2000
#1,000
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,860
First available Census row
Per 100,000 11.81
Uncommon Last name
Cooke
An occupational surname referring to a cook or someone who prepared meals.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 36,066 Americans carry the last name Cooke. That puts it at #1,096 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 10.52 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 9,504 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cooke 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Cooke with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
36K
1 in 9,504
Census rank
#1,096
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
31K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 31,451 bearers of the surname Cooke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 10.52 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1096th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cooke, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.1%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cooke
Among Census respondents with the surname Cooke, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.1%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Cooke 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 Cooke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.3% · 23,691
- Black or African American15.1% · 4,760
- Two or more races4.0% · 1,252
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 1,168
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 318
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 262
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cooke
Cooke 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
#1,056
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 33,223
+1,363 bearers (+4.3%)
Per 100,000 11.26
Rank movement Down 56 places
2020
#1,096
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,451
-1,772 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 10.52
Rank movement Down 40 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,000 | 31,860 | 11.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,056 | 33,223 | 11.26 | +1,363 bearers (+4.3%) | Down 56 places |
| 2020 | #1,096 | 31,451 | 10.52 | -1,772 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 40 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 Cooke 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 | #1,056 | #1,096 | -3.8% |
| Count | 33,223 | 31,451 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 11.26 | 10.52 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cooke bearers went from 33,223 to 31,451 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 40 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,056 to #1,096.
FAQ
Cooke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cooke?
Name Census estimates that about 36,066 living Americans carry the surname Cooke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 9,504 residents.
How common is Cooke?
Cooke ranks #1,096 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 10.52 per 100,000 residents, which is about 11 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 31,451 people with the surname Cooke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (36,066), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 10.52 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 10.52 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 11 of them to have the surname Cooke.
Has Cooke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cooke went from 33,223 recorded bearers to 31,451. That is a decrease of 1,772 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,056 to #1,096.
What does the Census say about the background of Cooke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cooke, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.1%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Cooke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.3% (23,691 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cooke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.3%), Black (15.1%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Cooke (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 Cooke mean?
An occupational surname referring to a cook or someone who prepared meals. 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 Cooke (10.52 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 common is the surname Cooke?
You can see how many people have the last name Cooke on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.