2000
#12,647
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,245
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.83
Rare Last name
Cockrum
An English occupational surname for a hunter or trapper of woodcocks (a type of bird).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,399 Americans carry the last name Cockrum. That puts it at #13,835 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 142,874 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cockrum surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 142,874
Census rank
#13,835
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,092 bearers of the surname Cockrum in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13835th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cockrum, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and Black (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cockrum
The surname Cockrum originated in England during the late medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "cocc" and "rum," which translate to "a rooster" and "a place or dwelling," respectively. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who resided near a location associated with roosters or poultry farming.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from the year 1292, where a person named William Cokram is mentioned. The Pipe Rolls were financial records maintained by the English Exchequer, indicating that individuals bearing this surname were present in parts of northern England during the late 13th century.
In the 14th century, variations of the name, such as "Cokrom" and "Cokrame," can be found in various medieval documents from counties like Lancashire and Lincolnshire. These variations likely emerged due to regional dialects and scribal errors in record-keeping.
The Cockrum surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One example is William Cockrum (1571-1628), an English clergyman who served as the rector of St. Mary's Church in Redgrave, Suffolk, during the early 17th century.
Another prominent figure was John Cockrum (1679-1753), a wealthy merchant and landowner from Wiltshire, whose estate and property dealings are well-documented in historical records from the 18th century.
In the realm of literature, Samuel Cockrum (1795-1867), a poet and writer from Staffordshire, gained recognition for his works celebrating the beauty of the English countryside and rural life.
The Cockrum name has also been linked to places, as evidenced by the existence of Cockrum's Mill, a former water-powered mill located in Monmouth County, New Jersey, which was operated by members of the Cockrum family in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
During the American Revolutionary War, a soldier named James Cockrum (1760-1836) served in the Virginia militia and participated in several battles, including the Siege of Yorktown in 1781.
While the Cockrum surname may not be as widely prevalent as some other English surnames, its origins and historical references demonstrate its deep-rooted presence in various regions of England, as well as its eventual spread to other parts of the world through migration and settlement.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cockrum
Among Census respondents with the surname Cockrum, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and Black (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Cockrum bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Cockrum surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.2% · 1,762
- Two or more races5.4% · 112
- Black or African American4.6% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 93
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cockrum
Cockrum appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#13,219
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,312
+67 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 0.78
Rank movement Down 572 places
2020
#13,835
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,092
-220 bearers (-9.5%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Down 616 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,647 | 2,245 | 0.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,219 | 2,312 | 0.78 | +67 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 572 places |
| 2020 | #13,835 | 2,092 | 0.70 | -220 bearers (-9.5%) | Down 616 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Cockrum surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #13,219 | #13,835 | -4.7% |
| Count | 2,312 | 2,092 | -9.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.78 | 0.70 | -10.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cockrum bearers went from 2,312 to 2,092 (-9.5% change). The surname moved down 616 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,219 to #13,835.
FAQ
Cockrum surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cockrum?
Name Census estimates that about 2,399 living Americans carry the surname Cockrum. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 142,874 residents.
How common is Cockrum?
Cockrum ranks #13,835 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,092 people with the surname Cockrum. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,399), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.70 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Cockrum.
Has Cockrum become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cockrum went from 2,312 recorded bearers to 2,092. That is a decrease of 220 (-9.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,219 to #13,835.
What does the Census say about the background of Cockrum?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cockrum, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.4%) and Black (4.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Cockrum in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.2% (1,762 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cockrum appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.2%), Two or More Races (5.4%), Black (4.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Cockrum (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Cockrum mean?
An English occupational surname for a hunter or trapper of woodcocks (a type of bird). The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Cockrum (0.70 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Cockrum?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.