NameCensus.

UK surname

Cooke

An occupational surname referring to a cook or someone who prepared meals.

In the 1881 census there were 16,523 people recorded with the Cooke surname, ranking it #233 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 28,162, ranked #196, up from #233 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard and Manchester. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Rotherham, Coventry and Cheshire East.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Cooke is 29,275 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 70.4%.

1881 census count

16,523

Ranked #233

Modern count

28,162

2016, ranked #196

Peak year

1999

29,275 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Cooke had 16,523 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #233 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 28,162 in 2016, ranked #196.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 27,509 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Cooke surname distribution map

The map shows where the Cooke surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Cooke surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Cooke over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 9,484 #274
1861 historical 9,215 #293
1881 historical 16,523 #233
1891 historical 19,223 #206
1901 historical 23,163 #202
1911 historical 27,509 #145
1997 modern 27,771 #194
1998 modern 29,105 #191
1999 modern 29,275 #191
2000 modern 29,017 #192
2001 modern 28,329 #192
2002 modern 28,929 #192
2003 modern 28,254 #192
2004 modern 28,052 #194
2005 modern 27,614 #193
2006 modern 27,507 #195
2007 modern 27,630 #196
2008 modern 27,826 #193
2009 modern 28,381 #196
2010 modern 28,960 #195
2011 modern 28,519 #193
2012 modern 27,998 #193
2013 modern 28,618 #194
2014 modern 28,789 #193
2015 modern 28,366 #194
2016 modern 28,162 #196

Geography

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Where Cookes are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard, Manchester and Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Rotherham, Coventry, Cheshire East, County Durham and Shropshire. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 London parishes London 1
2 Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard Nottinghamshire
3 London parishes London 3
4 Manchester Lancashire
5 Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars Leicestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Rotherham 002 Rotherham
2 Coventry 035 Coventry
3 Cheshire East 036 Cheshire East
4 County Durham 053 County Durham
5 Shropshire 038 Shropshire

Forenames

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First names often paired with Cooke

These lists show first names that appear often with the Cooke surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Cooke

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Cooke, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Cooke surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Cooke household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Cooke is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Cooke is most concentrated in decile 8 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Cooke falls in decile 6 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Cooke is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Cooke, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Cooke

The surname COOKE originated in England and Scotland in the medieval period. It is an occupational name derived from the Old English 'coc', meaning a cook or a seller of cooked meats and pies. The variant spellings include Cook, Cooke, and Coke.

The earliest record of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists various people with the surname in different counties of England. One notable entry is that of William le Coc in Huntingdonshire. The surname was also found in Scotland during this period, with records showing individuals like Adam le Coc in Lanark in the late 12th century.

In the 13th century, the name COOKE appeared in various medieval records, such as the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire, where a Richard Coc was mentioned in 1230. The surname was also found in various place names, like Cook's Green in Worcestershire and Cockfield in Suffolk, which likely derived from the surname.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname was Sir Thomas Cooke (c. 1420-1478), who served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1462 and 1470. Another prominent figure was Sir Anthony Cooke (1504-1576), a Tudor Renaissance humanist and educator who tutored King Edward VI.

During the 16th century, the COOKE surname gained prominence with individuals like John Cooke (c. 1547-1611), an English navigator and explorer who participated in Sir Francis Drake's circumnavigation of the globe. Edward Cooke (1552-1618), also known as Sir Edward Coke, was an influential English barrister, judge, and politician who played a significant role in the development of common law.

In the 17th century, John Cooke (c. 1608-1660) was a prominent figure in the English Civil War, serving as a soldier in the Parliamentary army and later as one of the judges who signed the death warrant of King Charles I. Another notable individual was Elisha Cooke (1637-1715), a colonial merchant and politician in Massachusetts Bay Colony.

The COOKE surname has a rich history, with many bearers contributing to various fields, including exploration, law, politics, and education, throughout the centuries.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Cooke families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Cooke surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Lancashire leads with 2,128 Cookes recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.11x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 2,128 1.11x
Middlesex 1,473 0.91x
Yorkshire 1,454 0.91x
Cheshire 1,095 3.08x
Warwickshire 872 2.14x
Surrey 762 0.97x
Staffordshire 753 1.38x
Nottinghamshire 591 2.72x
Leicestershire 567 3.17x
Gloucestershire 513 1.62x
Norfolk 468 1.89x
Hampshire 407 1.23x
Derbyshire 402 1.59x
Lincolnshire 390 1.51x
Worcestershire 370 1.76x
Kent 358 0.65x
Suffolk 318 1.62x
Durham 297 0.62x
Northamptonshire 293 1.93x
Sussex 273 1.00x
Shropshire 269 1.93x
Devon 261 0.78x
Herefordshire 205 3.10x
Somerset 181 0.70x
Essex 161 0.51x
Cambridgeshire 157 1.54x
Glamorgan 148 0.53x
Oxfordshire 104 1.04x
Lanarkshire 103 0.20x
Northumberland 103 0.43x
Bedfordshire 102 1.22x
Huntingdonshire 102 3.19x
Monmouthshire 102 0.88x
Wiltshire 92 0.65x
Berkshire 67 0.55x
Cornwall 63 0.35x
Dorset 55 0.52x
Buckinghamshire 52 0.53x
Cumberland 47 0.34x
Hertfordshire 47 0.42x
Midlothian 39 0.18x
Caernarfonshire 30 0.46x
Renfrewshire 26 0.21x
Channel Islands 25 0.52x
Royal Navy 24 1.25x
Anglesey 18 0.63x
Denbighshire 18 0.30x
Carmarthenshire 17 0.25x
Flintshire 17 0.39x
Angus 15 0.10x
Clackmannanshire 10 0.75x
Pembrokeshire 10 0.20x
Rutland 10 0.84x
Isle of Man 9 0.30x
Perthshire 8 0.11x
Morayshire 7 0.28x
Aberdeenshire 6 0.04x
Argyllshire 6 0.13x
Brecknockshire 6 0.19x
Montgomeryshire 5 0.14x
Wigtownshire 5 0.23x
Merionethshire 3 0.10x
Ayrshire 1 0.01x
Berwickshire 1 0.05x
Cardiganshire 1 0.03x
Dumfriesshire 1 0.03x
Dunbartonshire 1 0.02x
Inverness-shire 1 0.02x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Birmingham in Warwickshire leads with 262 Cookes recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.93x.

