Show ContentsEaking History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Eaking is one of the oldest family names to come from the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is derived from the baptismal name for the son of Edward. This surname was a diminutive form of Ede-kin. 1

Early Origins of the Eaking family

The surname Eaking was first found in Oxfordshire where as a forename Edekin Gomey was recorded in the HUndrtedorum Rolls of 1297. The same rolls included an entry for Joan Edekin. Later, Elena Edkynes was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Somerset in 1327. 2

"Ekins was the name of a gentle family owning, in the 17th and 18th centuries, Favell manor and other properties in Northamptonshire, which were sold in 1814 for £23,970." 3

Early History of the Eaking family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Eaking research. Another 190 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1279, 1300, 1321, 1327, 1598, 1600, 1693, 1702, 1730, 1749, 1766, 1768, 1781, 1782, 1791, 1809, 1855 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Eaking History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Eaking 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 Eaking has undergone many spelling variations, including Eakin, Eakins, Ekins, Ekin, Eaking, Heakins and many more.

Early Notables of the Eaking family

Distinguished members of the family include Jeffrey Ekins (d. 1791), Dean of Carlisle, a native of Barton-Seagrave, Northamptonshire, of which parish his father, the Rev. Jeffery Ekins, M.A., was rector. He received his education at Eton, whence in 1749 he was elected to King's College, Cambridge, where he obtained a fellowship. He married in 1766 Anne, daughter of Philip Baker, Esq. of Colston, Wiltshire, and sister of the wife of his brother, John Ekins, Dean of Salisbury. 4Admiral Sir Charles Ekins (1768-1855), son of Dr. Jeffery Ekins [q. v.], Dean of...
Another 90 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Eaking Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Eaking family to Ireland

Some of the Eaking family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 77 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Eaking family

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 Eaking were among those contributors: Jonathon Eakin, a merchant from Somerset, England, who arrived in Maryland in 1685; James Eakin made his home in the same state in 1759; Robert Eakin settled in New York in 1803.



  1. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
  4. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print


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