How common is the surname Barker?

87,162 people in the United States had the surname Barker in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,542 Americans. It ranked 360th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Barker?

Travis Barker, American drummer (born 1975), followed by Bob Barker.

Where is the surname Barker most common?

Wikidata records people named Barker in the United States, the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Great Britain and 3 other countries.

How do you pronounce Barker?

Barker is /ˈbɑɹkɚ/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Barker getting more or less common?

More common. 85,221 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 87,162 in 2010, up 2.3%.

The surname Barker

An English occupational surname, carried by 87,162 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈbɑɹkɚ/ 2 syllables Soundex B626

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Barker is more common than 99.8% of them.

Origin

English origin

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

Barker is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 87,162 people named Barker in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 3,542 Americans. That is up 2.3% since 2000, when the Census counted 85,221.

#360

rank among US surnames

87,162

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+2.3%

change since 2000 (was #325)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#351	Cohen	89,091	3,466
#352	McDaniel	88,728	3,480
#353	Moran	88,615	3,484
#354	Parks	88,586	3,485
#355	Steele	88,230	3,499
#356	Vaughn	88,060	3,506
#357	Becker	87,859	3,514

Who is named Barker

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

86% of people named Barker identified as white (not Hispanic), 7.8% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

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

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Barkers

33 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

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, born 1999
Cliff Barker
American basketball player (1921–1998)
Dan Barker
American atheist activist, born 1949
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)

Notable Barkers come mostly from the United States (20), the United Kingdom (7) and the Kingdom of Great Britain (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Barker

Barker has the Soundex code B626, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B626.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Barker come from?: Inherited from Middle English barker (“shepherd; tanner”).
How common is the surname Barker?: 87,162 people in the United States had the surname Barker in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,542 Americans. It ranked 360th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Barker?: In the 2010 Census, 86% of people named Barker identified as white (not Hispanic), and 7.8% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Barker?: Travis Barker, American drummer (born 1975), followed by Bob Barker.
Where is the surname Barker most common?: Wikidata records people named Barker in the United States, the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Great Britain and 3 other countries.
How do you pronounce Barker?: Barker is /ˈbɑɹkɚ/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Barker?: Barker is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
Is the surname Barker getting more or less common?: More common. 85,221 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 87,162 in 2010, up 2.3%.