The Cooks surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,157 people carried this name — #5,640 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 47,800 people counted. That is up 11% from 5,526 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Cooks surname

As an English and Welsh surname

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

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

In print

Cooks in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

9,515 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Cooks. The most, 1,801, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 3,657
New South Wales 2,275
Queensland 1,590
South Australia 1,035
Western Australia 516
Tasmania 383
ACT (Canberra) 30
Northern Territory 4

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

Who carried it

People named Cooks,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Johnie Cooks 1958–2023 · American football player

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Cooks,
in the records of 5 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 States229 records

229 records of the Cooks name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 104
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 46
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 33
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 27
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 9
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 6
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Arthur Cooks

    Born 1915 in Florida. Enlisted 1943 at New York City; kitchen worker from New York County, New York. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1953, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

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

    Born 1946; from Waco, Texas. U.S. Army, food service helper; killed in action 1965 in South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Ellen Cooks

    Arrived at New York in 1853 aboard the Arctic from Liverpool, aged 30; washer. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 229 records for Cooks in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia30 records

30 records of the Cooks name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 22
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 4
  • Tasmanian Names Index 3
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Richd Cooks

    Arrived in Victoria in 1854 aboard the Sultana, aged 48; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record Thomas Cooks

    NSW railway employee; served in the First World War with the 55th Battalion.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Catherine Cooks

    Married 1864 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 30 records for Cooks in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Netherlands8 records

8 records of the Cooks name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 6
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 2
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Johan Cooks

    In the population register of Vlissingen; born 1793 in Folkstone.

    Open Archives, Zeeuws Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Hendrikus Cooks

    In the population register of Utrecht; born in Bonde.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Gerrit Jacobus Cooks

    Baptised in 1807 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 8 records for Cooks in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada6 records

6 records of the Cooks name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Laura Ellen Cooks

    Died 1933 in Wolfville, Kings, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Spencer Cooks

    Married 1895 in Cumberland, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John Cooks

    Died 1866 in Milton, Queens, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 6 records for Cooks in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the Cooks name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  • Welsh wills index cards 1
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Charles Cooks

    Will proved in 1935; of Rhyl, Flint.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record T. M. Cooks

    York and Lancaster Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record H. B. Cooks

    Yeomanry. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Cooks in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Cooks.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Cooks 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.

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