The Welsh origin for Perkins comes from Perthyn, meaning a relative or belonging to a particular person or family. In the Anglicized form it is Peredur, from Medieval Welsh. In Wales it is a popular and common surname. It is found in central and southern England. Its original form was Perkin, without the 's'.

Many people with the Perkins surname originated from Wales and England.

In England the counties with the Perkins surname are Devon, Somerset, Hampshire, Warwickshire and around London. In Wales the highest numbers are in Glamorgan county. Scotland has larger numbers of Perkins in Lanarkshire and Midlothian.

The states with many Perkins families are Maine, Ohio, Virginia, , New York, Texas, Missouri, California and Illinois.

Most Perkins families were farmers in the 1880s.

Famous: Don Perkins (professional football player with Dallas Cowboys), Frank Perkins (of Perkins Engines), Geoffrey Perkins (British comedy producer, writer and performer), Jacob Perkins (19thcentury American inventor of bank-note engraving, engravings transfer, bathometer (measure sea depth pressure) and Perkins D Cylinder Printing Press), Edwin Perkins (inventor of Kool-Aid), Marlin Perkins (zoologist, ecologist and naturalist), Sue Perkins (actress and writer), William Perkins (16thcentury preacher, Elizabethan puritan) and George W. Perkins (American film and television producer).