In ancient Scotland, the first people to use Attkan as a surname were the Strathclyde- Britons. It was a name someone who lived in Lanarkshire.
The surname Attkan 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 [1] and later in 1405, "John of Akyne, a Scottish merchant petitioned for the return of his ship and goods illegally seized in England." [2] The name and all it's variants are double diminutives of Adam, formed from 'Ad,' the diminutive of Adam + 'kin' [2]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Attkan research. Another 183 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1405, 1482, 1497, 1520, 1744, 1773, 1613, 1687, 1676, 1680, 1687, 1613, 1654, 1613, 1642 and 1676 are included under the topic Early Attkan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The origin of rules governing the spelling of names and even words is a very recent innovation. Before that, words and names were spelled according to sound, and, therefore, often appeared under several different spelling variations in a single document. Attkan has been spelled Aitken, Aiken, Atkin, Atkins and others.
Another 40 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Attkan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the Attkan family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 173 words (12 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The persecution faced in their homeland left many Scots with little to do but sail for the colonies of North America. There they found land, freedom, opportunity, and nations in the making. They fought for their freedom in the American War of Independence, or traveled north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. In both cases, they made enormous contributions to the formation of those great nations. Among them: Ann and Daniel Aiken who settled in New York State in 1811; David, Henry and Hugh Aiken settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1868 and 1880; John Aikens settled in New Orleans La. in 1821.