# Barker (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/barker/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

An English surname originating as an occupation.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 87,162 |
| US rank (2010) | 360 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 3,542 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.3% (85,221 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈbɑɹkɚ/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Inherited from Middle English barker (“shepherd; tanner”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Barker in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 86% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 7.8% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Barker in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Great Britain, Australia, Norway and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

## People named Barker

- Travis Barker, American drummer (born 1975)
- Bob Barker, American game show host (1923–2023)
- Lex Barker, American actor (1919–1973)
- Ma Barker, American mother of several criminals and Barker Gang leader (1873–1935)
- Curry Barker, American director
- Cliff Barker, American basketball player (1921–1998)
- Dan Barker, American atheist activist
- Jess Barker, American actor (1912-2000)
- Cicely Mary Barker, British artist (1895-1973)
- Danny Barker, American jazz musician (1909–1994)
- Frances Dana Barker Gage, American writer (1808-1884)
- Robert Barker, British artist (1739-1806)

and 21 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Bricker, Brooker, Brucker, Barger, Berger, Broussard, Bergeron, Burger, Burkhart, Burkhardt, Brasher, Brookshire.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.