Atkinson (surname)

For other uses, see Atkinson (disambiguation).
Atkinson
GenderUnisex
Language(s)English
Origin
Language(s)Middle English
Word/nameAtkin
Meaningson of Atkin
Other names
See alsoAcheson, Aitchison, Aicheson, and Aitcheson, Adcock, Atcock

Atkinson is an English-language surname. The name is derived from a patronymic form of the Middle English Atkin. The personal name Atkin is one of many pet forms of the name Adam.[1]

The name corresponds to the Scottish name Aitchison. The name Atkinson is particularly common in Northern England. At the time of the British Census of 1881,[2] its relative frequency was highest in Westmorland (19.8 times the British average), followed by Cumberland, County Durham, Northumberland, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Lancashire, Cheshire and Rutland. In Ireland the name is common only in Ulster and particularly in counties Antrim and Down. Some Atkinsons are descended from Planters, although the name was recorded in Ireland before that period.[3]

Acheson is a variation of the name in Scotland and the Border region, having been originally spelt Atzinson (with the 'z' being pronounced as 'y', as in yet).[3]

  1. ^ Learn about the family history of your surname, Ancestry.com, retrieved 2 July 2011 which cited Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-508137-4. for the surnames "Atkinson" and "Atkin".
  2. ^ "Atkinson Meaning and Distribution". forebears.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2014
  3. ^ a b Bell, Robert (1990) [1988]. The Book of Ulster Surnames (Paperback). Belfast: The Blackstaff Press Limited. ISBN 0-85640-405-5.