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

Sparkes, 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 Sparkes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sparkes in America

Sparkes is the 35294th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sparkes surname appeared 638 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 Sparkes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sparkes 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 Sparkes

The surname SPARKES is of English origin, first appearing in the late 13th century. It is derived from the Old English word "spearc" or "spearhawc", meaning a type of small hawk or sparrowhawk. This suggests the name may have originally referred to someone who worked with birds of prey or falconry.

The earliest recorded examples of the SPARKES name can be found in tax rolls and parish records from counties like Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Somerset in southwest England. Variant spellings from those early times include Spark, Sparke, Sparkes, and Sperkis.

One of the first documented instances of the SPARKES surname is William Sparkes, recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327. Another early bearer was John Sparkes, mentioned in the Feet of Fines for Wiltshire in 1433.

The SPARKES name may have connections to places like Sparkford in Somerset, derived from the Old English "Spearhafoc-ford" meaning "ford frequented by sparrowhawks". This could indicate the surname originated as a locational name for someone from that area.

Notable historical figures with the SPARKES surname include Michael Sparkes (1609-1691), an English barrister and judge who served as Recorder of Bristol. Thomas Sparkes (1619-1684) was an English Puritan clergyman and religious writer.

Other bearers were Richard Sparkes (1756-1826), an English cricketer who played for Hampshire, and Samuel Sparkes (1788-1866), an English artist known for his landscape paintings. In the United States, James Sparkes (1815-1867) was a politician who served as Governor of Nevada from 1864 to 1867.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sparkes

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

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

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

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