Perkins is a surname derived from the Anglo-Saxon corruption of the kin of Pierre (from Pierre kin to Pierrekin to Perkins), introduced into England by the Norman Conquest. It is found throughout mid and southern England.
Another derivation comes from the Welsh Perthyn, relative or belonging to a particular person or family, and also thought to be the Anglicized form of Peredur, from Medieval Welsh.
People named Perkins include:
Al Perkins, musician-guitarist
Anthony Perkins (1932–1992), American actor
Benjamin Douglas Perkins (1774–1810), son of Elisha Perkins, bookseller and propagandist of therapy with "Perkins tractors"
Bill Perkins (disambiguation)
Bishop Perkins (1787–1866), U.S. Representative from New York
Bishop W. Perkins (1841–1894), U.S. Representative and Senator from Kansas
Brian Perkins, anchor, newsreader on BBC Radio 4 - New Zealand
Carl Perkins, musician
Carl Christopher Perkins, politician, Kentucky Representative
Carl Dewey Perkins (1912–1984), politician, Kentucky Representative
Charles A. Perkins, American lawyer
Charles Callahan Perkins (1823–1886), author
Charles L. Perkins, author
Charles N. Perkins, Australian football and political figure
Charles S. Perkins, American baseball player
Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935), American sociologist, writer and utopian feminist
Cyril Perkins (1911–2013), English cricketer and centenarian
Daryl Perkins, Australian track cyclist
Don Perkins, National Football League running back for the Dallas Cowboys
Edward J. Perkins, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.
Edwin Perkins, various including:
Edwin Perkins (inventor), American inventor of Kool-Aid
Edwin King Perkins, British Conservative Party Member of Parliament
Ed Perkins, Canadian mathematician
Elisha Perkins (1741–1799), physician
Elizabeth Perkins, actress
Emily Perkins, actress
Emily Perkins (novelist)
Emily Pitkin Perkins, wife of Connecticut Governor and US Senator Roger Sherman Baldwin
Frances Perkins, labor leader and U.S. Secretary of Labor
Frank Perkins (disambiguation)
Frederic Beecher Perkins (1828-1899), United States editor, librarian and writer
Geoffrey Perkins (1953–2008), comedy producer, writer, and performer – BBC
George Perkins (disambiguation)
Gil Perkins, Australian film and television actor
Henry Perkins (cricketer) (1832–1916), English cricketer and cricket administrator
Henry Farnham Perkins (1877–1956), American zoologist and eugenicist
Ian Perkins, American musician/guitarist now in the band The Horrible Crowes
Isabel Weld Perkins, socialite philanthropist
Jack Perkins (disambiguation)
Jacob Perkins (1766–1849), inventor: bank-note engraving, engravings transfer, bathometer, pleometer
Janet Russell Perkins (1853–1933), American botanist
John Perkins (disambiguation)
Josh Perkins (born 1995), American basketball player
Kathleen Rose Perkins (born 1974), American actress
Kendrick Perkins, player for the National Basketball Association Oklahoma City Thunder
Kieren Perkins, Olympic gold medal swimmer
Larry Perkins, Formula 1 race car driver
Laurence Perkins, British classical bassoonist
Luther Perkins (1928–1968), guitarist, including backing guitarist for Johnny Cash
Marlin Perkins, ecologist and naturalist
Maxwell Perkins, editor for F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Wolfe
Michael J. Perkins, American Medal of Honor recipient
Millie Perkins, actor
Niles Perkins (1919–1971), American athlete and physician
Paul Perkins (born 1994), American football player
Pinetop Perkins (1913–2011), musician – blues pianist
Ray Perkins (born 1941), an American football coach and former player
Sam Perkins (born 1961), retired National Basketball Association player
Shane Perkins, Australian track cyclist
Stephanie Perkins, author
Stephen Perkins, musician, drummer, and songwriter – Jane's Addiction
Sue Perkins, television presenter, actress, and writer
Tex Perkins, Australian singer-songwriter
Thomas Perkins (cricketer) (1870–1946), English cricketer, footballer and schoolmaster
Thomas Handasyd Perkins (1764–1854), businessman, philanthropist
Tom Perkins, founder/principal venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers
Tony Perkins (evangelical Christian figure)
Tony Perkins (television meteorologist)
Tracy Perkins, courtmartialed US Army sergeant
Troy Perkins, soccer player for the Portland Timbers
Warren Perkins (1922–2014), American professional basketball player
William Perkins (cricketer) (born 1986), West Indian cricketer
William Perkins (Puritan) (1558–1602), preacher, Elizabethan puritan
William T. Perkins, Jr., United States Marine and Medal of Honor recipient
Fictional characters include:
Ma Perkins, star of the radio soap opera from 1933 to 1960
Perkins, character in the Harry Potter books
Ann Perkins, a character in the NBC sitcom Parks And Recreation
Harry Perkins, principal character in the novel and TV adaptation A Very British Coup
Perch Perkins, a news anchorman in the TV series Spongebob Squarepants
Companies
Perkins Engines, a UK based diesel engine manufacturer
Perkins Restaurant and Bakery, a North American restaurant chain.