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The "kins" part of your surname is a diminutive-forming suffix. "Kin" on the end of a name means "little" -- it's a way of turning a name into a pet name, like "lambkin" for "a little lamb". Add an "s" to the "kin" and you've got "son of" as an additional suffix.

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So, putting it all together, your surname of "Jenkins" means "the son of little Jen" -- and Jen, in turn, has often been a diminutive of the name "John".

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-- Nanaea

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