Given name & surname
Turner
“one who works with wood”
Turner is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “one who works with wood.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “one who works with wood.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
From Middle English Turner, from Middle English turner.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Turner through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 10,386
- 9,989 boys · 397 girls
- Most popular year
- 2019
- 263 babies
- 2025
- 208
- #1,107 for boys · #8,318 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −7%
- Steady
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 92% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 195 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,107 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 9.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 246 in 2019. It also appeared in 13 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, North Carolina had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (15). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 6,751 as a first name in 2020; 333,512 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.
Turner’s family of names
Turner has a related form in Tournour. Turner has a related form in Turnar. Turner has a related form in Turnir.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Turner
- TfueAmerican streamer and esports player (born 1998)
- Turner AshbyConfederate Army general (1828–1862)
- Turner StevensonCanadian ice hockey playerborn 1972
- Turner WardAmerican baseball playerborn 1965
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Turner, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Tucker
“one who makes garments”
99% boys · 1% girls
Miller
“one who works at a mill” · “one who works at the mill”
69% boys · 31% girls
Ryder
“an accomplished horsewoman” · “an accomplished horseman”
95% boys · 5% girls
Carter
“a transporter of merchandise” · “one who transports goods; one who drives a cart”
93% boys · 7% girls
Walker
“walker of the forests” · “one who trods the cloth”
97% boys · 3% girls
Baker
“one who bakes”
91% boys · 9% girls
Colter
“a horse herdsman”
>99% boys
Winston
“of the joy stone; from the friendly town”
99% boys · 1% girls