The Cooke surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 33,223 people carried this name — #1,056 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 8,880 people counted. That is up 4% from 31,860 in 2000.

See Cooke on the map Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Cooke surname

A surname originating as an occupation for a cook, or a seller of cooked food.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Cooke» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as an occupational name: ‘the cook’.

An early record he cites: Roger le Cook, 1300 — Writs of Parliament.

His entry covers Cook and Cooke.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 201 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 89 births for the Cooke name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 3,900 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 15 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 33
Leinster 21
Munster 18
Connacht 17

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 237 people named Cooke 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 Entre Ríos.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Entre Ríos 103
Buenos Aires Province 64
City of Buenos Aires 22
Córdoba 19
Santa Fe 19
Río Negro 10

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 41 people named Cooke.

Most of them — 29 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 6 départements, most often Oise.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 29
Oise 4
Seine-Maritime 3
Pas-de-Calais 2
Indre-et-Loire 1
Haute-Saône 1
Sarthe 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

38 people named Cooke live in Switzerland.

They live in 7 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Vaud 12
Zurich 7
Thurgau 5
Basel-Landschaft 4
Solothurn 4
Fribourg 3
Geneva 3

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 the Nordic population registers

59 people named Cooke 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

Sweden (2022) 37
Finland (2026) 22

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

Cooke 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 map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Northamptonshire 65
Suffolk 62
Worcestershire 61
Bedfordshire 60
Gloucestershire 60
Oxfordshire 60
Norfolk 50
Surrey 45

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 Scotland’s registers today

Cooke was recorded 25 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 962nd most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 33. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

Cooke in American newspapers,
1891–1927.

Newspaper page from The Helena Independent carrying the name Cooke
The Helena Independent 1891-09-10
Newspaper page from The Kevin Review carrying the name Cooke
The Kevin Review 1927-11-03
Newspaper page from Plentywood Herald carrying the name Cooke
Plentywood Herald 1927-11-04

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 11,880 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Cooke in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

130,401 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Cooke. The most, 19,451, date from the 1900s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 36,539
Victoria 33,422
South Australia 20,165
Queensland 18,965
Western Australia 16,494
Tasmania 4,102
ACT (Canberra) 407
Northern Territory 61

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Cooke.

Who carried it

People named Cooke,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Mildred Cooke
    Mildred Cooke 1526–1589 · translator
  • Elizabeth Hoby
    Elizabeth Hoby 1528–1609 · translator
  • Anne Bacon
    Anne Bacon 1528–1610 · writer
  • Elisha Cooke Sr.
    Elisha Cooke Sr. 1637–1715 · politician
  • Elisha Cooke, Jr.
    Elisha Cooke, Jr. 1678–1737 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 206 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Cooke,
in the records of 8 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States5,049 records

5,049 records of the Cooke name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1,426
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,242
  • Other U.S. records 2,381
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Douglas Rudolph Cooke

    Born 1945; from Newport News, Virginia. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Quang Ngai, South Vietnam. Buried at Hampton National Cemetery, Virginia.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Eleanor M. Cooke

    Born 1908 in Connecticut. Enlisted 1943 in the Women's Army Corps at Los Angeles, California; stenographer. Veteran; died 1963, buried at Los Angeles National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Eddie Boyd Cooke

    Born 1939; from Florence, South Carolina. U.S. Marine Corps, field artillery cannoneer; died in an accident 1966 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam. Buried at Florence National Cemetery, South Carolina.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 5,049 records for Cooke in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain).

Australia3,625 records

3,625 records of the Cooke name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,864
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 674
  • Other Australian records 1,087
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Mary Cooke

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Stately, sailing from Plymouth in 1849. Native of Workington, Cumberland. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1851. Married 1851 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 28.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Jane Cooke

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Duke of Cornwall, sailing from Kingston in 1850. Native of Tyrone. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1852.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Samuel Cooke

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Lord Lyndoch, sailing from London in 1836. Native of Dunton, Bedfordshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1847.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 3,625 records for Cooke in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Canada897 records

897 records of the Cooke name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 645
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 66
  • Other Canadian records 186
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Joseph Cooke

    Came to Ontario in 1872 aboard the Emperor, landing at Quebec, bound for Kingston, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record William Cooke

    Killed in 1979 at the No. 26 mine, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Donald Dale Gerald Cooke

    Buried in 1989 at St. Mary's Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 29.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 897 records for Cooke in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

Netherlands270 records

270 records of the Cooke name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 118
  • Dutch population registers 112
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 40
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Hugo Cornelis Cooke

    Married in 1920 in Aalten; farmer. Died 1954 in Arnhem, aged 63; road worker.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Richard Henry Cooke

    Married in 1841 in Rotterdam. Died 1893 in Rotterdam, aged 74.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record William Cooke

    Married in 1836 in Bergen op Zoom; born in Rotterdam. Died 1856 in Elburg, aged 53; "tekenmeester".

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 270 records for Cooke in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom167 records

167 records of the Cooke name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 119
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 30
  • Other British records 18
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Catherine Cooke

    Died 1931, aged 71; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Charles Cooke

    Buried in 1851 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 32.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Elizabeth Cooke

    Will proved in 1941; of Penygroes Llanllyfni, Carnarvon.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 167 records for Cooke in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand107 records

107 records of the Cooke name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 85
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 12
  • Other New Zealand records 10
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Cooke

    Died 1900, aged 57; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John Thomas Cooke

    Born 1910, died 1977; ashes interred at Kaiapoi Public Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Henry Bayley Cooke

    Buried in 1904 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 65.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 107 records for Cooke in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Ireland10 records

10 records of the Cooke name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Richard Cooke

    Died 1867, aged 61; buried at Clontuskert - St Matthews (CoI), Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth Cooke

    Died 1992, aged 88; buried at Rakerin, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 10 records for Cooke in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France9 records

9 records of the Cooke name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Maurice Hadley Louis Cooke

    Born 1912 in Tours (Indre-et-Loire); died 1996 in Allonnes (Sarthe).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Nancy Christine Cooke

    Born 1923 in Great Britain; died 2000 in Argent-sur-Sauldre (Cher).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 9 records for Cooke in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Other spellings of this name

The same name, spelled another way.

Spellings that H. B. Guppy (England and Wales, 1890) or the Registrar-General for Ireland (births index of 1890) counted as one name together with Cooke.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Cooke.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Cooke 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.

See the Cooke volume
Scroll to Top