Origin of the Name Perkins
The ancient history of the name
Perkins was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives. Meaning 'the son of Peter', Perkins is a baptismal name. Variants of the name include Parkin, Perkin, Perkines, Parkins, Parkinson, Perkinson, Parkisson, Parkeson, Parkyn and Parkyns. This name is of Anglo-Saxon descent spreading to the Celtic countries of Ireland , Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts in these countries. Examples of such are a Johannes Perkyson who was recorded in the 'Poll Tax' of the West Riding of Yorkshire in the year 1379, and a Robert Perkinson who was recorded in the University of Oxford in the year 1581. A John Perkyn, County Somerset, was recorded in 'Kirby's Quest', in the reign of Edward III. The form Parkin is popular in Northumberland, Yorkshire, and the East Midlands whereas Parkinson is more common in Lancashire. Perkins is widespread in Kent and the Midlands.
In Ireland this name and its variants were introduced into Ulster Province by settlers who arrived from England and Scotland , especially during the seventeenth century. It was the 'Plantations of Ireland ' in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that marked the end of Gaelic supremacy in Ireland . While the influx of settlers in the wake of the earlier Anglo-Norman invasion of the twelfth century resulted in a full integration into Irish society of the new arrivals, the same never occurred with the Ulster Planters who maintained their own distinct identity.
The Perkins coat of arms came into existence centuries ago. The process of creating coats of arms (also often called family crests) began in the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this. The new art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own coat of arms, including all Perkins descendants.