Cooksey
An English surname most likely taken from a place-name, especially Cooksey in Worcestershire.
The #5,187 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 45,808 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Cooksey is generally understood as a locational surname, from the place called Cooksey in Worcestershire. The place-name is usually analysed as containing an old personal name or byname element combined with an Old English place-name ending, though the exact original sense is not entirely certain from these excerpts alone. In surname use, it would have identified someone who came from that locality.
History
The name appears in English records as a surname tied to place-origin, rather than as an occupational name. It is found in England and later in English-speaking countries, including the United States, where it remains uncommon but well established. The spelling Cooksey has been stable, though historical records may show minor variation in the ending.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is uncommon enough in the U.S. that a few thousand bearers make it a distinctly minority name, yet it has a clear and recognisable English place-based origin.
From the historical record
“V. Storey. 1751. Married— Holland Cooksey and Elix. Storrs: St. Geo. Chap. Mayfair, p. 203. 1784. —John Hewett and Norris Storr : St. Geo. Han. Sq. i. 356.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)