Place Total Index
Birmingham 262 1.93x
Aston 193 1.72x
Nottingham St Mary 180 3.20x
Lambeth 166 1.18x
Islington London 160 1.02x
Worsley 134 11.36x
Kensington London 126 1.41x
Stoke Upon Trent 126 2.18x
St Marylebone London 118 1.37x
St Pancras London 115 0.89x
Denton 111 26.18x
Manchester 107 1.24x
Leicester St Margaret 99 2.27x
Salford 96 1.71x
Hackney London 93 1.03x
Camberwell 91 0.88x
Ashton Under Lyne 89 2.13x
Leeds 87 0.96x
Little Hulton 87 27.46x
Monks Coppenhall 83 6.18x
Brighton 80 1.46x
Liverpool 80 0.69x
Coventry Holy Trinity 76 6.26x
Kidderminster Borough 75 6.09x
Congleton 71 11.55x
Loughborough 69 8.51x
Dukinfield 67 4.07x
Oldham 67 1.09x
Burntwood Edial 66 18.99x
Wickhambrook 66 89.46x
Doncaster 64 5.48x
Barnsley 61 3.70x
Cheltenham 61 2.50x
Haughton 60 21.50x
Sheffield 57 1.12x
St George Hanover Square 57 2.01x
Arnold 56 17.65x
Farnworth 56 4.89x
Everton 55 0.90x
Croydon 54 1.24x
Wolstanton 54 3.27x
Bethnal Green London 53 0.76x
West Ham 52 0.74x
Hulme 51 1.28x
Portsea 51 0.79x
Sandbach 51 16.80x
Newington 50 0.84x
Paddington London 50 0.84x
Toxteth Park 50 0.77x
Haslington 47 46.95x
Ecclesfield 46 3.93x
Trevethin 46 4.18x
Battersea 45 0.76x
Hammersmith London 45 1.13x
Leicester St Mary 45 3.12x
Rugby 45 8.18x
Ecclesall Bierlow 43 1.32x
Fulham London 43 1.84x
Reigate Foreign 43 5.06x
Brightside Bierlow 42 1.34x
Clerkenwell London 42 1.10x
Litchurch 42 4.13x
Burslem 41 2.63x
Nether Hallam 41 1.90x
Northampton Priory St 41 4.51x
Bollington In 40 12.63x
Hampstead London 40 1.59x
Hyde 40 3.81x
Runcorn 40 4.88x
Shoreditch London 40 0.57x
Barton Upon Irwell 39 2.71x
Hornsey 39 1.91x
West Derby 39 0.70x
Chelsea London 38 0.78x
Church Coppenhall 38 23.88x
Peterborough 38 3.46x
Stockport 38 2.07x
Walcot 38 2.75x
Kearsley 37 9.19x
Heaton Norris 36 3.31x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Cooke surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 1,137
Sarah 594
Elizabeth 583
Eliza 279
Ann 276
Annie 275
Jane 275
Emma 257
Ellen 244
Alice 235
Emily 199
Hannah 176
Martha 133
Margaret 132
Ada 120
Fanny 115
Charlotte 109
Edith 108
Louisa 102
Florence 99
Harriet 95
Clara 91
Maria 89
Lucy 86
Frances 85
Catherine 77
Kate 75
Caroline 73
Anne 68
Susan 60
Esther 55
Agnes 51
Amy 51
Amelia 48
Sophia 47
Harriett 46
Julia 43
Isabella 42
Matilda 36
Rose 36
Beatrice 34
Gertrude 34
Anna 32
Susannah 32
Jessie 31
Bertha 30
Rebecca 30
Ethel 29
Helen 29
Minnie 29

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Cooke surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 969
John 895
George 601
Thomas 538
James 458
Charles 393
Henry 353
Joseph 265
Arthur 212
Alfred 188
Edward 174
Samuel 163
Robert 162
Frederick 137
Albert 122
Walter 121
Harry 117
Richard 90
Herbert 76
Frank 75
Ernest 72
Edwin 71
Francis 65
Benjamin 46
Fred 42
David 38
Wm. 37
Isaac 30
Thos. 28
Peter 25
Percy 22
Tom 22
Fredk. 21
Geo. 21
Edmund 20
Chas. 19
Christopher 18
Daniel 18
Leonard 16
Stephen 16
Sydney 16
Harold 15
Michael 15
Philip 15
Mark 14
Abraham 13
Fredrick 13
Jesse 13
Sidney 13
Frederic 12

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Cooke households.

FAQ

Cooke surname: questions and answers

How common was the Cooke surname in 1881?

In 1881, 16,523 people were recorded with the Cooke surname. That placed it at #233 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Cooke surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 28,162 in 2016. That gives Cooke a modern rank of #196.

What does the Cooke surname mean?

An occupational surname referring to a cook or someone who prepared meals.

What does the Cooke map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Cooke bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.