Jenkins is a double diminuitive of John, literally meaning "little John." It derives from the medieval given name Jenkin, which itself is a diminuitive of the given name John, meaning "God has graced me with a son." The Jenkins surname most commonly originated in Cornwall, England, but became quickly popular in Wales.
Jenkins is the 95th most popular surname in the United States and the 97th most common surname in England.
Surname Origin:
English, Welsh
Alternate Surname Spellings:
JENKIN, JENKYN, JENKING, JENCKEN, JINKIN, JUNKIN, JENKYNS, JENCKENS, JINKINS, JINKINS, JUNKINS, JENKENS, JENNISKENS, SIENCYN (Welsh), SHINKWINN (Irish)
Famous People with the Surname JENKINS:
- Albert Gallatin Jenkins - American politician and Confederate soldier
- Ella Jenkins - American folk singer
Genealogy Resources for the Surname JENKINS:
100 Most Common U.S. Surnames & Their Meanings
Smith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown... Are you one of the millions of Americans sporting one of these top 100 common last names from the 2000 census?
JENKINS Family Genealogy Forum
Search this popular genealogy forum for the Jenkins surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Jenkins query.
FamilySearch - JENKINS Genealogy
Find records, queries, and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Jenkins surname and its variations.
JENKINS Surname & Family Mailing Lists
RootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the Jenkins surname.
Cousin Connect - JENKINS Genealogy Queries
Read or post genealogy queries for the surname Jenkins, and sign up for free notification when new Jenkins queries are added.
DistantCousin.com - JENKINS Genealogy & Family History
Free databases and genealogy links for the last name Jenkins.
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References: Surname Meanings & Origins
Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.
Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, 2005.
Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Avotaynu, 2004.
Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.
Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.
Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.
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