BINKS
Binks is a surname of English origin, belonging to the class of surnames that are derived from a specific location or geographical feature. The etymology of the name can be traced to the Old English word bink, meaning a bench or a raised platform. This term, in its ancient usage, described a narrow raised bank or a protective earthwork that surrounded a village or a farm. Consequently, the name was originally a topographic label for those who lived in proximity to such a bench or raised area of land.
In English linguistic history, bink is a northern form of the older pre‑7th‑century word benc and literally denotes a bench. As a surname it was employed to identify individuals connected with the raised earthwork, whether they resided by it or were involved in its construction. The suffix s in the spelling Binks is most plausibly a reference to a person who lived by a bink rather than a patronymic form implying “son of Bink.”
The surname first appears in documentary records in the latter half of the thirteenth century. The earliest example is that of Robert de Benkys who is listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Yorkshire in 1297, during the reign of King Edward I, who was known for his campaigns against the Scots. Subsequent early references include Thomas del Binkys in the 1301 Yorkshire Subsidy Rolls, Sethe Binkes christened at Leconfield, East Yorkshire in 1560, and Robert Binckes recorded as a student at Oxford University in 1583. The name continued to be noted through the early modern period: Anna Binks was christened in Sheffield in 1600, and the marriage of Dorothy Binks and Richard Hardaker in Crosthwaite, Cumberland, is documented in 1733.
The distribution of the surname is largely confined to northern England, with a notable concentration in Yorkshire, an area that experienced continuous raiding by the Scots from the departure of the Romans in 410 AD until 1603, when James I of Scotland also became James I of England. Consequently, Binks has remained a relatively rare surname, with its bearers traditionally associated with the local topography of the region.
Typical given names associated with the Binks surname
Male
- Alan
- Andrew
- Christopher
- Daniel
- David
- John
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
Female
- Catherine
- Elizabeth
- Gillian
- Helen
- Jacqueline
- Jane
- Janet
- Joanne
- Julie
- Margaret
- Nicola
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Binks in...
Braille
⠃⠊⠝⠅⠎
Morse
-.....-.-.-...
Semaphore
There are approximately 3,389 people named Binks in the UK. That makes it roughly the 2,691st most common surname in Britain. Around 52 in a million people in Britain are named Binks.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Binks
- Les Binks - Northern Irish drummer
- Jimmy Binks - Cricket player of England.
- Millicent Binks - Burlesque performer
- Louis Binks - Football player (1898 to 1)
- Arthur Binks - Rugby league player (1902 to 1)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.