Kook is a surname in various cultures.

Origins

As a

Chinese surname Chinese surnames are used by Han Chinese and Sinicized ethnic groups in China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and among overseas Chinese communities around the world such as Singapore and Malaysia. Written Chinese names begin with surnames, unlike the ...

, Kook approximates the

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

pronunciations of various distinct surnames, listed below by their spelling in

Hanyu Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

(which reflects the

Standard Mandarin Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern standar ...

pronunciation): * Gǔ (), meaning "valley" or "gorge" () * Jū (), meaning "to bow" () * Qū (), meaning "curved" () The

Dutch surname Dutch names consist of one or more given names and a surname. The given name is usually gender-specific. Dutch given names A Dutch child's birth and given name(s) must be officially registered by the parents within 3 days after birth. It is not u ...

Kook originated both as an

occupational surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name, ...

for a baker of cakes () or a cook (), and as a variant spelling of the French surname Cocq ("rooster"). Kook is also a

Jewish surname Jewish surnames are family names used by Jews and those of Jewish origin. Jewish surnames are thought to be of comparatively recent origin; the first known Jewish family names date to the Middle Ages, in the 10th and 11th centuries CE. Jews have ...

, a variant spelling of Kuk or

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

. As a

Korean surname A Korean name (Hangul: ; Hanja: ) consists of a family name followed by a given name, as used by the Korean people in both South Korea and North Korea. In the Korean language, ''ireum'' or ''seongmyeong'' usually refers to the family name (''seon ...

, Kook is a customary spelling of the three surnames spelled Guk in the

Revised Romanization of Korean Revised Romanization of Korean () is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. It was developed by the National Academy of the Korean Language from 1995 and was released to the public on 7 July 2000 by South Korea's Min ...

: (; ; "to bow"), (; ; "country"), and (; ; "chrysanthemum flower").

Statistics

In the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, there were 98 people with the surname Kook as of 2007. The 2000 South Korean Census found 19,284 people with the family names spelled in Revised Romanization as Guk, comprising 16,697 people in 5,182 households for , 2,182 in 669 households for , and 405 people in 123 households for . Bearers of this surname frequently do not use the Revised Romanization spelling; in a study based on year 2007 applications for

South Korean passport The Republic of Korea passport ( ko, 대한민국 여권, Daehan Minguk yeogwon), commonly referred to as the South Korean passport, is issued to a South Korean citizen to facilitate their international travel. Like any other passport, South Ko ...

s, 38% of the applicants with this surname chose to spell it as Kook, and 48% used the

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

and

McCune–Reischauer McCune–Reischauer romanization () is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems. A modified version of McCune–Reischauer was the official romanization system in South Korea until 2002, when it was replaced by the Re ...

spelling Kuk, as compared to only 10% whose chose the spelling Guk. The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

found 522 people with the surname Kook, making it the 41,657th-most-common name in the country. This represented an increase from 484 (42,217th-most-common) in the 2000 Census. In both censuses, more than half of people with the surname Kook identified as

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Amer ...

, and about four-tenths as non-Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander.

People

Abraham Isaac Kook Abraham Isaac Kook (; 7 September 1865 – 1 September 1935), known as Rav Kook, and also known by the acronym HaRaAYaH (), was an Orthodox rabbi, and the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine. He is considered to be one ...

(1865–1935), Chief Rabbi in the British Mandate of Palestine, considered to be Israel's first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi *

Zvi Yehuda Kook Zvi Yehuda Kook ( he, צבי יהודה קוק, 23 April 1891 – 9 March 1982) was a prominent ultranationalist Orthodox rabbi. He was the son of Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Hacohen Kook, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of British Mandatory Palest ...

(1891–1982), son of the above, prominent Religious Zionist rabbi *

Edward Kook Edward F. Kook (1903–1990) was an American stage lighting lighting engineer, engineer who helped to develop the art form, receiving a Special Tony Award, Special Tony Awards, Tony Award for his contributions in 6th Tony Awards, 1952. He was a lect ...

(1903–1990), American stage lighting engineer *

Hillel Kook Hillel Kook ( he, הלל קוק, 24 July 1915 –18 August 2001), also known as Peter Bergson (Hebrew: פיטר ברגסון), was a Revisionist Zionist activist and politician. Kook led the Irgun's efforts in the United States during World ...

(1915–2001), nephew of Abraham Isaac Kook, prominent Revisionist Zionism activist during World War II *

Shannon Kook Shannon Kook (born Shannon Xiao Lóng Kook-Chun; 9 February 1987) is a South African actor. He is best known for his roles in the television series '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' (2010–2011), '' Carmilla'' (2015–2016), ''Shadowhunters'' ...

(born 1987), South African actor *

Gabie Kook Gabriela "Gabie" Kook (born 1988) is a Korean YouTuber with an international audience. Her YouTube channel covers an array of topics, but is mostly focused on food and cooking. Kook graduated from Le Cordon Bleu, a culinary education facility in ...

(born 1988), South Korean YouTuber *

Kook Hae-seong Kook Hae-seong (; born 8 December 1989) is a South Korean professional baseball outfielder who is currently playing for the Doosan Bears of the KBO League. His major position is right fielder and left fielder, but he sometimes plays as center fi ...

(; born 1989), South Korean baseball outfielder

References

{{authority control Abraham Isaac Kook Multiple Chinese surnames Dutch-language surnames Jewish surnames Korean-language surnames

Origins

Statistics

People

See also

References