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

Tooke, 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 Tooke surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tooke in America

Tooke is the 27481st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tooke surname appeared 877 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 Tooke.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tooke 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 Tooke

The surname Tooke has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "toc," which means "a spindle" or "a distaff," referring to the tools used for spinning yarn or thread. This suggests that the name may have originally been an occupational surname for someone who worked as a spinner or weaver.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Tooke can be found in various historical documents, including the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was spelled as "Toc" and "Toke." The name was also present in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where it appeared as "Toke."

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was John Toke, who was mentioned in the Feet of Fines for Sussex in 1287. In the 14th century, there was a notable Tooke family from the village of Bere Regis in Dorset. Thomas Tooke, born around 1330, was a prominent member of this family.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname Tooke was particularly prevalent in the counties of Middlesex, Surrey, and Essex. Some notable individuals from this period include Joane Tooke (1542-1625), who was accused of witchcraft in Bedfordshire, and Andrew Tooke (1573-1663), a clergyman and author from Kent.

In the 18th century, Thomas Tooke (1736-1810) was a notable English economist and political philosopher, best known for his work "A History of Prices, and of the State of the Circulation." Another significant figure was John Horne Tooke (1736-1812), a prominent English politician, philologist, and radical who played a significant role in the development of the English language.

The 19th century saw the emergence of several influential individuals with the surname Tooke. William Tooke (1777-1863) was a renowned English legal writer and historian, while James Tooke (1808-1867) was a respected English historian and scholar. Additionally, Thomas Tooke (1808-1881) was a notable English barrister and legal scholar.

Throughout history, the surname Tooke has been subject to various spellings, including Toke, Took, and Touque, which were common in earlier times. The name has also been linked to several place names in England, such as Toke's Green in Hertfordshire and Toke's Hill in Oxfordshire, further solidifying its English origins.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tooke

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

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

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

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