2000
#2,516
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,171
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.88
Uncommon Last name
Hook
An occupational surname referring to someone who made or used hooks, often in the fishing industry.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 14,180 Americans carry the last name Hook. That puts it at #2,835 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 24,172 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hook surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Hook with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
14K
1 in 24,172
Census rank
#2,835
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,366 bearers of the surname Hook in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2835th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hook, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hook
The surname Hook is of English origin, derived from the Old English word 'hoc', meaning a hook or angle. The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who lived near a hook-shaped bend in a river or road, or who worked as a maker of hooks or other hooked tools.
The earliest known record of the name Hook appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as 'Hoc' in various counties across England. This suggests that the name was already well-established by the time of the Norman Conquest.
In the 13th century, records show the name spelled as 'Hoke', 'Hooke', and 'Huke', reflecting the various regional dialects of the time. The name was particularly common in the counties of Devon, Somerset, and Gloucestershire, where several places bear the name Hook, such as Hook in Gloucestershire and Hook Norton in Oxfordshire.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Roger Hooke, a prominent landowner in Somerset who lived in the late 12th century. Another notable figure was Robert Hooke (1635-1703), a renowned English scientist and polymath who made significant contributions to various fields, including physics, astronomy, and architecture.
In the 15th century, the name Hook was associated with the medieval English folk hero, Adam Bell, who was said to have lived in the village of Inglewood near Carlisle. According to legend, Bell was a skilled archer and outlaw who defied the authorities and became a Robin Hood-like figure.
Other notable individuals with the surname Hook include Theodore Hook (1788-1841), an English novelist and satirist known for his humorous writings, and Sidney Hook (1902-1989), an American philosopher and prominent figure in the pragmatist movement.
Throughout history, the name Hook has been found in various forms, such as Hooke, Hoke, and Huke, reflecting the evolution of language and regional variations in spelling and pronunciation.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hook
Among Census respondents with the surname Hook, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Hook bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Hook surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.0% · 10,763
- Black or African American4.0% · 499
- Two or more races3.9% · 488
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 412
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 125
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 79
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hook
Hook appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,680
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,437
+266 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 4.56
Rank movement Down 164 places
2020
#2,835
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,366
-1,071 bearers (-8.0%)
Per 100,000 4.14
Rank movement Down 155 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,516 | 13,171 | 4.88 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,680 | 13,437 | 4.56 | +266 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 164 places |
| 2020 | #2,835 | 12,366 | 4.14 | -1,071 bearers (-8.0%) | Down 155 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Hook surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,680 | #2,835 | -5.8% |
| Count | 13,437 | 12,366 | -8.0% |
| Per 100K | 4.56 | 4.14 | -9.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hook bearers went from 13,437 to 12,366 (-8.0% change). The surname moved down 155 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,680 to #2,835.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hook
FAQ
Hook surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hook?
Name Census estimates that about 14,180 living Americans carry the surname Hook. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 24,172 residents.
How common is Hook?
Hook ranks #2,835 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.14 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,366 people with the surname Hook. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (14,180), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.14 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Hook.
Has Hook become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hook went from 13,437 recorded bearers to 12,366. That is a decrease of 1,071 (-8.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,680 to #2,835.
What does the Census say about the background of Hook?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hook, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.0%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Hook in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.0% (10,763 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hook appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.0%), Black (4.0%), Two or More Races (3.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Hook (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Hook mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who made or used hooks, often in the fishing industry. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Hook (4.14 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Hook?
Find out how common the surname Hook is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.