Given name & surname
Perkins
“as solid and strong as a rock”
Perkins is a variant of Perkin. In English use, Perkin carries the interpretation “as solid and strong as a rock.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Perkins is a variant of Perkin. In English use, Perkin carries the interpretation “as solid and strong as a rock.”
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English usage, Perkins as a surname has a patronymic derivation linked to Peter.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1917. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Perkins through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 79
- 79 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 10 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2000. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 10 in 1921. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 218 as a first name in 2020; 126,147 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Perkins’s family of names
In English usage, Perkins as a surname has a patronymic derivation linked to Peter. Perkins has a related form in Perkin. In Greek usage, Perkins as a surname is a transliteration of Πέρκινς.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Perkins
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Perkins, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Norris
“a man from the north”
>99% boys
Vasco
“resembling a crow”
>99% boys
Aloysius
Aloysius is a masculine given name from Occitan.
>99% boys
Gustav
“of the staff of the gods”
>99% boys
Myron
“refers to myrrh, a fragrant oil”
>99% boys
Franklin
“a free man; a landholder”
99% boys · 1% girls
Percy
Percy is a form of Percival. One French interpretation is “one who can pierce the vale; in Arthurian legend, the only one who could retrieve the Holy Grail.”
94% boys · 6% girls
Enos
“mankind” · “a man”
>99% boys