It is named for William Gordon Cooke, a soldier during the Texas Revolution.

Cooke County comprises the Gainesville, TX micropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Dallas–Fort Worth, TX-OK combined statistical area.

[4] According to statistical data from 2016, Cooke County has a population of 39,141 people (41% urban, 59% rural), nearly 14,000 households, and over 10,000 families.

The racial makeup of the county was 88.84% White, 3.06% Black or African American, 1.00% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 5.16% from other races, and 1.61% from two or more races.

[10] Cooke County has long voted predominantly Republican; the only Democratic presidential candidate to win Cooke County since 1948 was Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, in that year's landslide over Barry Goldwater.

Cooke County has been included in the Texas's 26th congressional district.