The Houk surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,560 people carried this name — #6,157 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 53,200 people counted. That is up 1% from 5,501 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

42 families named Houk, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 270 people lived in those households, 6.4 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 2 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 21
New York 12
Maryland 6
North Carolina 2
South Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 246 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Houk in American newspapers,
1894–1918.

Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Houk
Daily Kennebec Journal 1894-07-25
Newspaper page from The Grenada Sentinel carrying the name Houk
The Grenada Sentinel 1918-05-31
Newspaper page from Cut Bank Pioneer Press carrying the name Houk
Cut Bank Pioneer Press 1915-04-02

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 41,134 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Houk in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1950s.

104 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Houk. The most, 22, date from the 1920s. 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 Queensland, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 35
Queensland 28
Victoria 21
South Australia 8
Tasmania 8
Western Australia 4

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

Who carried it

People named Houk,
with a public archive behind them.

  • George Washington Houk
    George Washington Houk 1825–1894 · lawyer
  • Leonidas C. Houk
    Leonidas C. Houk 1836–1891 · judge
  • John C. Houk
    John C. Houk 1860–1923 · lawyer
  • Ralph Houk
    Ralph Houk 1919–2010 · baseball player
  • James C. Houk d. 2020 · neurologist
  • František Houk 1892–

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Houk,
in the records of 3 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 States323 records

323 records of the Houk name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 213
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 76
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 13
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 9
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 8
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 4
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Elbert J. Houk

    Born 1915 in Virginia. Enlisted 1942 at Huntington, West Virginia; miner. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at Woodlawn Memorial Park, Bluefield, West Virginia.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Therese Houk

    Arrived at New York in 1857 aboard the Tornado from Havre, aged 19; servant. From Baden, Germany.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Richard K. Houk

    U.S. Air Force veteran. Born 1944, died 1997; buried at Fallsview Cemetery, American Falls, Idaho.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 323 records for Houk in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Netherlands40 records

40 records of the Houk name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 34
  • Dutch population registers 3
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 3
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Johanna Geertruij Houk

    Married in 1811 in 's-Gravenhage; "fruitkoopster".

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Geertruida Houk

    In the population register of Wildervank; born 1855 in Wildervank.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Fredericus Godefridus Houk

    Buried in 1767 in Utrecht.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 40 records for Houk 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); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Germany1 record

1 record of the Houk name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Leonhard Houk

    From Walheim, Kr. Aachen. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 28 October 1914 (Infantry Regiment No. 70).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Houk.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Houk 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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