Eakin History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Etymology of Eakin

What does the name Eakin mean?

The name Eakin originated with the Anglo-Saxon tribes that once ruled 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 Eakin family

The surname Eakin 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 Eakin family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Eakin 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 Eakin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Eakin Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Eakin has appeared include Eakin, Eakins, Ekins, Ekin, Eaking, Heakins and many more.

Early Notables of the Eakin 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 Eakin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Eakin Ranking

In the United States, the name Eakin is the 8,488^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Eakin family to Ireland

Some of the Eakin 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.

Eakin migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Eakin arrived in North America very early:

Eakin Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jonathon Eakin, a merchant from Somerset, England, who arrived in Maryland in 1685

Eakin Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

James Eakin, who made his home in Maryland in 1759
George Eakin, who arrived in America in 1795 6

Eakin Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Robert Eakin, who settled in New York in 1803
Robert Eakin, aged 38, who landed in New York, NY in 1803 6
Samuel Eakin, aged 50, who arrived in America in 1803 6
David Eakin, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1807 6
James Eakin, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1811 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Eakin (post 1700) +

Richard Ronald Eakin (b. 1938), American academic, the eighth chancellor of East Carolina University
Oliver Kay Eakin Jr. (1917-1993), American NFL football player
Kevin Eakin (b. 1981), American NFL and CFL football quarterback
J. Michael Eakin (b. 1948), American Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Robert Eakin (1848-1917), American judge and attorney, the 19th Chief Justice on the Oregon Supreme Court
Myrtle Sue Lyles Eakin (1918-2009), American professor, newspaper columnist, and historian
W. S. Eakin, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Texas, 1940 7
Robert Eakin (1848-1917), American Republican politician, Circuit Judge in Oregon, 1895-1906; Justice of Oregon State Supreme Court, 1907-17; Resigned 1917; Chief Justice of Oregon State Supreme Court, 1911-12 7
Justus Oren Eakin (1883-1958), American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at New Martinsville, West Virginia, 1934-46 7
J. Mack Eakin, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Tennessee, 1900 7
... (Another 6 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html