The Cook surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 302,589 people carried this name — #65 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 975 people counted. That is up 3% from 294,795 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Cook surname
An English surname originating as an occupation for a cook or seller of cooked food. Famously held by James Cook, English captain and explorer of the Pacific Ocean, and for whom the Cook Islands, Cook Strait and Mount Cook were named.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Cook» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 283 people named Cook live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 205 people named Cook.
96 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 23 départements, most often Calvados.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
160 people named Cook live in Switzerland.
They live in 12 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Poland’s population register
43 people named Cook have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 141 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 10 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 36 people named Cook live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Hainaut.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
203 people named Cook are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s
Cook was found among the farmers of 32 counties.
It was most frequent in Northamptonshire: 65 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 154. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent. His list gives one count for the spellings Cook and Cooke.
Where it concentrates, on the mapPer 10,000 farmers, by county
And 24 more counties.
H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.
In print
Cook in American newspapers,
1874–1909.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 5,397,452 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Cook,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Daniel Pope Cook 1794–1827 · judge -
Eliza Cook 1812–1889 · writer -
Francis Cook, 1st Viscount of Monserrate 1817–1901 · art collector -
Burton C. Cook 1819–1894 · lawyer -
Clarence Chatham Cook 1828–1900 · author
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 200 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Cook.
- Contin 137 · U.S. census
- Contini 582 · U.S. census
- Contreras 130,164 · U.S. census
- Contri 173 · U.S. census
- Conty 193 · U.S. census
- Convers 116 · U.S. census
- Cool 4,958 · U.S. census
- Coolen 221 · U.S. census
- Cools 216 · U.S. census
- Cooper 280,791 · U.S. census
- Coopman 461 · U.S. census
- Cop 264 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Cook is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.