Find out how popular the last name Cooke is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Cooke.

Cooke, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Cooke surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cooke in America

Cooke is the 1056th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cooke surname appeared 33,223 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 11 people would have the surname Cooke.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cooke to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Cooke

The surname COOKE originated in England and Scotland in the medieval period. It is an occupational name derived from the Old English 'coc', meaning a cook or a seller of cooked meats and pies. The variant spellings include Cook, Cooke, and Coke.

The earliest record of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists various people with the surname in different counties of England. One notable entry is that of William le Coc in Huntingdonshire. The surname was also found in Scotland during this period, with records showing individuals like Adam le Coc in Lanark in the late 12th century.

In the 13th century, the name COOKE appeared in various medieval records, such as the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire, where a Richard Coc was mentioned in 1230. The surname was also found in various place names, like Cook's Green in Worcestershire and Cockfield in Suffolk, which likely derived from the surname.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname was Sir Thomas Cooke (c. 1420-1478), who served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1462 and 1470. Another prominent figure was Sir Anthony Cooke (1504-1576), a Tudor Renaissance humanist and educator who tutored King Edward VI.

During the 16th century, the COOKE surname gained prominence with individuals like John Cooke (c. 1547-1611), an English navigator and explorer who participated in Sir Francis Drake's circumnavigation of the globe. Edward Cooke (1552-1618), also known as Sir Edward Coke, was an influential English barrister, judge, and politician who played a significant role in the development of common law.

In the 17th century, John Cooke (c. 1608-1660) was a prominent figure in the English Civil War, serving as a soldier in the Parliamentary army and later as one of the judges who signed the death warrant of King Charles I. Another notable individual was Elisha Cooke (1637-1715), a colonial merchant and politician in Massachusetts Bay Colony.

The COOKE surname has a rich history, with many bearers contributing to various fields, including exploration, law, politics, and education, throughout the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cooke

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Cooke.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Cooke was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Cooke has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Cooke was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cooke, please contact us.

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