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

Rooks, 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 Rooks surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rooks in America

Rooks is the 5086th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rooks surname appeared 6,883 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Rooks.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rooks 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 Rooks

The surname Rooks is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "hroc" meaning a rook, which is a type of crow. The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who lived near a rookery or had a particular association with these birds.

The earliest recorded instance of the surname Rooks dates back to the 13th century. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 lists a John le Rok in Oxfordshire, which is an early spelling variation of the name.

In the 14th century, the Rooks surname appears in various historical records, such as the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire, where a William Rook is mentioned in 1317. The Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1327 also include the name Robert Rok.

Some notable individuals bearing the Rooks surname throughout history include:

1. Sir Thomas Rook (c. 1570-1637), an English merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1619.

2. Michael Rook (1672-1718), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge from 1711 until his death.

3. John Rook (1776-1856), a British naval officer who achieved the rank of Admiral and served during the Napoleonic Wars.

4. Clarence Walworth Rook (1862-1937), an American author and journalist known for his works on the history of New York City.

5. Grayson L. Rooks (1902-1985), an American lawyer and jurist who served as a judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.

The Rooks surname is also associated with various place names in England, such as Rooksbridge in Somerset and Rookery Farm in Buckinghamshire, which likely derived from the presence of rooks or rookeries in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rooks

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

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

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

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