname))*,[3] which is a double diminutive form of the Biblical name *[Adam](/source/Adam_(name))*. The name is formed in part from *Ad*, the diminutive of *Adam* (the *d* has been sharpened to *t*), and the diminutive suffix -*kin*. George Fraser Black stated that the *-s* in the surnames *[Atkins](/source/Atkins_(surname))*, and *Aitkins*, represents 'son'; and in consequence, that these names equate to *[Atkinson](/source/Atkinson_(surname))*.[4]

In 1946, Black noted that, according to John Paterson (in 1867), the surname *Aiken* was an old name in the parish of [Ballantrae](/source/Ballantrae), [Ayrshire](/source/Ayrshire); and that "in [Orkney](/source/Orkney) it is believed to have replaced the [Old Norse](/source/Old_Norse) name Haakon and its derivative Hakonson".[4] Black also noted that the surname *Aiken* (and its variations: *Aitken*, *Aitkin*, *Aitkins*, *Atkin*, *Atkins*) have been stated by others to be derived from the names *Atty* ("little Atty"), and *[Arthur](/source/Arthur)*; although Black stated that he himself disagreed with this derivation, in favour of a diminutive of *Adam* (above).[4]

In 1857, David MacGregor Peter noted a traditional derivation for the surname *Aikman*. The account states that the name *Aikman* originated from an officer who, while commanding troops that besieged [Macbeth](/source/Macbeth,_King_of_Scotland) in [Dunsinane](/source/Dunsinane_Hill) Castle, told them to attack using [oak](/source/Oak) branches. According to Peter, this officer was said to have been the progenitor of all Aikmans and Aikens in Scotland.[5] Black, however, noted that this story was too silly to believe.[6] In 1908, William Cutter noted the surname *Aiken*, and stated that [antiquarians](/source/Antiquarians) have derived the name from the word *aik*, meaning 'an oak', or 'oaken'.[7] Black noted that within the [heraldry](/source/Heraldry) of the name *Aiken* (and variations), the use oak is merely an example of [canting heraldry](/source/Canting_arms).[4]

Another possible derivation of the surname *Akins*, suggested by H. Amanda Robb and Andrew Chesler, as well as by Elsdon C. Smith, is that "the name was given to those who were from the area near [Kyleakin](/source/Kyleakin), a strait in Scotland named for King [Hakon of Norway](/source/Haakon_IV_of_Norway)".[8][9] The strait's name is derived from the [Scottish Gaelic](/source/Scottish_Gaelic) *Caol Acain*, which means 'Haakon's Sound', or 'Haakon's Narrows'.[10]

### Ireland

In Ireland, the surname *Aiken* is considered to be of Scottish and English origin,[11][12][13] and is most common in the province of [Ulster](/source/Ulster).[11] According to Robert Bell, *Aiken* is "the Scottish form of the English name Atkin, which comes from Adkin, a pet form of Adam." In the mid-19th century, the name was found to be the most popular in [Ballymena](/source/Ballymena), [County Antrim](/source/County_Antrim).[11] Michael C. O'Laughlin states that families of the surname *Aiken* (and variants: *Ekin*, *Aikens*, *Aikins*, *Aicken*, *Aitken*) are mostly of Scottish and English descent. O'Laughlin states that these names originate, in most cases, to the English name *Aitken*.[12] [Edward MacLysaght](/source/Edward_MacLysaght) also notes that the Irish surname *Aiken* is the Scottish form of the English *Aitken*.[13] According to William and Mary Durning, the names *Aiken*, *Akins*, and *Eakin* came to Ireland from Scotland during the [Ulster Plantation](/source/Plantation_of_Ulster) of the 17th century where they were transplanted to the Irish counties of [Antrim](/source/County_Antrim), [Monaghan](/source/County_Monaghan), and [Down](/source/County_Down) respectively.[14]

In Ireland, the surname *Aiken* has also been used as an [Anglicised](/source/Anglicised) form of an Irish language surname. O'Laughlin, and MacLysaght, note that *Aiken* as an Anglicised form of the Irish *Ó hAodhagáin* (frequently Anglicised as *O'Hagan*).[15][16] The Irish *Ó hAodhagáin* means "descendant of *Aodhagán*". The personal name *Aodhagán* is a double diminutive of the name *Aodh*, which means "fire".[17] Historically, the [O'Hagans](/source/O'Hagan) were centred in the [County Tyrone](/source/County_Tyrone); their [chief](/source/Chief_of_the_Name) was seated at Tullahogue, and had the hereditary right of inaugurating [The O'Neill](/source/O'Neill_dynasty), as overlord of Ulster.[16]

