NameCensus.

UK surname

Rookes

In the 1881 census there were 194 people recorded with the Rookes surname, ranking it #13,097 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 483, ranked #10,240, up from #13,097 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Exeter St David (including Castle Yard) and Leeds. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Ryedale, Mid Devon and Middlesbrough.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Rookes is 515 in 2013. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 149.0%.

1881 census count

194

Ranked #13,097

Modern count

483

2016, ranked #10,240

Peak year

2013

515 bearers

Map years

8

1861 to 2016

Key insights

  • Rookes had 194 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #13,097 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 483 in 2016, ranked #10,240.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 344 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Rookes surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Rookes surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Rookes 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 88 #18,569
1861 historical 126 #17,569
1881 historical 194 #13,097
1891 historical 260 #12,367
1901 historical 276 #12,315
1911 historical 344 #10,386
1997 modern 480 #9,602
1998 modern 486 #9,810
1999 modern 463 #10,230
2000 modern 470 #10,089
2001 modern 461 #10,049
2002 modern 473 #10,043
2003 modern 454 #10,222
2004 modern 454 #10,229
2005 modern 446 #10,283
2006 modern 462 #10,037
2007 modern 472 #9,978
2008 modern 473 #10,056
2009 modern 485 #10,090
2010 modern 494 #10,144
2011 modern 481 #10,244
2012 modern 491 #10,013
2013 modern 515 #9,804
2014 modern 510 #9,945
2015 modern 489 #10,168
2016 modern 483 #10,240

Geography

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Where Rookes' are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Exeter St David (including Castle Yard), Leeds, Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry and Cambridge: St Andrew the Less, St Andrew the Great, Holy Trinity, St Benedict. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Ryedale, Mid Devon, Middlesbrough, East Riding of Yorkshire and Cambridge. 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 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
2 Exeter St David (including Castle Yard) Devon
3 Leeds Yorkshire, West Riding
4 Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry Forfar
5 Cambridge: St Andrew the Less, St Andrew the Great, Holy Trinity, St Benedict Cambridgeshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Ryedale 008 Ryedale
2 Mid Devon 009 Mid Devon
3 Middlesbrough 004 Middlesbrough
4 East Riding of Yorkshire 008 East Riding of Yorkshire
5 Cambridge 011 Cambridge

Forenames

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First names often paired with Rookes

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Rookes

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

Established Homeowners with Children

Within London, Rookes is most associated with areas classed as Established Homeowners with Children, 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 predominantly British-born residents are typically married/in civil partnerships and own the properties in which they are raising their children. Parents are typically over 45, and many other residents are beyond normal retirement age. Detached and semi-detached houses predominate and multiple car ownership is common.

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

Rookes is most concentrated in decile 7 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.

7
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Rookes falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

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

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

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

1881 census detail

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Rookes families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Rookes 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. Devon leads with 68 Rookes' recorded in 1881 and an index of 17.17x.

County Total Index
Devon 68 17.17x
Yorkshire 64 3.40x
Lancashire 20 0.89x
Middlesex 13 0.68x
Angus 4 2.27x
Bedfordshire 4 4.06x
Gloucestershire 3 0.80x
Lanarkshire 3 0.49x
Warwickshire 3 0.63x
Durham 2 0.35x
Essex 2 0.53x
Surrey 2 0.22x
Berkshire 1 0.70x
Carmarthenshire 1 1.25x
Kent 1 0.15x
Royal Navy 1 4.41x
Somerset 1 0.33x
Staffordshire 1 0.16x
Worcestershire 1 0.40x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Tiverton in Devon leads with 17 Rookes' recorded in 1881 and an index of 249.27x.

Place Total Index
Tiverton 17 249.27x
Exeter St Sidwell 12 132.30x
Grindall 8 6666.67x
Pendleton In Salford 7 26.03x
Plymouth Charles The 7 40.14x
Exeter St Mary Major 6 251.05x
Islington London 6 3.25x
Nymett Rowland 6 10000.00x
Skelton In Guisbrough 6 117.65x
Ashton Under Lyne 5 10.14x
Dewsbury 5 25.87x
Hartshead 5 595.24x
St Marylebone London 5 4.92x
Liff Benvie 4 14.95x
Luton 4 23.46x
Middlesbrough 4 16.29x
Ovenden 4 47.68x
Silverton 4 487.80x
Bothwell 3 17.99x
Dawlish 3 101.69x
Huddersfield 3 10.93x
Rawmarsh 3 45.05x
South Hamlet 3 129.87x
Subberthwaite 3 3000.00x
Wembworthy 3 1071.43x
Wortley In Bramley 3 20.09x
Acton 2 17.94x
Birmingham 2 1.25x
Bishopwearmouth 2 4.12x
Broad Clist 2 145.99x
Chadderton 2 18.13x
Cleckheaton 2 28.82x
Clifton Cum Norwood 2 909.09x
Dalton In Huddersfield 2 47.39x
Exeter Heavitree 2 67.80x
Exeter St Leonard 2 185.19x
Filey 2 131.58x
Ilkley 2 64.94x
Leeds 2 1.88x
Sutton Stoneferry 2 37.11x
West Ham 2 2.41x
Abingdon St Helen 1 23.98x
Armley 1 12.03x
Bridlington 1 23.15x
Capel 1 114.94x
Clapham 1 4.21x
Conwil Cayo 1 77.52x
Drewsteignton 1 192.31x
Drypool 1 34.60x
East Budleigh 1 53.48x
Ebberston 1 256.41x
Great Malvern 1 19.31x
Great Torrington 1 44.64x
Helmsley 1 99.01x
Horninglow 1 33.11x
Horton In Bradford 1 3.40x
Layton With Warbreck 1 12.08x
Leamington Priors 1 8.47x
Lofthouse 1 35.59x
Manchester 1 0.99x
Mirfield 1 9.66x
Newall Cum Clifton 1 416.67x
Royal Navy 1 5.16x
Sidmouth 1 44.05x
Taunton St James 1 22.37x
Woolwich 1 4.17x
Wuerdle Wardle 1 14.60x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 13
Elizabeth 11
Sarah 9
Eliza 7
Emma 6
Ann 5
Hannah 4
Annie 3
Frances 3
Lucy 3
Ada 2
Elisabeth 2
Henrietta 2
Isabella 2
Jane 2
Susannah 2
Agnes 1
Agusta 1
Alice 1
Amelia 1
Anne 1
Beatrice 1
Bessie 1
Betsey 1
Betsy 1
Charlotte 1
Edith 1
Eliz. 1
Elizth. 1
Ellen 1
Emily 1
Harriett 1
Helen 1
Honor 1
Jemima 1
Jenny 1
Julia 1
Laura 1
Lilly 1
Mabel 1
Sophia 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 13
James 11
John 10
George 7
Edward 4
Joseph 4
Walter 4
Albert 3
Francis 3
Arthur 2
Henry 2
Richard 2
Abel 1
Alfred 1
Benjamin 1
Charles 1
David 1
Earnest 1
Edwin 1
Frederick 1
Harland 1
Harry 1
Hollans 1
Isaac 1
Jeremiah 1
Offie 1
Reginald 1
Robert 1
Samuel 1
Silvester 1
Thomas 1
Thos. 1
Thos.Wm. 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Rookes surname: questions and answers

How common was the Rookes surname in 1881?

In 1881, 194 people were recorded with the Rookes surname. That placed it at #13,097 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Rookes surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 483 in 2016. That gives Rookes a modern rank of #10,240.

What does the Rookes map show?

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