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Cook Family History

Cook Surname Meaning

English: occupational name for a cook, a seller of cooked meats, or a keeper of an eating house from Middle English cok, coke, cook, couk, cuk(e) (Old English cōc) ‘cook’ or ‘seller of cooked foods’. See also Kew.

Irish and Scottish: usually identical in origin with the English name (see 1 above) but in some cases a shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Cúg ‘son of Hugo’ (see McCook).

Americanized form (translation into English) of various European surnames meaning ‘cook’ such as German and Jewish Koch, Dutch Kook, Polish Kucharz and Kucharczyk, Slovenian and Croatian Kuhar, North German Kuk.

Americanized form of Slovenian, Croatian, and Polish Kuk. Americanized form (mistranslation into English) of French Lécuyer ‘squire’ (see Lecuyer).

Americanized form of Korean and especially Chinese (Cantonese) Kuk 5-9 or of its variant Kook 3-6.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Cook family from?

You can see how Cook families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Cook family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Cook families were found in USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 9,871 Cook families living in London. This was about 17% of all the recorded Cook's in United Kingdom. London had the highest population of Cook families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Cook surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Cook ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, General Labourer and Unpaid Domestic Duties were the top reported jobs for men and women in the United Kingdom named Cook. 6% of Cook men worked as a General Labourer and 64% of Cook women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties. Some less common occupations for Americans named Cook were Bricklayer and Incapacitated.

View Census Data for Cook | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1939

  • General Labourer
    6%
  • Builders Labourer
    3%
  • Incapacitated
    2%
  • Bricklayer
    2%

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    64%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    3%
  • Housewife
    3%
  • Incapacitated
    2%

What Cook family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 2 million census records available for the last name Cook. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Cook census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Cook

Passenger Lists

There are 299,000 immigration records available for the last name Cook. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Cook immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 379,000 military records available for the last name Cook. For the veterans among your Cook ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Cook military records

You've only scratched the surface of Cook family history

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What is the average Cook lifespan?

Between 1940 and 2004, in the United States, Cook life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1940, and highest in 2004. The average life expectancy for Cook in 1940 was 23, and 74 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Cook

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Cook ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

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