According to the Durnings, the surname *Akin* can also be an Anglicisation of the Irish name *Ó hÓgáin* (O'Eakin). The O'Eakins are stated to descend from the Irish Ui Tuirtre, who were descended from Fiach Tort, son of [Colla Uais](/source/Colla_Uais) of the [Oirghialla](/source/Airg%C3%ADalla) which were the descendants of Eochaid Doimlén, son of [Cairbre Lifechair](/source/Cairbre_Lifechair), son of [Cormac Ulfhada](/source/Cormac_mac_Airt) and his wife Etaine, whose ancestry goes back another forty-nine generations in Ireland to its earliest Gaelic founders, the [Milesians](/source/Milesians_(Irish)).[18] MacLysaght notes that although the surname *Aicken* is generally of Scottish origin (as diminutive of *Adam*), it is also possibly an Anglicised form of the Irish *Ó h-Aogáin*.[19]

## History

According to Black, the first recorded appearance of the Scottish surname *Aiken* (and its variations: *Aitken*, *Aitkin*, *Aitkins*, *Atkin*, *Atkins*) occurs in the year 1405, in the court records of a Scottish sea merchant named "John of Akyne", who sought restitution for having been illegally detained for eight weeks by "Laurence Tuttebury of [Hulle](/source/Kingston_upon_Hull)".[4][20] According to Black, the "of" in John's name is an error. The first recorded use of the *Aiken* (and above variants) as a Scottish forename occurs in about the 1340, when "Atkyn de Barr", and "Atkyn Blake", are recorded in [Ayr](/source/Ayr).[4] The surnames and given names have undergone a variety of transformations in spelling over the years, and in consequence there are many variant forms of the name still in use today.

## Distribution

A total of 77 *Akins* appear in the 1881 Census of Great Britain, and was ranked the 3,502nd most common surname.[21] A total of 220 *Akins* appear in the 1996 Electoral roll of Great Britain, and is ranked 3,835th most common surname.[21] In [Griffith's Valuation](/source/Griffith's_Valuation), a property survey of Ireland from 1848 to 1864, records 3 households of *Akins* in Ireland; 2 in [County Donegal](/source/County_Donegal), and 1 in [County Monaghan](/source/County_Monaghan).[22] Variations of the name were said to have been common in the parish of Ballantrae, as well as in the counties of Aberdeen, Fife, Lanark, Perth, Angus, Renfrew, Ayr, Dumbarton, Stirling and the Lothians. In Ireland the name is common only in Ulster, where many Scots colonists settled in the 17th century.[23]

There were 16,860 people with the surname *Akins* recorded in the [2000 United States census](/source/2000_United_States_census). It ranked as the 1,960th most common surname in the country. The surname was made up 65.59% [White Americans](/source/White_American), 30.34% [Black Americans](/source/Black_American), 0.26% [Asian Americans](/source/Asian_American) and [Pacific Islander Americans](/source/Pacific_Islander_American), 0.73% [American Indians and Alaska Natives](/source/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States), 1.7% [Multiracial Americans](/source/Multiracial_American), and 1.39% [Hispanic Americans](/source/Hispanic_and_Latino_Americans).[24]

## List of persons with the surname

- [Chris Akins](/source/Chris_Akins) (born 1976), American football player
- [Claude Akins](/source/Claude_Akins) (1926–1994), American actor
- [Ellen Akins](/source/Ellen_Akins) American novelist
- [Frank Akins](/source/Frank_Akins) (1919–1992), American football player
- [James Akins](/source/James_Akins_(tubist)), American classical tubist
- [James E. Akins](/source/James_E._Akins) (1926–2010), U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
- [Jordan Akins](/source/Jordan_Akins) (born 1992), American football player
- [Rhett Akins](/source/Rhett_Akins) (born 1969), American singer-songwriter
- [Sid Akins](/source/Sid_Akins) (born 1962), American baseball player
- [Thomas Beamish Akins](/source/Thomas_Beamish_Akins) (1806–1891) Canadian historian
- [Virgil Akins](/source/Virgil_Akins) (1928–2011), American boxer
- [Zoe Akins](/source/Zoe_Akins) (1886–1958), American playwright, poet and author

## See also

- [Akin (disambiguation)](/source/Akin_(disambiguation))
- [Aikins](/source/Aikins)

