Hoke
Masculine · “From an English surname”
Hoke is a one-syllable Southern name, a surname that became a first name, and it belongs to one of the most loved characters in American drama: Hoke Colburn, the chauffeur of Driving Miss Daisy.
How old is the name Hoke?
Hoke first appears in US birth records in 1900 — 125 years ago. The typical Hoke alive today was born around 1932, making them about 93 years old. About 200 people named Hoke are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Hoke most popular?
Hoke peaked in 1907, reaching #664 nationally. See the whole 1907 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From hoc to Hoke
The story of Hoke
Hoke was a family name across the South, and it was given as a first name to boys at the turn of the twentieth century, among them Hoke Smith, governor of Georgia and senator. In Alfred Uhry's 1987 play Driving Miss Daisy, Hoke Colburn is the patient, dignified Black chauffeur who over twenty-five years becomes the closest friend of an elderly Jewish widow in Atlanta; Morgan Freeman played him on stage and in the film. The surname itself is usually traced to Old English hoc, a hook or bend of land.
Meaningscholars disagree
From an English surname, probably 'hook of land'
Hoke is usually traced to Old English hoc, a hook or a bend of land in a river; it is also found as a German surname.
How the name formed
- hoc
- Hoke
Pronouncing Hoke
HOHK
One syllable, rhyming with oak.
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1900
- Most boys named
- 191418 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #664reached in 1907
- Change vs 2020
- +20.0%6 in 2021, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Hokes among us
people named Hoke are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Hoke sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Short and distinctive.
- Carries a beloved character from American drama.
- Rare, so a Hoke is unlikely to meet another.
- It sounds like 'hokey' and 'hoax' to some ears.
- It reads as an old Southern name.
- The film is the first association for many.
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Hoke
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Hokes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Hoke are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Hoke in 2025?
- Hoke is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Hoke with classmates?
- Hoke will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More H names
The most-given names starting with H, all years combined.
Henry#5 · Harold#991 · Harry#775 · Howard#1002 · Hunter#130 · Herbert#2641 · Herman#2363 · Harvey#251
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Hoke? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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