2000
#127,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Soke
A surname meaning "master instructor" or "head of a tradition" in Japanese martial arts.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 134 Americans carry the last name Soke. That puts it at #144,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,557,868 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Soke 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.
Bearers in the US
134
1 in 2,557,868
Census rank
#144,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
117
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 117 bearers of the surname Soke in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 144270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Soke, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 47.0%. The next largest groups are White (28.2%) and Black (8.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Soke
The surname SOKE is believed to have originated in England, with its earliest known recordings dating back to the 13th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English word "soc," which meant the right to hold a court and exercise jurisdiction over a particular area or territory.
One of the earliest references to the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, compiled in 1279, which mentions a Thomas de la Soke. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who held the position of a local official or administrator responsible for overseeing legal matters within a specific locality.
During the medieval period, the name SOKE appeared in various records and documents across different parts of England. For instance, in 1327, a Walter atte Soke was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex, while in 1379, a John Soke was recorded in the Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire.
The name SOKE has also been linked to certain place names, particularly those derived from the Old English "soc" or its variant spellings. For example, the village of Sokeholm in Nottinghamshire is believed to have taken its name from the Old English "soc-holme," meaning a meadow or island where legal proceedings were held.
Among the notable historical figures bearing the surname SOKE, one can mention:
1. Thomas Soke (c. 1350 - 1420), an English clergyman and scholar who served as the Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1395 to 1397.
2. Robert Soke (c. 1470 - 1535), a prominent merchant and landowner from Somerset, who served as the Sheriff of Somerset and Dorset in 1519.
3. Elizabeth Soke (c. 1520 - 1585), an English noblewoman and landowner, known for her involvement in various legal disputes over property rights in the 16th century.
4. John Soke (c. 1620 - 1690), a Puritan minister and author from Suffolk, who wrote several influential religious treatises during the English Civil War period.
5. William Soke (1745 - 1815), a British naval officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War and later served as the Governor of the Bahamas from 1806 to 1811.
While the surname SOKE may have evolved and taken on different spellings over time, its historical roots can be traced back to the administrative and legal systems of medieval England, reflecting the social and governmental structures of that era.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Soke
Among Census respondents with the surname Soke, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 47.0%. The next largest groups are White (28.2%) and Black (8.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Soke 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 Soke surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- American Indian and Alaska Native47.0% · 55
- White28.2% · 33
- Black or African American8.5% · 10
- Two or more races8.5% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Soke
Soke 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
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-2 bearers (-1.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,356 places
2020
#144,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
-4 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 5,966 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,948 | 123 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.6%) | Down 10,356 places |
| 2020 | #144,270 | 117 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 5,966 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 Soke 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 | #138,304 | #144,270 | -4.3% |
| Count | 121 | 117 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Soke bearers went from 121 to 117 (-3.3% change). The surname moved down 5,966 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #144,270.
FAQ
Soke surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Soke?
Name Census estimates that about 134 living Americans carry the surname Soke. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,557,868 residents.
How common is Soke?
Soke ranks #144,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 117 people with the surname Soke. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (134), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Soke.
Has Soke become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Soke went from 121 recorded bearers to 117. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #144,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Soke?
Among Census respondents with the surname Soke, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 47.0%. The next largest groups are White (28.2%) and Black (8.5%). 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?
American Indian/Alaska Native is the largest self-reported group for the surname Soke in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.0% (55 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Soke appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are American Indian/Alaska Native (47.0%), White (28.2%), Black (8.5%). 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 Soke (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 Soke mean?
A surname meaning "master instructor" or "head of a tradition" in Japanese martial arts. 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 Soke (0.04 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 many Americans have the surname Soke?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.