## References

1. ["Akins Name Meaning and History"](http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Akins-family-history.ashx), [Ancestry.com](/source/Ancestry.com), retrieved 3 July 2010 This webpage cited: *Dictionary of American Family Names*, [Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press), ISBN 0-19-508137-4

1. ["Aikens Name Meaning and History"](http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Aikens-family-history.ashx), Ancestry.com, retrieved 3 July 2010 This webpage cited: *Dictionary of American Family Names*, [Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press), ISBN 0-19-508137-4

1. ["Aitken Name Meaning and History"](http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Aitken-family-history.ashx), Ancestry.com, retrieved 3 July 2010 This webpage cited: *Dictionary of American Family Names*, [Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press), ISBN 0-19-508137-4

1. Black, George Fraser (1946), "The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and History", [New York Public Library](/source/New_York_Public_Library), pp. 10–11

1. Peter, David MacGregor (1857), ["The Baronage of Angus and Mearns"](https://archive.org/details/baronageofangusm00pete), Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, p. 3

1. Black, George Fraser (1946), "The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and History", New York Public Library, pp. 11–12

1. Cutter, William (1908), ["Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of Boston and eastern Massachusetts"](https://archive.org/details/genealogicaland01cuttgoog), New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, p. 1032

1. Robb, H. Amanda & Chesler, Andrew (1996), "Encyclopedia of American Family Names", Harper Collins, p. [page needed]

1. Smith, Elsdon Coles (1973 [1956]), [*New Dictionary of American Family Names*](https://archive.org/details/newdictionaryofa00smi_sln/page/4), Harper & Row, p. [4](https://archive.org/details/newdictionaryofa00smi_sln/page/4), ISBN 0-06-013933-1

1. ["ScotlandsPlaces – Skye, Kyleakin, General"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120608054447/http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/search_item/index.php?service=RCAHMS&id=99313). Archived from [the original](http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/search_item/index.php?service=RCAHMS&id=99313) on 8 June 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2010.

1. Bell, Robert (1988), "The Book of Irish Surnames", The Blackstaff Press, p. [page needed]

1. Michael C. O'Laughlin (1997), "The Book of Irish Families Great and Small", Irish Genealogical Foundation, p. 3

1. MacLysaght, Edward (1964), "A guide to Irish surnames", 2 ed., Genealogical Book Co., p. 19

1. Durning, William & Durning, Mary (1991), "The Scotch-Irish", La Mesa, California: Irish Family Names Society, p. [page needed]

1. Michael C. O'Laughlin (1997), "The Book of Irish Families Great and Small", Irish Genealogical Foundation, p. 135 O'Hagan – O'hAodhagain: Hegan, Aiken, O'Hagain, O'Hagane, Fagan

1. MacLysaght, Edward (1972), "Irish Families: Their Names, Arms and Origins", New York: Crown Publishers, p. 169

1. ["Hagan Name Meaning and History"](http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Hagan-family-history.ashx), Ancestry.com, retrieved 30 July 2010 This webpage cited: *Dictionary of American Family Names*, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4

1. Durning, William & Durning, Mary (1986), "A Guide to Irish Roots", La Mesa, California: Irish Family Names Society, p. [page needed]

1. ["Surname Search"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160513233629/http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/), *[The Irish Times](/source/The_Irish_Times)*, archived from [the original](http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/) on 13 May 2016, retrieved 30 July 2010 This webpage cited: MacLysaght, Edward (1982), "More Irish Families"[dead link]

1. Bain, Joseph (ed.) (1881), ["Calendar of documents relating to Scotland preserved in Her Majesty's Public Record Office, London"](https://archive.org/details/calendarofdocume04grea), Vol. 4, Edinburgh: HM General Register House, p. 146

1. ["Family Tree resources for the Akins surname"](http://www.familytreeassistant.com/surnames/surnames.php?surname=Akins)

1. ["Surname Search"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100811160124/http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/), *[The Irish Times](/source/The_Irish_Times)*, archived from [the original](http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/) on 11 August 2010

1. ["Irish surnames"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110520072253/http://www.ulsterancestry.com/irish-surnames.html). *ulsterancestry.com*. Archived from [the original](http://www.ulsterancestry.com/irish-surnames.html) on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2010.

1. ["Genealogy Data: Frequently Occurring Surnames from Census 2000"](https://web.archive.org/web/20091221003828/http://www.census.gov/genealogy/www/data/2000surnames/index.html), [US Census Bureau](/source/US_Census_Bureau), archived from [the original](https://www.census.gov/genealogy/www/data/2000surnames/index.html) on 21 December 2009, retrieved 30 July 2010

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