English
The surname 'Elkins' is of English origin. It is a patronymic of the name 'Elkin', in itself a diminutive of the name 'Elias', which is a Cognate in French, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Czech, Polish, Hungarian, and Jewish of the English mediaeval name 'Ellis', the Norman venarcular form of 'Elijah' (from the Greek word 'Elias', in itself from the Hebrew word 'Eliyahu' which means 'Jehovah is God'). This name was borne by a biblical prophet, but its popularity among Christians in the middle Ages was as a result of its adoption by various early saints. In Wales this surname seems to have absorbed forms derived from the Welsh personal name 'Elisedd', a derivative of the word 'elus' which means kindly, benevolent. Public and Civil registry archive's confirm that the surname 'Elkins' and or it's variant's, date as far back as the thirteenth century were a 'Elekin (without surname)', from the county of Oxfordshire, England, is recorded on the Hundred Rolls in 1273. The exact period of settlement in North America has not been definitely determined but data extracted from Historical archive's confirm that one of the first forefathers to bring this name to America was a certain 'William Elkins', from the city of London, England, a sawyer by trade, He emigrated to North America in 1774, aged twenty-five, sailing from the Port of London aboard the ship named the 'Nancy' on the twelfth of September, arriving in Maryland on the nineteenth of the same, where he served as an indentured servant. Today, 'Elkins' is the 'One thousand two hundred and seventy-eighth' most common surname in North America.