NameCensus.

UK surname

Cookes

In the 1881 census there were 131 people recorded with the Cookes surname, ranking it #16,824 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 97, ranked #31,585, down from #16,824 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Berkeswell, Warwick St Nicholas and Manchester. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Solihull, Warwick and Barnsley.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Cookes is 255 in 1861. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 26.0%.

1881 census count

131

Ranked #16,824

Modern count

97

2016, ranked #31,585

Peak year

1861

255 bearers

Map years

6

1851 to 1911

Key insights

  • Cookes had 131 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #16,824 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 97 in 2016, ranked #31,585.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 255 in 1861.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Cookes surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Cookes surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Cookes 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 130 #14,314
1861 historical 255 #9,699
1881 historical 131 #16,824
1891 historical 195 #15,211
1901 historical 130 #19,649
1911 historical 138 #18,811
1997 modern 88 #28,611
1998 modern 92 #28,680
1999 modern 108 #26,602
2000 modern 101 #27,555
2001 modern 91 #28,670
2002 modern 89 #29,428
2003 modern 94 #28,686
2004 modern 86 #30,019
2005 modern 91 #29,406
2006 modern 93 #29,411
2007 modern 99 #28,852
2008 modern 99 #29,181
2009 modern 107 #28,483
2010 modern 111 #28,509
2011 modern 99 #30,218
2012 modern 88 #32,064
2013 modern 97 #31,239
2014 modern 99 #31,186
2015 modern 98 #31,342
2016 modern 97 #31,585

Geography

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Where Cookes' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Berkeswell, Warwick St Nicholas, Manchester, Lambeth and Sheffield. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Solihull, Warwick, Barnsley, Redditch and Forest of Dean. 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 Berkeswell Warwickshire
2 Warwick St Nicholas Warwickshire
3 Manchester Lancashire
4 Lambeth London (South Districts)
5 Sheffield Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Solihull 015 Solihull
2 Warwick 014 Warwick
3 Barnsley 025 Barnsley
4 Redditch 013 Redditch
5 Forest of Dean 003 Forest of Dean

Forenames

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First names often paired with Cookes

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Cookes

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Cookes, 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 Cookes surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Cookes 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

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

European Enclaves

Within London, Cookes is most associated with areas classed as European Enclaves, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. 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

Many residents of these accessible neighbourhoods have wide-ranging non-UK European origins. Typically residing in privately rented flats, many residents live alone and are beyond normal retirement age. There are more students than elsewhere in the Supergroup, some of which live in communal establishments. Household residents are often drawn from different ethnic groups.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Cookes is most concentrated in decile 5 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

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

5
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Cookes falls in decile 5 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.

5
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Cookes is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of Over 70 mbit/s.

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

10
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

1881 census detail

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Cookes families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Cookes 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. Warwickshire leads with 50 Cookes' recorded in 1881 and an index of 15.52x.

County Total Index
Warwickshire 50 15.52x
Surrey 17 2.73x
Middlesex 11 0.86x
Yorkshire 11 0.87x
Worcestershire 7 4.19x
Lancashire 6 0.40x
Cheshire 5 1.77x
Gloucestershire 5 2.00x
Oxfordshire 4 5.07x
Berkshire 3 3.13x
Kent 3 0.69x
Radnorshire 3 29.10x
Essex 2 0.79x
Sussex 2 0.93x
Hampshire 1 0.38x
Staffordshire 1 0.23x

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 17 Cookes' recorded in 1881 and an index of 15.83x.

Place Total Index
Birmingham 17 15.83x
Warwick St Nicholas 16 677.97x
Berkswell 7 1093.75x
Leamington Priors 6 75.66x
Barnes 5 190.11x
Cheltenham 5 25.87x
Cottingham 5 183.15x
Hulme 5 15.79x
Marple 5 257.73x
Carshalton 4 168.07x
Banbury 3 189.87x
Chaldon 3 3750.00x
Chieveley 3 588.24x
Heyop 3 3333.33x
Islington London 3 2.42x
Richmond 3 151.52x
Worcester St Martin 3 133.33x
Astley 2 571.43x
Aston 2 2.25x
Banstead 2 118.34x
Camberwell 2 2.45x
Ecclesfield 2 21.55x
Kensington London 2 2.82x
Paddington London 2 4.26x
Snitterfield 2 555.56x
Wanstead 2 45.25x
Westminster St Margaret 2 32.47x
Attercliffe Cum Darnall 1 8.47x
Brighton 1 2.30x
Clerkenwell London 1 3.32x
Deptford St Paul 1 2.97x
Hollington 1 129.87x
Portsea 1 1.95x
Sheen 1 555.56x
Spitalfields London 1 10.41x
Tadmarton 1 625.00x
Tenterden 1 64.94x
Thames Ditton 1 77.52x
Toxteth Park 1 1.95x
Woolwich 1 6.21x
Worcester St John 1 50.25x
Yardley 1 23.42x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 10
Elizabeth 6
Sarah 6
Ellen 5
Caroline 4
Eliza 4
Emma 3
Mabel 3
Ann 2
Catherine 2
Hannah 2
Hilda 2
Jane 2
Alice 1
Annie 1
Beatrice 1
Claris 1
Dianh 1
Edith 1
Emily 1
Emly 1
Georgina 1
Harriette 1
Isabella 1
Johanna 1
Julia 1
Laura 1
Lilia 1
Louisa 1
Lucy 1
Maria 1
Marian 1
Martha 1
Maud 1
May 1
Medline 1
Nellie 1
Rosa 1
Rose 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 10
George 7
Charles 5
William 5
Edward 4
Thomas 4
Robert 3
Walter 3
Joseph 2
Albert 1
Aymer 1
Cyrl 1
Dudley 1
Francis 1
Frederick 1
Gordon 1
Horace 1
Michael 1
Willm. 1

FAQ

Cookes surname: questions and answers

How common was the Cookes surname in 1881?

In 1881, 131 people were recorded with the Cookes surname. That placed it at #16,824 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Cookes surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 97 in 2016. That gives Cookes a modern rank of #31,585.

What does the Cookes map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Cookes 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.