Atkinson

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A hereditary family name of English origin, borne by many people across England and the English-speaking world
2. A common English family name passed down through generations, derived from a given name meaning son of Adam
3. A surname of English origin carried by numerous families, often found in records of Britain and its former colonies

Etymology: Atkinson is a patronymic surname, meaning "son of Atkin" or "son of Atkins." Atkin and Atkins are themselves pet forms of the given name Adam, so the family name ultimately traces back to the first man of the Hebrew scriptures. The pattern is typical of English surnames: a father's first name, with "-son" added, identifies whose child the bearer was. The "-son" ending was once the everyday way to show parentage in English, and it attached to many names besides Adam. Atkinson thus joins surnames such as Johnson, Robinson and Thompson, which follow the same logic. Over the centuries the name spread widely, so it is now found across England and throughout the English-speaking world.