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

Hooks, 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 Hooks surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hooks in America

Hooks is the 2125th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hooks surname appeared 17,053 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Hooks.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hooks 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 Hooks

The surname Hooks is of English origin and is believed to have originated in the 13th century. It is thought to be a locative name, derived from a place name that referred to a hook-shaped bend in a river or road. The earliest recorded spelling is believed to be Atte Hoke, found in the Hundred Rolls of Norfolk in 1273.

The name is also linked to the Old English word "hoc," meaning a hook or angle, which could have been used to describe the shape of a piece of land or a geographical feature. This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived near such a feature.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are references to places with similar names, such as Hocca in Wiltshire and Hoch in Somerset, which could be related to the origin of the Hooks surname.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is John Hooke, who was born in Middlesex, England, in 1556. Another notable bearer of the name was Robert Hooke, a renowned English scientist and architect, who was born in 1635 and is best known for his contributions to the field of microscopy and for formulating Hooke's law of elasticity.

In the late 17th century, William Hooke (1663-1744) was a prominent English clergyman and author, known for his work "An Attempt to Shew the Folly and Danger of Atheism."

During the American Revolutionary War, Major Francis Hooke (1744-1808) served in the Continental Army and was a notable figure in the defense of Fort Stanwix in 1777.

In the 19th century, Theodore Edward Hook (1788-1841) was a prominent English writer and novelist, known for his satirical novels and plays.

It is worth noting that the surname Hooks has also been recorded with various spellings over the centuries, such as Hooke, Hook, and Hookes, reflecting the historical evolution of language and regional variations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hooks

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

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 Hooks 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 Hooks 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 Hooks was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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