Collins (surname)
The surname Collins has a variety of likely origins in Britain and Ireland:
Anglo-Saxon: A patronymic surname based on the name Colin, an English diminutive form of Nicholas. In England, Collins usually signified "son of Colin."
Irish: "cuilein" = darling, a term of endearment applied to a whelp or young animal. The medieval surname was Ua Cuiléin, which has usually become Ó Coileáin today.
Welsh: Collen = hazel, hazel grove.
Alternative spellings or related surnames include Collin, Colling, Coling, Collings, Colings, Collis, Coliss, Collen, and Collens.
A great number of Welsh origin surnames share a similar etymology to English ones - Where in English names the forename of the patriarch is suffixed with 'SON' (as in Peterson, Richardson, Johnson) in Welsh names the 'SON' is simply the letter "S" (Phillips, Davies, Davis, Williams) and Collins may have been one of the surnames to have originated in this way.
The Domesday Book (compiled in 1086) was the first to document names in England and Wales and at this time only the upper classes were literate. During the time between this and the first census of 1801 names continually changed due to the illiterate nature of the British population. Indeed, the need to be able to complete such documents may be a key factor in the change to fixed spellings.