Wilkinson is an English surname of Norman origin, derived from a variant of William, Wilkin, brought to the Anglo-Scottish border during the Norman conquest. At the time of the British Census of 1881, the relative frequency of the surname Wilkinson was highest in Westmorland, followed by Yorkshire, County Durham, Lincolnshire, Cumberland, Northumberland, Lancashire, Cheshire, and Nottinghamshire. The name is associated with numerous notable individuals across various fields.People named Wilkinson include A. H. Wilkinson, an American politician, Adrienne Wilkinson, an American actress, Alan Wilkinson, a British flying ace, Alec Wilkinson, an American writer, and Alex Wilkinson, an Australian soccer player. Other notable individuals include Anne Wilkinson, a Canadian poet, Colm Wilkinson, an Irish actor, and Ellen Wilkinson, a British Labour Party politician.The list continues with individuals such as Dan Wilkinson, an American football player, Dot Wilkinson, an American softball and bowling player, and Ernest L. Wilkinson, an American academic administrator and president of Brigham Young University. The Wilkinson name also encompasses figures like Gary Wilkinson, a New Zealand soccer player, and Jonathan Wilkinson, a Canadian politician, among many others.The Wilkinson name spans across various domains, featuring individuals from sports, literature, politics, and academia, leaving a significant mark in their respective fields.

Wilkinson Call (January 9, 1834 – August 24, 1910) was an influential American lawyer and politician known for representing Florida in the United States Senate from 1879 to 1897. Born in Logan County, Kentucky, to Dr. George W. Call and Lucinda Lee, Call had strong political ties, being the nephew of Territorial Governor of Florida Richard K. Call and cousin of Florida governor David S. Walker and U.S. Senator from Arkansas James D. Walker. Call's involvement in politics started when he was elected to represent Florida in the United States Senate as a Democrat in 1865, but was not permitted to take office due to the Republican majority.Call was reelected to the United States Senate in 1879 and served until 1897, playing a prominent role in the Democratic Party's populist agrarian faction and actively supporting William Jennings Bryan in the 1896 presidential election. He was also known for his chairmanship of the Committee on Civil Service and Retrenchment during the 53rd Congress and his service on the Committee on Patents. Following his retirement, Call lived in Washington, D.C., until his passing in 1910, where he was interred in Oak Hill Cemetery.Notably, Call's daughter, Lucy Lee Call, achieved fame as a noted opera singer with the New York Metropolitan Opera, while his nephew Rhydon M. Call served as a long-serving federal court judge in Florida