Given name & surname
Barker
“a shepherd”
Barker is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “a shepherd.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “a shepherd.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
From Middle English barker (“shepherd; tanner”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1913. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Barker through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 28
- 28 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2020
- 7 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2023. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 137 as a first name in 2020; 83,987 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Barker’s family of names
Barker has a related form in Bark. Barker has a related form in Barkar. Barker has a related form in Barke.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Barker, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Baker
“one who bakes”
91% boys · 9% girls
Preacher
Preacher is a masculine given name from English.
>99% boys
Shipley
Shipley is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “from the meadow of ships; from the meadow of sheep.”
>99% boys
Keem
Keem is a masculine given name from English.
>99% boys
Sherlock
“a fair-haired man”
>99% boys
Maicon
Maicon is a masculine given name from English. It is used in Portuguese.
>99% boys
Vili
“the determined protector”
>99% boys
Mowgli
Mowgli is a given name from English. It is used in Polish.
>99% boys