FastNamesCollins Surname
Irish and English surname meaning "Dual-origin surname: an Anglicized form of Irish Ó Coileáin ('descendant of Coileán', meaning 'young hound' or 'pup'), or an English patronymic from Colin, a pet form of Nicholas.". Ranked 59th in the United States with 329,770 recorded bearers in the 2010 Census (111.8 per 100,000 Americans).
Meaning and origin of the surname Collins
Dual-origin surname: an Anglicized form of Irish Ó Coileáin ('descendant of Coileán', meaning 'young hound' or 'pup'), or an English patronymic from Colin, a pet form of Nicholas.
Historically and linguistically, Collins belongs to the Irish and English family of surnames. It is conventionally pronounced "KOL-inz".
United States Census frequency and ranking
In the official 2010 United States Census, Collins was recorded 329,770 times, ranking as the 59th most common surname in the nation.
This represents an incidence rate of approximately 111.79 bearers per 100,000 Americans, or roughly 1 out of every 895 residents.
Race and ethnicity distribution
According to official decennial Census genealogy microdata, individuals bearing the surname Collinsreported the following racial and ethnic affiliations in the 2010 US Census:
| Racial or ethnic group | Share of bearers |
|---|---|
| White | 71.61% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 2.47% |
| Black or African American | 22.43% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.49% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.77% |
| Two or more races | 2.23% |
Source: US Census Bureau, 2010 Census Surnames Data. Percentages may not sum to exactly 100% due to independent rounding or suppression of small cell counts for privacy protection.
History of the surname Collins
Collins represents two distinct etymological traditions from the British Isles. In Ireland, it is primarily the Anglicization of the Gaelic surname Ó Coileáin (or Mac Coileáin), meaning 'descendant of Coileán'—a Gaelic personal name signifying 'whelp', 'pup', or 'young warrior hound', an animal revered in Celtic culture for loyalty and fierce courage. The Ó Coileáin septs held ancient lordships in North Munster (County Limerick) and County Cork.
In England, Collins developed as a patronymic surname signifying 'son of Colin', where Colin was the standard medieval French and Middle English hypocoristic diminutive of Nicholas (from Greek Nikolaos, 'victory of the people'). English records date to the thirteenth century, including Colinus de Runham in Norfolk (1275) and John Collynges in Somerset (1327).
Both Irish and English branches contributed heavily to North American immigration from the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, particularly during the Great Famine when hundreds of thousands of Irish Collins families settled in Boston, New York, and Chicago. In the 2010 United States Census, Collins ranked 59th nationally with 329,770 bearers.
Notable people with the surname Collins
- Phil Collins (1951–), English singer, drummer, songwriter, and former Genesis frontman
- Michael Collins (1930–2021), American astronaut who flew Apollo 11 command module
- Joan Collins (1933–), English actress and author celebrated for Dynasty
- Wilkie Collins (1824–1889), English Victorian novelist and author of The Moonstone
Variants and related surnames
Spelling variants
Related surnames
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Richard Coates, Peter McClure. The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland (2016), p. 574.
- Edward MacLysaght. The Surnames of Ireland (1985), p. 52.
- U.S. Census Bureau. 2010 Census Surnames Data (2016). Reference link.