Jenkins

English

Alternative forms

• (surname): Jinkins

Etymology

A patronymic surname that is derived from the male given name John +‎ -kin (which forms diminutive )+ -s (denoting "son of") hence meaning "son of little John". It was originally an offshoot of the male medieval name Jenkin/Jankin. The name was brought from the crusaders; it originated in Cornwall but became popular in England and Wales.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛŋkɪnz/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Jen‧kins

Proper noun

Jenkins

1. A surname originating as a patronymic of Cornish and in English ("mainly of Devon") origin.
2. A city in Kentucky.
3. A city in Minnesota.

Derived terms

• Jenkins County
• Jenkinshelea
• jenkinsite
• Jenkintown
• up Jenkins

Statistics

According to statistics in the United States, Jenkins is the 114th most common surname belonging to approximately 220,830 individuals. Jenkins is most common amongst White (73.9%) individuals and secondly common amongst Black (20.3%) individuals. All other races with the surname Jenkins are (3.3%) of the population.

Noun

Jenkins (plural Jenkinses)

1. (derogatory, dated, colloquial) A flatterer or sycophant.

   the Jenkins employed by a newspaper

   • October 1869, George William Curtis, Civil-Service Reform

     rouse the country for Jones and Justice or Jenkins and the Rights of Man

   • 1868, Edward Isidore Sears, editor, The National Quarterly Review, volume 16, page 404:

     Because they are styled "the executive," "executive officers," &c., by their Jenkinses, and are declared by the same authorities to possess unbounded knowledge, and transcendent "executive ability," they sometimes fancy themselves the Czar, the Shah, or the Grand Turk […]