The surname of Collins is a Gaelic surname. From ‘cuilein‘, it is a term of tribute and endearment, especially towards animals. Using the ‘s’ in Collins, it means ‘son of Colin.‘ In the Welsh, the name ‘Collen’ refers to a hazel nut grove. With the Gaelic form of Collins it is spelled O' Coileáin, which means a young dog.

Other spellings for the surname of Collins include Collin, Collens, Colling, Collings, Collis, Coliss and Collen.

In England most with the Collins name are in the southeastern portion and especially around London. The English influence also have many with the Collins name in Australia and Canada.
Within the United States most Collins live in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York and Illinois.

Famous: Bill Collins (professional baseball player), Daniel Collins (footballer in Wales), Cecil Collins (English artist), Eileen Collins (U. S. astronaut), Kreigh Collins (tennis player), Gary Collins (actor), Jason Collins (professional basketball player), Jerry Collins (rugby player of New Zealand), Joan Collins (actress), John Collins (18th century English singer and poet), Lui Collins (folk singer) and Michael Collins (U. S. astronaut and Apollo 11 crewman).