Dinkins

Dinkins is a comparatively rare surname. There are varying accounts as to the origin and early history of the Dinkins family. Leading researchers disagree as to whether the family is a variant of the Irish name Duncan from the Gaelic Ó Duinnchinn. This particular theory seems unlikely as Irish setters were most often Catholic while the early Dinkins family were staunchly protestant. The more commonly accepted history of the name explains it as descending from Dene, the Old English root word for the English name Dean which means small valley, a home site. This theory holds that the family originated in Wales circa 1500 and moved into the lowlands of Scotland and then on to Londonderry in the north of Ireland. The ending kin on a name would indicate “son of” and would make the name Denekin. Dinkins would then be the Americanized form of the name.