Akin
Akin is most likely a surname built from the old personal name Aikin/Aikin, probably meaning a family connection to a diminutive form of Adam or another medieval given name.
The #4,114 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 35,792 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally treated as a variant of Aikin, Aickin, or Aitkin, surnames formed from a medieval personal name rather than from the modern word "akin." The given name behind it is usually explained as a pet form of Adam or, in some cases, as a diminutive built on an older nicknaming pattern. In practice, Akin is best understood as a surname from an ancestral forename that later settled into fixed hereditary use.
History
Historical records show Akin and especially spellings like Aikin and Aickin in Britain from at least the early modern period. The name appears in parish and directory material in England and Scotland, and the spelling has been simplified in some lines over time. In the United States, Akin is a relatively uncommon surname but is well established.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The spelling Akin can be misleading to modern eyes, because it looks like the everyday word meaning "related" or "similar," but the surname is usually older and separate from that adjective.
From the historical record
“Directory, and in 1880, Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature, works which greatly enhanced his reputation. Akin to these works were the Memorials of St. Ann's Church, Manchester, in 1877 ; The Register of Ulverston Parish Church, published in 1886, in combination with his friend, the Rev. L. R. Ayre, the Rural Dean…”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances