NameCensus.

UK surname

Crooke

A surname derived from a location named Crooke or from an occupation related to living near a bend in a river.

In the 1881 census there were 401 people recorded with the Crooke surname, ranking it #7,959 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 429, ranked #11,214, down from #7,959 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Yardley, London parishes and St John Hackney. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include South Staffordshire, Melton and Wychavon.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Crooke is 568 in 1911. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 7.0%.

1881 census count

401

Ranked #7,959

Modern count

429

2016, ranked #11,214

Peak year

1911

568 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Crooke had 401 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #7,959 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 429 in 2016, ranked #11,214.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 568 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Crooke surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Crooke surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Crooke 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 281 #8,028
1861 historical 286 #8,793
1881 historical 401 #7,959
1891 historical 476 #7,720
1901 historical 464 #8,512
1911 historical 568 #7,120
1997 modern 455 #9,985
1998 modern 487 #9,794
1999 modern 490 #9,811
2000 modern 481 #9,916
2001 modern 466 #9,984
2002 modern 472 #10,060
2003 modern 461 #10,072
2004 modern 440 #10,494
2005 modern 421 #10,762
2006 modern 432 #10,583
2007 modern 421 #10,920
2008 modern 415 #11,145
2009 modern 435 #10,991
2010 modern 445 #11,002
2011 modern 435 #11,066
2012 modern 443 #10,796
2013 modern 445 #10,928
2014 modern 441 #11,082
2015 modern 443 #10,957
2016 modern 429 #11,214

Geography

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Where Crookes are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Yardley, London parishes, St John Hackney and Bradford. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to South Staffordshire, Melton, Wychavon, Merton and Telford and Wrekin. 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 Yardley Warwickshire
2 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 St John Hackney London (North Districts)
5 Bradford Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 South Staffordshire 012 South Staffordshire
2 Melton 001 Melton
3 Wychavon 014 Wychavon
4 Merton 006 Merton
5 Telford and Wrekin 011 Telford and Wrekin

Forenames

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First names often paired with Crooke

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Crooke

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Crooke, 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

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Crooke surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Crooke household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

Inner London Working Professionals

Within London, Crooke is most associated with areas classed as Inner London Working Professionals, 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

These primarily Inner London neighbourhoods are more densely populated than the Supergroup average. Residents have a younger over-all age profile than the Supergroup as a whole, and are less likely to be owner occupiers. Full time employment is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup and multiple car ownership is uncommon. Chinese and non-EU-born European migrants are less in evidence than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

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

Crooke is most concentrated in decile 10 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.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Crooke falls in decile 9 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

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

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Crooke 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 Crooke, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Crooke

The surname Crooke is of English origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English word 'croc', meaning a hook or crook, which was likely an occupational name for someone who made or sold hooks.

The earliest recorded instance of the name appears in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1279, where it is listed as 'Croc'. Over time, the spelling evolved to its current form, Crooke. This surname was particularly prominent in the counties of Worcestershire, Warwickshire, and Gloucestershire.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are references to several places with names derived from the same root, such as Crockerton in Wiltshire and Crookham in Berkshire, suggesting that the name may have been adopted by people living in or near these locations.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Crooke was Sir John Crooke (c. 1535-1598), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Warwickshire during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

Another notable figure was Sir John Crooke (1616-1670), an English lawyer and politician who served as Recorder of Coventry and represented Warwickshire in the Long Parliament during the English Civil War.

In the 17th century, Samuel Crooke (1575-1649) was an English physician and writer who published several works on anatomy and medicine, including a translation of Aristotle's "Masterpiece".

Tobias Crooke (1598-1649) was an English clergyman and writer who served as the rector of Wrington in Somerset and authored a book titled "A Guide to the Tree of Life" in 1642.

During the 18th century, John Crooke (1738-1804) was a prominent English engraver and artist who produced numerous engravings, including illustrations for various publications and portraits of notable figures.

The surname Crooke has been found throughout England, with concentrations in the Midlands and southern regions, and has a rich history spanning several centuries.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Crooke families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Crooke 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 91 Crookes recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.95x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 91 1.95x
Middlesex 55 1.40x
Surrey 47 2.45x
Yorkshire 37 0.95x
Devon 27 3.30x
Hampshire 25 3.10x
Warwickshire 16 1.61x
Nottinghamshire 12 2.26x
Staffordshire 12 0.90x
Worcestershire 11 2.14x
Glamorgan 10 1.46x
Somerset 9 1.42x
Essex 7 0.90x
Gloucestershire 7 0.91x
Buckinghamshire 5 2.10x
Wiltshire 4 1.15x
Berkshire 3 1.02x
Dorset 3 1.16x
Huntingdonshire 3 3.84x
Lincolnshire 3 0.48x
Sussex 3 0.45x
Cambridgeshire 2 0.80x
Leicestershire 2 0.46x
Royal Navy 2 4.27x
Brecknockshire 1 1.27x
Cheshire 1 0.12x
Cornwall 1 0.22x
Derbyshire 1 0.16x
Durham 1 0.09x
Rutland 1 3.47x
Suffolk 1 0.21x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Portsea in Hampshire leads with 16 Crookes recorded in 1881 and an index of 10.13x.

Place Total Index
Portsea 16 10.13x
Islington London 12 3.15x
Bradford 11 11.66x
Guildford St Nicholas 10 295.86x
Sharples 10 197.63x
Worplesdon 10 432.90x
Mansfield Woodhouse 9 254.96x
Adlington 8 183.07x
Walsall Foreign 8 11.67x
Aspull 7 63.81x
Battersea 7 4.84x
Birmingham 7 2.12x
Chelmsford 7 52.59x
Hackney London 7 3.18x
Llantrisant 7 40.58x
Pennington In Leigh 7 78.21x
Puddington 7 2413.79x
Twerton 7 107.36x
Bethnal Green London 6 3.51x
Ince In Makerfield 6 27.65x
Willesden 6 16.19x
Wilsden 6 150.00x
Accrington 5 11.79x
Drewsteignton 5 462.96x
Dudley 5 8.01x
Hulme 5 5.13x
Instow 5 568.18x
Manchester 5 2.38x
Monks Kirby 5 229.36x
Pendleton In Salford 5 9.00x
Preston 5 4.01x
Richmond 5 82.10x
Southwark St Saviour 5 24.75x
St Marylebone London 5 2.38x
Aston 4 1.47x
Bermondsey 4 3.42x
Brightside Bierlow 4 5.24x
Hammersmith London 4 4.13x
Kensington London 4 1.83x
Liverpool 4 1.41x
Lymington 4 67.57x
Newington 4 2.75x
Paddington London 4 2.77x
Royton 4 28.03x
Cheltenham 3 5.04x
Godmanchester 3 101.69x
Saddleworth 3 9.98x
Salford 3 2.19x
St Brides Minor 3 241.94x
St Pancras London 3 0.95x
Stoke 3 33.19x
Stone 3 163.04x
Tormoham 3 8.67x
Upton On Severn 3 89.29x
Westhoughton 3 24.10x
Andover 2 26.28x
Cheriton Fitzpaine 2 192.31x
Ealing 2 5.69x
Ecclesall Bierlow 2 2.52x
Gainsborough 2 13.50x
Langley Burrell 2 138.89x
Leicester St Margaret 2 1.88x
Little Bolton 2 3.34x
Lytham 2 28.09x
Newhaven 2 37.17x
North Meols 2 4.38x
Royal Navy 2 5.00x
Southampton St Mary 2 3.95x
Trumpington 2 157.48x
Wavertree 2 13.40x
Wimborne Minster 2 47.96x
Wolverhampton 2 1.96x
Camberwell 1 0.40x
Harting 1 58.14x
Kenton 1 38.76x
Littleham 1 16.72x
Martley 1 68.03x
Reading St Giles 1 3.45x
Sheffield 1 0.81x
Weedon 1 172.41x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 30
Elizabeth 14
Ann 12
Sarah 11
Annie 8
Eliza 8
Jane 8
Edith 7
Emily 6
Emma 6
Hannah 6
Alice 5
Ellen 4
Maria 4
Anne 3
Catherine 3
Charlotte 3
Fanny 3
Florence 3
Margaret 3
Ada 2
Anna 2
Bridget 2
Elsie 2
Lilian 2
Louisa 2
Lucy 2
Marion 2
Matilda 2
Sophia 2
Agnes 1
Amy 1
Augusta 1
B.Matilda 1
Bessie 1
Betty 1
Blanche 1
Elisa 1
Elizath. 1
Elizth. 1
Emelia 1
Gertde.M. 1
Hellen 1
Infant 1
Janet 1
Jessie 1
Julia 1
Lavena 1
Lilley 1
Teresa 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 23
William 23
Thomas 13
James 10
Joseph 10
George 9
Henry 8
Charles 7
Edward 5
Samuel 5
Arthur 4
Walter 4
Wm. 4
Frederick 3
Harry 3
Robert 3
Abraham 2
Alfred 2
Frank 2
Henery 2
Herbert 2
Hy. 2
Jno. 2
Wallace 2
Albert 1
Alfd. 1
Ambrose 1
Ben 1
Bernard 1
Bertram 1
Charlie 1
Cozens 1
Eli 1
Ellias 1
Ernest 1
F. 1
Francis 1
Fred 1
Fredk. 1
Fredrick 1
Geo. 1
Jeffery 1
Johnny 1
Jonas 1
Margaret 1
Marwood 1
Norman 1
Oliver 1
Patrick 1
Zachariah 1

FAQ

Crooke surname: questions and answers

How common was the Crooke surname in 1881?

In 1881, 401 people were recorded with the Crooke surname. That placed it at #7,959 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Crooke surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 429 in 2016. That gives Crooke a modern rank of #11,214.

What does the Crooke surname mean?

A surname derived from a location named Crooke or from an occupation related to living near a bend in a river.

What does the Crooke map show?

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