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Parkins History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Citations

Parkins History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Parkins is one of the oldest family names to come from the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is derived from the baptismal name Peter. Baptismal names began to appear as surnames relatively late in the growth of the naming tradition. This is a little surprising, given the popularity of biblical figures in the Christian countries of Europe. Nevertheless, surnames derived from baptismal names grew in popularity during the Middle Ages, and have become one of the foremost sources for surnames. In this case the surname Parkins was originally derived from two elements; per a form of Peter and the suffix kin. The literal meaning of the surname is Little Peter, which denotes the son of Peter. 1

Early Origins of the Parkins family

The surname Parkins was first found in Leicestershire. The name is traditionally "confined mostly to the southern half of England, being most numerous in Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and South Wales. " 2

Early rolls listed the name in singular and plural forms: Edmund Perkyn 1327 in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk; Robert Parkyn 1327 in the Subsidy Rolls for Staffordshire; Walter Perkyns 1327 in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcester; and Maud Parkynes 1332 in the Subsidy Rolls for Warwickshire. 3

Early History of the Parkins family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Parkins research. Another 138 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1327, 1516, 1545, 1547, 1555, 1558, 1602, 1622, 1649, 1658, 1696 and 1707 are included under the topic Early Parkins History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Parkins Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Parkins has undergone many spelling variations, including Perkins, Perkin, Perkyns, Perkens, Perkynn and others.

Early Notables of the Parkins family

Distinguished members of the family include

John Perkins or Parkins (died 1545), an English jurist; he may have been the John Perkins who was a groom of the royal chamber in 1516
William Perkins (1558-1602) was English Puritan theologian and Sir Christopher Perkins or Parkins (1547-1622) was an English diplomatist, master of requests and dean of Carlisle. Another Christopher P...

Parkins Ranking

In the United States, the name Parkins is the 8,261^st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Parkins migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Parkins were among those contributors:

Parkins Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Parkins, who arrived in Virginia in 1622 5
Andrew Parkins, aged 18, who landed in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Elizabeth" 5
Gressam Parkins, aged 19, who landed in Virginia in 1635 5
Richard Parkins, who arrived in Maryland in 1674 5

Parkins Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

George Parkins, aged 17, who arrived in New York in 1862 5

Parkins migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Parkins Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Samuel Parkins, who landed in Canada in 1829

Parkins migration to Australia +

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

Parkins Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Parkins, (b. 1805), aged 17, English brass founder who was convicted in Liverpool, Merseyside, England for 14 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Caledonia" in 19th June 1822, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
Mr. Emanuel Parkins, English convict who was convicted in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England for life, transported aboard the "England"on 28th April 1826, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Mr. Samuel Parkins, British convict who was convicted in Hertfordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Henry Tanner" on 27th June 1834, settling in New South Wales, Australia 8
Mr. Benjamin Parkins, (b. 1816), aged 32, Cornish miner from St. Stephen, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Walmer Castle" arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 30th December 1848 9
Mrs. Jane Parkins, (b. 1814), aged 34, Cornish settler from Gwennap, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Walmer Castle" arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 30th December 1848 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Parkins migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Parkins Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Joseph W. Parkins, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Harkaway" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 2nd June 1857 10
Dr. Parkins, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Donna Anita" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 14th June 1863 10
John T. Parkins, aged 21, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rooparell" in 1874
Mr. John Parkins, (b. 1853), aged 21, British farm labourer travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Halcione" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand in September 1875 10
John Parkins, aged 21, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Halcione" in 1875 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Parkins (post 1700) +

William L. Parkins, American politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Indiana 6th District, 1910 12

The Parkins Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Simplex vigilum veri
Motto Translation: An honest one of the sentinels of truth.

Citations +

Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 30th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/caledonia
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/england
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/henry-tanner
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, May 30). Ships' Passenger Lists of Arrivals in New South Wales on (1828 - 1842, 1848 - 1849) [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_nsw_1838_on.pdf
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 12th December 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 24) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html