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

Jakes, 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 Jakes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Jakes in America

Jakes is the 19282nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Jakes surname appeared 1,405 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Jakes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Jakes 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 Jakes

The surname JAKES has its origins in England, with the earliest known records dating back to the late 12th century. The name is thought to have derived from the personal name "Jacques," a Norman French variation of the Latin name "Jacobus," meaning "supplanter" or "heel-catcher."

JAKES was initially prevalent in the counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Lincolnshire, where many early bearers of the name were found. The name likely emerged as a patronymic, indicating "son of Jacques," and was often rendered with various spellings such as Jakes, Jaikes, Jayckes, and Jaikis.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1199, where a certain William Jakes is mentioned. Additionally, the Subsidy Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1301 list a Robert Jakes among the taxpayers.

In the 14th century, the JAKES surname can be found in the Plea Rolls of Essex from 1327, where a John Jakes is mentioned. The name also appears in the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire from 1279, which reference a Walter Jakes.

Notable historical figures with the surname JAKES include:

1. Thomas Jakes (c. 1510 - 1594), an English clergyman and academic who served as the President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford.
2. William Jakes (fl. 1615 - 1628), an English playwright and actor associated with the King's Men, a company of players in London.
3. John Jakes (born 1932), an American writer and biographer best known for his historical fiction novels, including the Kent Family Chronicles.
4. Joanna Jakes (born 1977), a British actress known for her roles in films such as "The Descent" and "Confetti."
5. Edward Jakes (1828 - 1894), an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Surrey and Kent in the mid-19th century.

Throughout its history, the JAKES surname has also been associated with various place names and their older spellings, such as Jakesham in Suffolk and Jakeslond in Buckinghamshire, further reflecting its English origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Jakes

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!