Jenkin, of Franconian origin, is translated in English as "

Little John Little John is a companion of Robin Hood who serves as his chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men. He is one of only a handful of consistently named characters who relate to Robin Hood and one of the two oldest Merry Men, alo ...

" or more literally "John the little".

Forename history

Jen/Jean (pronounced "Jon") being a diminutive of Jehan/Jehannes* (John/Johan*) followed by kin/ken meaning little creating Jenkin or Jenken. *(Referred to as

Johannes Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as " John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, '' Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Y ...

in the Latin and Germanic referring to the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

name

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

.) The name "Jenkin" or "Jenken" first use in England is seen as early as 1086 as a diminutive of the English form of John. It was often translated from the Dutch/French as "John the younger" or seen as "John Jenken". The non-diminutive Jehan/Jehannes (pronounced "Jo-han/Jo-han-nes") was also translated into English as John. When Jen/Jean is present, usually given to a younger child, Jehan/Jehannes is listed as "John the elder" but, never translated as "Big John". Confusion can arise when the sire is listed as John, a son is John (the elder) and another son is John (the younger). Today, in English the term John, Senior is used for the father, while the names of John can use Junior or numeric designation (i.e. "II"). " Jon" the phonetic of John is sometimes seen but only in males as is the younger male nickname of "Johnny". The name "

Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

" once pronounced "Jon" in English and once a male name has become since the 16th century a

female name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a ...

in English from the French Jeanne.

Surname history

Jenkin is a

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

variant of

Jenkins Jenkins may refer to: People * Jenkins (name), history of the surname * List of people with surname Jenkins * The Jenkins, country music group Places United States * Jenkins, Illinois *Jenkins, Kentucky * Jenkins, Minnesota * Jenkins, Missour ...

commonly seen in Welsh, Cornish and in English (mainly

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

) ancestry. Its translation is "

" or more literally "John the little". It first was found in

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 and some say earlier than 1066 and the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

of England. Its common English use, eventually becoming a surname, may have come as a generic and now obsolete nickname as the "Little Johns". This may have been a 12th Century reference to the Welsh and Cornish people because of their relative smaller stature or more likely as a derogatory for the subjects or illegitimate offspring of King

John of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...

, Earl of

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

and

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

(1166–1216). Jenkin or Jenkins and its surname variants should not be confused as a shortened Jenkinson and its variants which refers to the son of "Little John".Jenkinson Surname Origin & Last Name Meaning - http://www.searchforancestors.com/surnames/origin/j/jenkinson.php

People with the surname

* Alan Jenkin (born 1962), Australian rules footballer * Albert Jenkin (1872–1961), Wales international rugby player * Anne Jenkin (born 1955), British politician *

Bernard Jenkin Sir Bernard Christison Jenkin (born 9 April 1959) is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Harwich and North Essex, previously Colchester North then North Essex, since 1992. He also served as ...

(born 1959), British politician * Charles Frewen Jenkin (1865–1940), British engineer and academic * Dorothy Jenkin (1892–1995), New Zealand watercolorist, botanical illustrator and printmaker *

Fleeming Jenkin Henry Charles Fleeming Jenkin Royal Society of London, FRS FRSE (; 25 March 1833 – 12 June 1885) was a British engineer, inventor, economist, linguist, actor and dramatist known as the inventor of the cable car or Aerial tramway#Telpherage, t ...

(1833–1885), British engineer * Graham Jenkin (born 1938), Australian poet, historian, composer, and educator *

Guy Jenkin Guy Jenkin (born 27 April 1955) is a British film director and comedy writer who is best known for working together with Andy Hamilton on sitcoms and comedies such as '' Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1998), '' Outnumbered'' (2007–2014), and ...

(born 1955), British film director and comedy writer * Horrie Jenkin (1893–1985), Australian rules footballer *

Kenneth Hamilton Jenkin Alfred Kenneth Hamilton Jenkin (29 October 1900 – 20 August 1980) was a Cornish bard and historian with a particular interest in Cornish mining, publishing ''The Cornish Miner'', now a classic, in 1927. Birth and education He was born in Re ...

(1900–1980), British writer on Cornish topics * Louis Fleeming Jenkin (1895-1917), British military pilot *

Mark Jenkin Mark Jenkin (born 1976) is a Cornish director, editor, screenwriter, cinematographer and producer. He wrote and directed the film '' Bait'' (2019), which earned him a BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer ...

(born 1976), Cornish director, editor, screenwriter, cinematographer and producer * Martin Jenkin (born 1975), English cricketer *

Patrick Jenkin Charles Patrick Fleeming Jenkin, Baron Jenkin of Roding, (7 September 1926 – 20 December 2016) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as a cabinet minister in Margaret Thatcher's first government. Life and career Jenkin w ...

(1926–2016), British politician * Richard Jenkin (1925–2002), Cornish language scholar and politician * Robert Jenkin (1656–1727), English clergyman and nonjuror * T. J. Jenkin (1885–1965), Welsh professor of agriculture *

Tim Jenkin Timothy Peter Jenkin (born 1948) is a South African writer, anti-apartheid activist and former political prisoner. He is best known for his 1979 escape from Pretoria Local Prison (part of the Pretoria Central Prison complex), along with Steph ...

(born 1948), South African writer, former anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner *Brown Jenkin, a “small, furry thing” with a human face in the horror story ''

The Dreams in the Witch House "The Dreams in the Witch House" is a horror short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft and part of the Cthulhu Mythos cycle. It was written in January/February 1932 and first published in the July 1933 issue of ''Weird Tales''. Plot Walter ...

'' by H. P. Lovecraft

People with the forename

* Jenkin Alban Davies (1885–1976), Welsh international rugby union player * Jenkin Coles (1843–1911), Australian politician * Jenkin Jones (disambiguation), several people * Jenkin Thompson (1911–1944), British Army doctor, awarded the George Cross * Jenkin Whiteside (1772–1822), American lawyer and politician

References

{{Surname Anglo-Cornish surnames Surnames from given names

Forename history

Surname history

People with the surname

People with the forename

See also

References