Show ContentsAdkins History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancient Anglo Saxon surname Adkins came from the personal name Adam. Adkins is a diminutive which means son of Adam.

Early Origins of the Adkins family

The surname Adkins was first found in Westmorland and Northumberland where they held a family seat from ancient times, before the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.

Early History of the Adkins family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Adkins research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1191, 1296, 1379 and 1621 are included under the topic Early Adkins History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Adkins Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Adkin, Atkin, Atkins, Adekin, Adekyns, Adekyn, Adkins and many more.

Early Notables of the Adkins family

More information is included under the topic Early Adkins Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Adkins Ranking

In the United States, the name Adkins is the 394th most popular surname with an estimated 72,123 people with that name. 1

Ireland Migration of the Adkins family to Ireland

Some of the Adkins family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Adkins migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Adkins Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Niccodcmus Adkins, who landed in Virginia in 1635 2
  • Richard Adkins, who arrived in Virginia in 1641 2
  • Tho Adkins, who arrived in Virginia in 1643 2
  • Robert Adkins, who landed in Virginia in 1649 2
  • Henry Adkins, who landed in Virginia in 1650 2
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Adkins Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Joseph Adkins, who arrived in New England in 1728 2
  • Joseph Adkins, who landed in Connecticut in 1739 2
  • David Adkins, aged 22, who arrived in Carolina in 1774 2
Adkins Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Dr. Adkins, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 2
Adkins Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Sarato Isabella Adkins, aged 44, who immigrated to the United States from London, England, in 1904
  • James S. Adkins, aged 32, who settled in America from Birmingham, in 1905
  • Sidney Adkins, aged 34, who landed in America from Dublin, Ireland, in 1910
  • Robert Adkins, aged 25, who settled in America from Birmingham, England, in 1912
  • Frank Adkins, aged 28, who immigrated to the United States from Birmingham, England, in 1913
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Australia Adkins migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Adkins Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. William Adkins, English convict who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Asiatic" on 5th June 1819, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 3
  • James Adkins, a shipwright, who arrived in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) sometime between 1825 and 1832
  • Thomas Adkins, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Royal George" in 1848 4
  • Joseph Adkins, English convict from from Lincoln, who was transported aboard the "Adelaide" on April 16, 1855, settling in Western Australia 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Adkins (post 1700) +

  • Adele Laurie Blue Adkins M.B.E. (b. 1988), better known as Adele, eight-time Grammy Award winning English recording artist and songwriter from Tottenham
  • Bennie Gene Adkins (1934-2020), United States Army soldier and recipient of the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the Vietnam War; he died from COVID-19
  • Rutherford H. "Lubby" Adkins (1924-1998), American World War II pilot with the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American to earn a PhD from The Catholic University in Washington D.C
  • Terry Roger Adkins (1953-2014), American artist and professor
  • Tracy Darrell "Trace" Adkins (b. 1962), American country music artist and actor
  • Patrick H. Adkins (b. 1948), American fantasy author and editor
  • Margene Adkins (b. 1947), former American college football, National Football League, and Canadian Football League player
  • Jonathan Scott Adkins (b. 1977), American Major League Baseball area scout for the Boston Red Sox
  • Major General James A. Adkins, American Major General, 28th Adjutant General of Maryland
  • Dr. Homer Burton Adkins Ph.D. (1892-1949), American chemist who developed the Adkins-Peterson reaction with Wesley J. Peterson
  • ... (Another 59 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Fraterville mine
  • Mr. George W. Adkins (d. 1902), American coal miner at Fraterville mine in Tennessee, on the 19th May 1902 when an explosion collapsed the mine; he died 6
  • Mr. Conda Adkins (d. 1902), American coal miner at Fraterville mine in Tennessee, on the 19th May 1902 when an explosion collapsed the mine; he died 6
  • Mr. Paul A. Adkins (d. 1902), American coal miner at Fraterville mine in Tennessee, on the 19th May 1902 when an explosion collapsed the mine; he died 6
  • Mr. Charles Adkins (d. 1902), American coal miner at Fraterville mine in Tennessee, on the 19th May 1902 when an explosion collapsed the mine; he died 6
HMS Cornwall
  • Edward Alfred Adkins (d. 1942), British Leading Cook (S) aboard the HMS Cornwall when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 7
HMS Repulse
  • Mr. Francis James Adkins, British Leading Writer, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and died in the sinking 8


Suggested Readings for the name Adkins +

  • William H. Adkins Family of American Falls, Idaho, a Genealogy of Ancestors and Descendants of William Harmon Adkins and Linnie Lee Pennington of Elliot, Colorado by Fred E. Sawyer.

  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  3. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
  4. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) ROYAL GEORGE 1848. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1848RoyalGeorge.htm
  5. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 17) Adelaide voyage to Western Australia, Australia in 1855 with 261 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/adelaide/1855
  6. News paper article Fraterville Mine Disaster retrieved on 6th August 2021. (Retrieved from http://www.tn.gov/tsla/exhibits/disasters/fraterville.htm).
  7. Force Z Survivors Crew List HMS Cornwall (Retrieved 2018, February 13th) - Retrieved from https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listcornwallcrew.html#A
  8. HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html


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