Walker (surname)

Walker
Family name
Pronunciation /ˈwɔːkər/
Meaning A walker, or one who "walked" on raw, damp cloth in order to thicken it.;
"Hunter" in Kalenjin languages
Region of origin Europe
Africa
Language(s) of origin Middle High German, German, Kalenjin
Related names Welker, Walcher, Welcker, Wallker, Walkyr, Walkere, Wealcan, Walcere

Walker is a German surname derived from either a fuller, from the Middle High German walker,[1] meaning "a fuller of cloth", or an officer whose duty consisted of walking or inspecting a certain part of a forest. The surname "Walker" was first found in Germany where records of the name date back to the thirteenth century. In 1253, Sigelo dictus Welkere was recorded in Weissenburg,[1] and in 1209, Bruno Welkiner was a citizen of Cologne.[1] The name is also found within African Kenyan tribes.

With close to 100,000 bearers, Walker is the 18th most common surname in England.[2] As of the 2000 U.S. Census, 501,307 people had the surname Walker, making it the 28th most common surname in America.[3] It is the 14th most common surname in Australia, with 26,688 people as of 2007.[4]

People with the surname

Arts and letters

Business

Film and radio

Musicians

Actors

Dancers

Military

Politics and law

Science

Sports

Miscellaneous

Disambiguations

People with the given name

Notable persons with "Walker" as their given name.

Fictional characters

Other

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "HouseofNames". Retrieved 2017-07-15.
  2. "Forebears". Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  3. "Genealogy Data: Frequently Occurring Surnames from Census 2000 – U.S. Census Bureau". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  4. IP Australia. "Search for Australian Surnames". Government of Australia. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.