Larks last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Larks

A surname derived from the Old English word "lawerce," meaning a small songbird.

Larks, 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 Larks surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Larks in America

Larks is the 90853rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Larks surname appeared 203 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 Larks.

We can also compare 2010 data for Larks 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 90853 75938 17.88%
Count 203 236 -15.03%
Proportion per 100k 0.07 0.09 -25.00%

The history of the last name Larks

The surname LARKS is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to be a variant of the surname Larke, which was an occupational name derived from the Old English word "lawerce" or "laverc," meaning a lark or a small songbird.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname LARKS can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, where it appears as "Roberd le Larke." This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the 14th century.

In the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, there is a record of a "Robert Laverok" in Oxfordshire, which may be an earlier spelling variation of the name. The Domesday Book of 1086 also contains references to places such as "Lauerca" and "Lauerche," which could be related to the name's origins.

Several notable individuals throughout history have borne the surname LARKS. One of the earliest was John Larke (c. 1515-1554), an English Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake during the Marian persecutions. Another noteworthy figure was Sir Robert Larke (1570-1638), an English merchant and alderman who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1619.

In the 17th century, there was a family of LARKS who owned land in Berkshire and were involved in local politics. One member, William Larks (1623-1690), served as a Justice of the Peace and was mentioned in several records from the period.

During the 18th century, the LARKS surname was particularly prevalent in the county of Gloucestershire. Notable individuals from this region included Joseph Larks (1712-1783), a prominent landowner and magistrate, and his son, Thomas Larks (1745-1821), who was a respected clergyman and author.

In the 19th century, the name continued to be found across various parts of England, with individuals such as Samuel Larks (1810-1892), a successful businessman and philanthropist from Yorkshire, and Emily Larks (1842-1907), a writer and poet from Dorset.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Larks

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

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 Larks was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 20.69% 42
Non-Hispanic Black Only 60.10% 122
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 4.93% 10
Hispanic Origin 12.81% 26

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 Larks has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 20.69% 20.76% -0.34%
Black 60.10% 64.41% -6.92%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 4.93% 5.93% -18.42%
Hispanic 12.81% 8.05% 45.64%

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

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Larks last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 25, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/larks-surname-popularity/.

"Larks last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/larks-surname-popularity/. Accessed 25 November, 2024

Larks last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/larks-surname-popularity/.

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